Making a bee hotel is a wonderful way to keep children busy in the garden, and this is a fun way to help them do it while explaining the importance of having bees in the garden.
What you will need:
- 7 pieces of marine plywood (to make a box 15cm in depth, 20x30cm width and height), drilled together or pinned together with panel pins
- Small logs
- Offcuts of wood
- Bamboo canes (try to get bamboo cane fencing from a garden centre, and pull it apart)
- Some clay and paint to make a bee (optional)
- Duct tape for the roof
- Hinges and screws
- Sign for bee hotel/rates
How to build a bee hotel for your friendly garden pollinators
Building the box
Using the panel pins, secure the panels together to form a box shape. Remember to leave two panels for the roof.
Making the roof
Angle the pieces of wood for the roof, in an A-frame shape and use the duct tape to keep the two pieces together. Secure the A-frame shaped roof to the box with some more duct tape for a temporary fix, or screw in some hinges.
Creating hotel “rooms” for the bees
Cut pieces of wood and bamboo to the same depth as the box. Drill holes of different depths and thicknesses into the logs and wood pieces (anything between 2mm and 10mm drill bit will work). Ensure the holes are smooth and clean – remove any sharp pieces left behind and sand it down lightly. Fill the box with the wood and bamboo pieces that have been drilled and cut to size – make sure they’re evenly distributed, well compacted and secure.
Location, location, location!
Place the hotel in a sunny spot in the garden, on a southern-facing wall, 1m above the ground. Solitary bees love having a variety of flowers to choose from, so plants lots of marigolds, Gazania, lavender, Salvia, Plectranthus, Hibiscus, Osteospermum, Alyssum, and Portulaca near the area. Not only are you feeding bees, but you’re also adding colour and delight to your garden. You can then add a few homely touches to your hotel – make a clay bee, paint it, paint the roof red if you like, and make a sign with your hotel’s name (“Daniel’s Bee Hotel”, for example).
You’ll see your bee hotel being used if there are little mud tunnels or door over the openings drilled into the wood and bamboo. Be sure not to disturb the bees and their nests because that’s where they keep their babies and their eggs.
Source: www.lifeisagarden.co.za.