Encouraged with the success at my shop-bought bee hotel, I decided to build one of my own. I used a piece of a sleeper that was left over from another project a few years ago. I drilled a bunch of holes, using different-sized bits. My other bee hotel is fixed to a sun-facing wall, and I had originally planned to place this one nearby. However, I came across some other bee hotel projects on Twitter which suggested that shade might work better, so I’ve tried that instead. The reason for green, yellow and blue stripes on the timber is to see if the insects have a preference for a particular colour.
So far, the insect world doesn’t care for any of the colours – my hotel occupancy rate stands at zero so far. It may be that the wood isn’t suitable -the broken drill-bit embedded in the wood is a testament to how hard it is. I managed to break two bits in total, though that’s probably more a reflection of my DIY skills. I’ll give it another week or two – then maybe I’ll have to list it on Airbnb.
A wider view of my insect hotel in my back garden.