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debtea2
True Blue Farmgirl
1853 Posts
deborah
nutley
nj
USA
1853 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 28 2021 : 11:43:34 AM
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Spring is coming and our little pollinators with it.
How to Make a Simple Mason Bee Hotel
Regular size drinking straws
Use Any container with a back, a soup can works just fine or small wooden box A fresh source of mud for her to make walls, this can just be a small bucket of wet topsoil
placed near A flower bed or fruit trees for her to pollinate, within 300 ft. of the bee hotel
A secure site facing the morning sun where the bee hotel will not be bumped or blown around, as movement can damage the eggs Mason bee hotels can be built by just drilling holes in a thick piece of wood or using bamboo tubes, but the picky mason bee seems to prefer the cleanliness of unused drinking straws.
Parasites and mites are also more prone to invading her nests if they are made of wood or bamboo.
The small mason bees prefer a hole that is 5/16” in diameter, which is the diameter of a regular drinking straw. Large drinking straws cause her extra work building her walls and she can’t fit in smaller drinking straws.
With your container or clean, empty soup can selected, measure its depth and cut your drinking straws so that they are slightly shorter. For example, a 15 oz. can that once held chili beans is about 4 ¼” tall, so I would cut my straws to a length of about 4 1/8” or even just 4” long. This way the straws and mason bee nests will have a little over hang from the can to protect them from rain and flying predators, like birds.
It is up to you if you want to decorate the outside of your can or container with paint, duct tape, etc. Just make sure the inside stays clean and clear. Then, simply fill the can or container with your pre-cut drinking straws and you have a simple mason bee hotel.
Remember Place this bee hotel in a secure place facing the morning sun at least 3 feet up from the ground. The bee hotel container be screwed to posts or walls before inserting the straws.
Be sure your little bee girls have a fresh source of mud nearby.
"if you build it, they really will come.”
Deborah
jersey farmgirl
#1330
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Edited by - debtea2 on Mar 06 2021 06:58:48 AM |
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Bee Friendly hotel
