How to Build a Bee Hotel

Get involved and help Jimmy in his challenge to Save the Bees by building your own Bee Hotel.

Key Design Points

Natural materials: Fill with straw, reeds, bamboo, cardboard, wood. No plastic straws! Avoid using plastic bottles to build your hotel, as these can get quite hot in direct sunlight.

Small hole size – anywhere from 3mm to 10mm is ideal. Larger holes won’t get filled.

Position: should be facing south or east to catch the morning sun. This helps bees become active earlier.

Water-proof: Needs to be in a covered area, or have a ‘roof’ on its upper surface. If it gets damp, fungus can spread and kill the larvae.

Extra advice

Re-build every 2-3 years. Replace the reeds, straw, bamboo etc to stop the build-up of pests and parasites
Stay small! Bigger bug nests are more susceptible to this, as pests can spread from a single origin.
Bring your hotel indoors if it’s getting damp in the winter, or if it falls below -5C. A shed or garage is ideal. Don’t bring the hotel into the house, the insects need to be kept cool. Then put it out again in the Spring

Materials

Wood – simplest structure material to use

Bamboo canes – the nodes are solid, so cut around 15cm from them to ensure a hollow stem. 3-10mm diameter

Rolled cardboard – Need to make sure it’s slim enough and untreated, or corrugated stuff.

Reeds – If you can get hold of them, reeds are ideal material

Plastic drainpipe – if you don’t want to use wood to create one, fill a section of drainpipe with tubes/bamboo/reeds. Remember to cover one end, because they won’t use open-ended tubes

General design essentials

Must have a roof with a lip to protect from the rain
Face south/east to catch the morning sun
Slight incline on the tubes to stop them filling with rainwater
Needs to be stable

What are the best plants for bees?

Bumblebee Conservation Trust have a brilliant guide on bee-friendly gardening across the seasons. And the Royal Horticultural Society also have a huge list.