Hello garden enthusiasts,
Last year, I spent time preparing a poor grassland area. About 40m² (430 ft²) was fully dug up, edging stones were installed, and mixed with sand. Now, I want to place an insect hotel in the middle. Unfortunately, I have no experience with this yet. I know there are ready-made hotels available, but some are built completely incorrectly and therefore not used by the insects.
Has anyone here dealt with this before and can share some advice? Or are there websites where especially good information can be found?
Since I’m just starting, I am wondering, for example:
- What is the best orientation to the sun?
- Should I design separate compartments for each type of insect (such as bee section, beetle section, lacewing section, etc.)?
- Can wild bees be housed together with other species? Or do some always need their own separate “home”?
- Where can I order "building materials" affordably?
I appreciate any advice!
Last year, I spent time preparing a poor grassland area. About 40m² (430 ft²) was fully dug up, edging stones were installed, and mixed with sand. Now, I want to place an insect hotel in the middle. Unfortunately, I have no experience with this yet. I know there are ready-made hotels available, but some are built completely incorrectly and therefore not used by the insects.
Has anyone here dealt with this before and can share some advice? Or are there websites where especially good information can be found?
Since I’m just starting, I am wondering, for example:
- What is the best orientation to the sun?
- Should I design separate compartments for each type of insect (such as bee section, beetle section, lacewing section, etc.)?
- Can wild bees be housed together with other species? Or do some always need their own separate “home”?
- Where can I order "building materials" affordably?
I appreciate any advice!
H
hampshire26 Jan 2020 11:33kaho674 schrieb:
Went to buy wood today. The plan is to build a replica of this:
[ATTACH alt="insektenhotel.jpg"]42356[/ATTACH]
Approximately 70 x 70 cm (28 x 28 inches), so probably a bit smaller and not quite as tall.
Cost: Just the wood and screws came to over €250. Ouch! What exactly did you buy? Maybe as a packing list to "attach"?
hampshire schrieb:
What did you all buy? Maybe as a checklist to "attach".I think everyone has to put their own list together anyway. We made several last-minute changes on site simply because the hardware store only had the lumber in 3m (10 feet) or 2m (6.5 feet) lengths, and so on.tssss.... I also prefer to let my husband work alone or do it myself... we are both doers, but he is very precise and picky, while I’m okay if something occasionally goes wrong. Our working styles just don’t match – so if we work together, I say nothing and only follow exact instructions – otherwise, it ends in a huge argument.
Just like with us, but the other way around. I want it done properly, and my husband just starts cutting away. On the other hand, he really enjoys it, and I just want to get the thing set up as soon as possible.
Once the scaffolding is finished, I would move on to the interior and gradually fill it up. We would start with hardwood pieces with holes—nicely deburred, of course, and drilled across the grain.
Once the scaffolding is finished, I would move on to the interior and gradually fill it up. We would start with hardwood pieces with holes—nicely deburred, of course, and drilled across the grain.
Hmm, I’ve been watching Werner David’s videos casually. It’s a bit sobering. I haven’t seen or read everything yet, but I get the impression that the hotel is really only worthwhile for bees. Lacewings don’t care about a “home.” For them, it’s all about food in the form of aphids. Beetles, millipedes, ants, and other crawlers prefer deadwood or stones. So, everything that just decomposes on the ground—okay, I can pile that up around it. That leaves ladybugs or butterflies—I haven’t found any information on those yet.
For the bees, it’s also important to be able to regularly change the tubes, otherwise there is a constant risk of mites. So the wooden blocks should be able to go into the oven once a year or use cardboard tubes that can simply be disposed of. That’s why oven-friendly sizes are made.
So for the bees, there are two floors, and the entire ground floor is “decorated” with deadwood and stones. There is a water source in the form of an old wine barrel next to it. It sits directly on top of the water cistern, where a hand pump is planned to be installed. The whole setup is surrounded by the species-rich meadow, which hopefully will provide enough flowering plants.
Well, and what do I put in the remaining two floors? I’m still a bit unsure. ops:
For the bees, it’s also important to be able to regularly change the tubes, otherwise there is a constant risk of mites. So the wooden blocks should be able to go into the oven once a year or use cardboard tubes that can simply be disposed of. That’s why oven-friendly sizes are made.
So for the bees, there are two floors, and the entire ground floor is “decorated” with deadwood and stones. There is a water source in the form of an old wine barrel next to it. It sits directly on top of the water cistern, where a hand pump is planned to be installed. The whole setup is surrounded by the species-rich meadow, which hopefully will provide enough flowering plants.
Well, and what do I put in the remaining two floors? I’m still a bit unsure. ops: