I saw something the other day about using old bits of wood to create a habitat for solitary bees.
I thought it would be something great to do with my daughter, to bring more wildlife to our garden and personalise the garden a bit more.
Has anyone had experience with this or any suggestions?
I was thinking of doing some wood burning into it as decoration, like a flower design, and then drilling holes in the flower heads.
Just wanted to see if this would actually help the bees or just turn into a bit of art.
I'm also looking to get more flowers in the garden for the bees and butterfly's.
Link here for an example and image attached for the idea.
by BJGordon95
5 Comments
I was at a field school last year for a uni project, and the area is known for its insects. Tonnes of solitary bees on site had taken up in fence posts exactly like this – obviously having created the holes themselves. So I don’t see why this would not work!
Take look at ‘wild about nature’ YouTube channel. He’s not posted in a long while but I liked the different types of home made bug hotels he has. This link he talks about what he thinks makes one successful: [link](https://youtu.be/3NxSr_LR8sU?feature=shared) but he has some vids on how to make as well.
I’ve made a few from holes drilled into logs and they get used a lot. Position is important too, different bees prefer east facing, west facing, south facing. Needs good clear access too (no plants blocking the access).
The bees are not fussy, if you build them and bees are around, they will come.
Bee houses can host harmful parasites so it is recommended to inspect them, and ideally clean them out, each year. Maybe you could make them detachable so you can pour boiling water in them to make it a quick job.
I think it’s advised to drill in the direction of the wood grain if you can, so the holes don’t have splinters on the inside.
I have something like this in my garden. It’s actually one of those ‘insect hotels‘ so it’s a block of wood with holes and a little roof on it.
It had been in my garden for 7 years with no action I could see. Last week after not looking at it for probably a year I noticed 4 of the little holes had been used. I was so surprised I went into the house to tell everyone.
My garden has been full of bees this year, I‘m not sure if it’s related. The only real flowers I have are strawberry plants, but I‘m putting some raised beds in this year so hopefully that will change.