Insect Hotels
What is an Insect Hotel?
Bugs might not be your thing but consider this: almost two-thirds of flowering plants need insects for pollination. Insects are under pressure everywhere due to the loss of habitat and plants and the overuse of pesticides. But without insects, our entire ecosystem will collapse.
Australia has about 1600 known species of native bees. Most of the local native bees in NSW are solitary bees and nest in small places, such as hollows in timber or in burrows in the ground. Other beneficial insects are ladybird beetles, spiders, lacewings and native earwigs.
They pollinate our fruits, flowers and vegetables. Other small insects help attract birds and are essential for soil and other garden benefits. At the same time, they themselves are food for so many other animals, and if insects disappear, many others will follow. So, what can you do to help insects?
Build an Insect Hotel!!
An insect hotel is a human-made structure placed outdoors, usually in a garden or near where insects like to live.
It attracts insects and bugs, giving them shelter and a cosy, safe place to stay.
It is ideally made using natural and recycled material and can be used by native bees or other insects looking for a place to rest and lay eggs.
It doesn’t need to be fancy – just use the right materials and put it in the right place and the insects will thank you.
They are great during cold winter months when bugs need shelter to protect them from the cold
There are many different ways you can build an insect hotel.
What you can use:
Natural and Recyclable materials make great supplies
Natural Materials can include:
Small, hollow sticks (bamboo is best)
Twigs, Bits of bark
Timber offcuts
Leaves and pine-cones
Any other natural materials you like!
Recyclable Materials can include:
A container – old pots, a tin can, wooden box, plastic bottles, pieces of plastic pipe, old drawers, old tires
Chicken wire, broken bricks, ice cream sticks, straws and dried grass.
Bricks, cardboard, milk cartons, rope, scrap paper, toilet paper roll
Making your hotel - following are some ideas you could use
1. A log with holes
This is the most basic insect hotel you can build – but often it is enough. You only need a log of wood that is dry and has no cracks and a drill. All you do is drill holes into it – they should have a diameter of 3 to 8 mm and be at least 9 cm deep. That’s it – you have your first very basic insect hotel.
2. A can or small box filed with Bamboo sticks, bark or cardboard tubes
Take off the top of the can and make sure it is dull so that it is not sharp or find a small shoe box or wooden box.
Fill the container you have used with bamboo sticks, twigs, bark, leaves, pine-cones or cardboard tubes and glue them to the bottom. This is important so that birds cannot take them out – they will want to try to get them. The bamboo sticks have to be at least 2,5 inches long, otherwise, native bees will not accept them.
If you cut the bamboo, make sure that the cuts are clean, as native bees and insects will not move in if there are splinters. If the bamboo marrow is still inside, remove it before you attach the sticks. Native bees will only move into clean sticks. If you do not have bamboo, you can use cardboard tubes or straws that work very well for native bees. If you use cardboard it is important to make sure they don’t get wet to keep mold away.
Now you only have to think about how to put it up. You can either attach hooks or just use some string!!
