21/03/2023
🐞🪲Bug hotel in UK
I was asked in one of the posts, what I think about bug hotels.
I think it’s a good thing, but not really for insects. It’s a good thing to educate your children about bugs, insects, bees surrounding us, what they eat, how they live etc. You raise their awareness to care about nature and what surrounds us.
I don’t really think it’s super beneficial for the insects themselves, I don’t actually feel they really care about how good is the place where they sleep and eat. It’s a marketing tool which is sold everywhere – you can buy such hotels in garden centres, online and it creates profit.
Trust me, in Ukraine we don’t have bug hotels at all and we still have pretty many bugs and bees, all our fruit trees were in good blossom and we never felt we should do anything to attract bees by providing them comfortable hotel for a sleep over 😊 If bees continue to fly under missile strike, I don't know why they should stop flying in a peaceful countryside.
So – if you make one, make it for your children and not for the insects.
I found a nice instruction of how to make one DIY :
👉Step 1Choose a suitable site.
It needs to be level and the ground firm.
You’ll get different residents depending on where you place your hotel, as some like cool, damp conditions and others (such as solitary bees) prefer the sun. If you have vegetable beds, keep it a good distance away from them.
The basic structure. You will need a strong, stable framework that's no more than a metre high!
Old wooden pallets are perfect for a large hotel as they’re sturdy and come with ready-made gaps. Start by laying some bricks on the ground as sturdy corners. Leave some spaces in between the bricks for critters to move in. Add three or four layers of wooden pallets on top of your bricks. If you leave larger ends, you’re more likely to attract hedgehogs.
👉Step 2Fill the gaps.
The idea is to provide all sorts of different nooks and crannies, crevices, tunnels and cosy beds.
Include:
✅dead wood and loose bark for creepy crawlies like beetles, centipedes, spiders and woodlice
✅holes and small tubes (not plastic) for solitary bees made out of bamboo, reeds and drilled logs
✅larger holes with stones and tiles, which provide the cool, damp conditions frogs and toads like – if you put it in the centre you’ll give them a frost-free place to spend the winter (they’ll help eat slugs)
✅dry leaves, sticks or straw for ladybirds (they eat aphids) and other beetles and bugs
✅corrugated cardboard for lacewings (their larvae eat aphids, too)
✅dry leaves which mimic a natural forest floor
✅you can even put a hedgehog box into the base of the hotel.
👉Step 3Add a 'roof'.
When you think you've gone high enough, put a roof on to keep it relatively dry. Use old roof tiles or some old planks covered with roofing felt.
You could even give it a 'green' or 'brown' roof by putting a bit of rubble or gritty soil on top. Only plants that love dry conditions cope up there, but some wildflower seeds could arrive on the breeze and take root.
Pop some wildflower seeds around the hotel to give food for butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects.
If you want, choose a name for your hotel and put a sign up outside. Be sure to share your new home on social media to inspire others to do the same!
