A bug hotel is a manmade structure that provides shelter for the insects in your garden. Making your own bug home is a fantastic DIY project that can be easily made from common household objects such as a tin can and bamboo stakes.
Bug hotels are a great way to promote biodiversity in your garden by offering a place for beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies to hibernate, nest and take refuge from the elements. Bug hotels are a great way to encourage pollinators who help make your garden healthy and thrive with flowers and food for months to come.
How do I make a bug hotel?
Follow the below step-by-step instructions to create your very own insect palace.
Watch Michael make this bug hotel HERE.
What you will need...
- Empty food can (cleaned, label removed)
- Bamboo stakes of varying widths
- Hand saw
- Ruler
- Pen/pencil
- Thin piece of wire
- Gloves
- String (optional)
- Apron (optional)
Steps
- Using your ruler, measure the length of the can. It’s best to take a few millimetres off the measurement so that the bamboo will sit just inside the lip of the can.
- Using your ruler and a pencil, mark out lengths on your bamboo stakes to fit. You will need quite a few to fill the can.
- Once marked out, take your bamboo stakes and saw into measured lengths one at a time.
- When you have finished cutting to size, collect all your lengths of bamboo and use a piece of wire to clear out any fibrous bits from inside each piece. This will create a hollow centre where the beneficial insects will live.
- Once you have cleared out all the lengths of bamboo, place your can sideways on the table and start to stack the pieces of bamboo inside the can. Continue filling the can with bamboo until it is full, and the sticks are tightly packed in.
- You now have your very own bug hotel!
- You can either use string and tie it on to a tree branch, or you can just place it in a nice sheltered spot in the garden. Be sure to pick a nice shady position so that your bugs don’t get too warm in their new home.
- Now sit back, relax and wait for your new friends to move in.
Find more gardening and backyard how-tos by following Michael on Instagram at @gardeningwithmichael
