I’ve added another bug hotel to my back garden. Nothing has booked a room yet, but I’m hoping the city-centre location, sunny aspect and fine views of a lavender patch will boost my rankings with insect search engines.
I’ve used a flower pot filled with honeysuckle stalks to make the ‘rooms’. I was clearing back a honeysuckle plant and noticed that the stacks were hollow (they look a bit like bamboo shoots) – it wasn’t a native plant.
Though the finish is a bit ramshackle (my personal trademark), the chicken-wire helps keep the stalks in place and offers some protection from predators. The plastic strip on the top (a re-purposed milk container) is intended to provide some rain protection.
The container is resting on two supports and is also fixed directly to the wall via a screw & washer through the drainage hole. So hopefully, it won’t move.
Admittedly, my previous attempts at fauna accommodation have not been successful. My previous bee hotel remains as empty as the day I put it up and my hedgehog hotel is resolutely hedgehog-free too. So I’m not relying solely on the new hotel. I’ve also got a decaying tree stump that I plan to fix into position nearby, in the lavender bed – I’ll drill some holes into it, and see if it attracts anything.