Make a Backyard Bug Hotel
Make a Backyard Bug Hotel
When we traveled in the UK, almost every park we visited had a bug hotel! They were all constructed a bit differently, but the concept was the same. It was a great place any bug would want to move in to.
They all involved tubes, bricks, and lots of natural elements like sticks, leaves and straw.
We loved the idea so much we decided to make one of our own.
At one of the parks, we found an instruction sheet on how to make our own.
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Really, this was a great way to clear out a lot of things from our shed and detritus that was around the edge of our property.
We started with an old palate that our neighbour had. I’ve seen these on the side of the road on garbage day, or sometimes can be picked up at your local hardware store. If not, planks of wood work just as fine.
My husband cut it into quarters and stacked them up. Once it was filled, he screwed each layer together so it wouldn’t topple over.
We then filled each layer with straw, dead leaves and sticks, and filled it in with other items like strawberry boxes, clay plant pots, plastic tubes and egg cartons. Whatever we could find around the yard.
It took us about 30 minutes to construct this hotel.
In the UK, all the roofs were made from slate, but we happened to have some old shingles.
Then, Daniel added the final touches for our hotel.
Now, we just wait for our guests to move in.
In the UK, they say to expect ladybirds, toads and hedgehogs. We’ll be happy with some ants, spiders, ladybugs and sow bugs! I did see a few ants scoping it out the next morning!
Now we wait and we’ll check back often!
Have a great stay!
