DIY bug hotel
Chris Mason
Posts: 159
in Talkback
I've built a small 'log wall' (1 foot tall - 4 ish feet long) to section off an area of the garden. I want to drill lots of holes in the side of the logs but have a few questions.
1) what sort of insects will make a home in these holes? 2) what sized holes should they be to attract said insects? 3) will it matter if these holes receive full sun? (the holes are facing east and west which will obviously get direct full sun.)0
Posts
Annoyingly I'm on my iPad, my iPad doesn't support flash so I can't upload pictures
I'll go on my laptop tomorrow and I'll upload a few pictures for you
With a similar idea in mind but on a smaller scale, I have got some short lengths of bamboo wired together and wedged between the stones supporting my water butt, we shall see what moves in!
I was a bit taken aback when some distinguished gardener - I think it was Carole Klein- suggested gathering hollow-stemmed sticks and pushing them into a slice of a plastic bottle. Such a nearly-good idea, but why ruin it with plastic? Natural materials (e.g. jute twine to hold it all together) are so much better, as you can tuck the whole thing into a corner of the garden and forget about it, letting it degrade when it's ready.
On a bee website they recommend holes 2 cm - 10cm, no bigger or the bees [solitary and leaf cutter] will not use them. You can use hollow tubes or drill holes in thick wood but have to make sure that the ends are smooth -no splinters or snags, or again the bees will not use them. They suggest a roof of some sort that overhangs the front to protect from rain and also, a puddle of mud which they use to seal their entrance. In the case of these bees, bring the 'hotel' inside into a shed in the winter to protect from the cold.
There are several sites which show how to make insect 'hotels. Just type in what you are looking for.'
it looks better in person, the camera dosent do the 'wall' any justice. thank you for the two extra replies, theyre much appreaciated,on the other side, the ground has a habbit of flooding and going mudy.
(its a wildlife garden in the making)