When should you put out an insect hotel

From late September / October, most bees will be looking for shelter to get them through the Winter which is where Insect Hotels become the garden centrepiece. Key components to the hotels are logs, bark, bamboo and fir cones in various shapes and sizes to allow easy entry for all.

For solitary bees, home-made bug hotels and wildlife stacks will provide a great place for them to live, lay their eggs and hibernate. Leaving natural homes for them, such as piles of deceased wood and cut branches and plants, can also be very helpful. … From growing bee friendly flowers, to building a bee box.

Using a variety of found natural materials, you can build a bug or bee condo perfect for each type of insect you hope to attract. Solitary bees and wasps seek places to lay their eggs, so they will be attracted to various-sized holes in wood.

Bug boxes work best in warm places that are dry. Bugs also like damp and decayed plant materials. Place decaying plant matter and damp logs at the base of the hotel. This will attract centipedes, millipedes and woodlice.

An insect hotel, also known as a bug hotel or insect house, is a manmade structure created to provide shelter for insects. They can come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the specific purpose or specific insect it is catered to.

This is larger, more attractive and with just the right variety of materials and spaces to provide refuge for various bees, ladybirds, lacewings and some butterflies. Every Insect hotel is handmade and unique. … These butterflies often overwinter in sheds and barns and they will seek-out the hollow spaces in the hotel.

Where to put a bee hotel. In full sun, facing south or south east. Locate your bee hotel at least a metre off the ground, with no vegetation blocking the entrance. Keep it dry at all times, to prevent the contents going mouldy.