26 Bug homes
Making a bug box for insects gives the wildlife in your garden a helping hand.
Bug homes recreate the natural nooks and crannies which are missing from tidy gardens
and outside spaces. They will be used by insects for hibernation and shelter through the
winter or as places to lay eggs. Many of the insects and bugs will help get rid of pests
such as aphids too.
Using everyday materials from around the garden
such as timber, old plant pots or wooden boxes
filled with twigs, bamboo canes, dead stems and
branches from elder and buddleia make this a cheap
and easy way to help spiders, ladybirds, lacewings
and bees.
As with other wildlife homes it’s important to use
untreated timber as some preservatives can be toxic
to wildlife.
All-round insect box
Materials
• Untreated timber 12mm (1/2 inch) to 25mm (1 inch)
thick by 125mm (5 inches) wide. Approx 600mm long
(24 inches)
• Hollow canes such as bamboo and twigs for the infill.
Equipment
• Wood saw
• 45 - 50mm nails and a hammer
• Drill and drill bit (no wider than nails)
• Secateurs
Method
Make a simple box using timber approximately
2cm thick. You will need four pieces of wood of
equal length for the sides and one square piece to
fit in the back. Once cut to size, pre-drill holes with
a small drill bit and nail together, using the square
piece as the back of the box. Nail together leaving
the front end open to place the canes in. A nail in
the back of the box can be used to hang it up when
it is finished.
Raysfield Infants School’s triangular insect box
5 star bug hotel
If you have the space, a bigger project would be to
construct a multi storey wildlife hotel. This is a great
project for community spaces and school grounds.
Wildlife hotels can be made from recycled pallets
which are stacked on top of each other; the gaps are
filled with sticks, logs, old tiles, straw, pine cones
and any other natural materials you can find.
Bug hotels can be as large or small as you like:
remember to use your imagination. The bottom
sections will attract small mammals such as
hedgehogs and frogs which are great for controlling
pests in the garden.
Place in an accessible, partly shaded area where
undergrowth can be maintained. Plant up around
the sides with wildflowers if you can and don’t
forget to show off your hotel to others.
Cut canes into lengths approximately the depth of
the box. To make more habitats extra holes could be
drilled in to pieces of wood or branches, making the
holes different sizes to suit different bugs.
Materials
Position the finished box in a sheltered area out of
direct sunlight in an area where you might want
to encourage insects to live so that they might eat
aphids and other garden pests.
Equipment
• Old Pallets of a similar size
• Small logs, old tiles, twigs, bricks (with holes in),
straw, grass, leaves etc
• Hammer
• Nails
• Saw
• Drill with different size bits to make additional insect
holes
• Hollow tubes and holes. There are many different
species of solitary bee, all are excellent pollinators.
The female bee lays an egg on top of a mass of
pollen at the end of a hollow tube, she then seals
the entrance with a plug of mud. A long tube can
hold several such cells. Hollow stems, such as old
bamboo canes, or holes drilled into blocks of wood,
make good nest sites for solitary bees. Holes of
different diameters mean many different species
can be catered for. To see if you have any solitary
bees or wasps, look for canes blocked with dried
mud or bits of leaf.
Best Of Bedminster Show insect hotel at North Street Green
Method
Make sure the ground is level and free draining, it will
need to be placed on firm ground as when finished
the hotel will be heavy. Stack the pallets on top of
each other and nail them together a pallet at a time
to create a stable multi-level structure which is now
ready to be filled in.
Materials for filling in the gaps
There are many different ways to fill the gaps in the
structure, these are some suggestions • Dead wood is an increasingly rare habitat as we
tidy our gardens, parks and amenity woodlands. It
is essential for the larvae of wood-boring beetles,
such as stag beetles. It also supports many species
of fungi, which help break down woody material.
Gaps in and under the bark are good for centipedes
and woodlice, important for breaking down organic
material.
• Stone and tiles for frog holes. Frogs eat slugs and
other garden pests. Although they need a pond
to breed in, they can spend much of the year out
of water. Stone and tiles provide the cool damp
conditions amphibians need. Newts may also take
up residence. Amphibians need a frost free place to
spend the winter; this could be in the centre of your
hotel.
• Straw and Hay - These provide many places for
invertebrates and small mammals to burrow and
find safe places to hibernate.
• Dry Leaves - More homes for a variety of
invertebrates, mimicking the litter on the forest
floor.
• Loose bark - Beetles, centipedes, spiders and
woodlice all live beneath the decaying wood and
bark. Woodlice and millipedes help break down
woody plant material and are an essential part of
the garden’s natural recycling system.
• Crevices, nooks and crannies - Many garden
invertebrates need a safe place to hibernate
throughout the winter. Ideally your insect hotel
will have many different nooks and crannies that
different species of invertebrate can live in and also
provide additional protection over the cold winter
months.
Useful links
RSPB’s ‘Make a wildlife stack’: http://www.
rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening/insects/
wildlifestack.aspx
Buglife - Conserving the small things that
run the world: http://www.buglife.org.uk/
Related projects: Wildlife gardening (WAP22) • Bee and butterfly gardening (WAP23)
• Caring for tools (WAP31)
26 Bug homes........................................................................................................ 2
www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk • 0117 917 7271 • [email protected] • Reg. charity No. 280422