After taking part in the petition against pesticides which harm our bees, I decided it was time to take some practical action. Inspired by this craftster's blog post I decided to make my own bee house for them to nest in over the summer. I don't have any logs or lumps of wood hanging around, so I did a quick seach for homes which would use the supplies I do have - bamboo sticks, both the the bbc  and the RHS society have great ideas. It seems the main things are:
  1. Place your bee home on a south facing wall (near flowering plants) to make the most of the summer sun - bees are cold-blooded. 
  2. Some bees prefer to be off the ground, all bees prefer protection from the rain!
  3. Holes should be around 10cm in length and between 2mm-12mm in diameter, to encourage a range of bee species to use their new homes.

So with this in mind, here's my take on making a home for wild bees in your garden... I'll keep you posted on any bee activity I see!
5/12/2013 06:28:18 pm

Great! I'll keep watching your blog and hope the bees like your new houses :)
Both houses I made are higher from the ground (the bamboo one is about 2 meters high) so I'm really interested how this ones will work. I often find snail shells in the grass used by solitary bees too so it should be good.
Good luck and patience! :)

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5/13/2013 06:22:37 am

Thanks for the words of encouragement - I think the patience will be the hardest thing. I'm already thinking "should I move them somewhere else..." Perhaps I should move one higher up? I'm sure I could find somewhere...!

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