ᐅ Planning an Insect Hotel Correctly – Looking for Tips

Created on: 13 Jan 2020 12:17
K
kaho674
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!
11ant27 Apr 2020 13:53
kaho674 schrieb:

I’ve now started inserting the first tubes. They are made of cardboard

... and were in a previous life probably cores from fax machine rolls?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
kaho67427 Apr 2020 14:05
11ant schrieb:

... and were you a fax roll core in a past life?
These are actually sold directly as bee nesting tubes. But it’s quite possible that a manufacturer of fax rolls has found a great new sales channel here. The good thing for them is that you need so many at once, and they definitely get used up quickly.
This reminds me of the definition of a hobby: maximum cost with minimal benefit.
kaho67430 Apr 2020 13:32
Just a quick note: there are already two holes in the wooden blocks, and several guests have already looked inside the tubes.
M
Müllerin
30 Apr 2020 20:12
cool.... I had bought the one from Neudorff after they FINALLY released a decent product.
It’s placed under our patio roof because it’s made of untreated wood and I didn’t want to oil it.


Wood insect hotel with tubular nesting cavities; a bee is sitting on the front.



The small holes are almost full – the larger tubes hardly at all, but those are used as sleeping and resting spots. If you look at the picture in full size, you can see that.
There are also currently 2 sleeping guests in the small ones.
kaho6748 May 2020 18:43
Friday, almost 7 p.m. – finally time to stop work. Wow, I am exhausted after this week. If you are looking for me, I am watching the bees.