Build an Insect Hotel: Everyone Can Grow A Garden (2018) #7

[@bennettclarke2052]

One of the better insect hotel videos I’ve seen so far. Appreciate the different aspects you covered such as deterring wasps and about this one being bee specific. Thank you.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Thank you, Bennett. I'm so glad you liked it.

[@71050505]

Excellent video and result. Thanks for covering the hole depth. Thats what I was looking for when I found your vid.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Perfect! Glad you enjoyed it. Have fun making your insect hotel.

[@lapismosi8065]

Loved it and it is beautiful!🐝

[@mywoolmitten]

What a great video! I wondered about wasps so I'm glad you addressed that. This will be a fun and beneficial project to do with the grandkids. Thank you for sharing the tips

[@catharinabellekom2013]

Thank you Susan. I will do this as we are in spring time here. I love it. New Zealand

[@Lisayingchen]

Just watched your video with my kids. The bug hotel is beautiful and functional. We love it that you built it by upcycling. We are going to gather and build one. Thank you Susan!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Wonderful! Have fun making one and then watching the insects come and go!

[@tanis1111]

Love it Susan well done! I've been a fan of yours since i saw you on Growing a Greener World. First timer here, but ill be back. Thanks have a great day and as I like to say, Grow on!! Much Love 💚💚💚👍

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Tanis. So nice to meet you!

[@Mads_13]

I love this tutorial! I'm doing a project on benefits of insects and this is a great thing for the insect friends !

[@gailblain5282]

We added a pollinator palace to our garden last week. I plan to make some more. Great video!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

That is fabulous! So glad you enjoyed the video.

[@CelestionPhoenix]

Excellent video!!!! I will start making one immediately! Thank you for this video!

[@LoonyYunie]

Thank you for this video! Very educational and fun! Also your insect hotel is super adorable 😍

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Thanks so much!

[@sylviabradley7355]

It's too wet and cold to get into the garden so this looks like a great weekend project. Thanks for sharing.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Okie dokie! You will have great fun making an insect hotel!

[@TexasMyTexas]

Love your channel! You're very easy to listen to, follow and understand. Thanks for all the inspiration!!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Wow, thanks so much, Julie!

[@rodidlewild2330]

An insect hotel? First time I ever heard of one. Sure can use all the pollinators I can get down here in southern Oregon. Thanks Susan.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Rod. Sometimes they're called bug hotels, insect stacks, or insect condos. I hope you'll be building one!

[@sheetalmudaliar]

thank you so much.it was really nice to watch you make the insect hotel.loved it.i'm thinking of making an insect hotel with my boys.they are 10 and 12 years old.i think they would love to make it with me. i have a tiny garden.and sometimes my boys do come to see my garden.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

I'm so glad to hear it! You and your boys would love it.

[@wonderfulnature7125]

super. looks good. Great work. I am also building an insect hotel now. Good place for insects.

[@andresantosstudio962]

Thanks from brazil.

[@smallwondergarden9407]

Great video. Building a bug hotel is on my to do list so your tips are very helpful. I wasn't sure what to stuff in for the ladybugs, now I know!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi there. You can also put in little bundles of straw or pine needles.

[@dunbardunelm3924]

It's actually beautiful ❤️💖😘🐝🤗🤗

[@annemarieseunnenga]

This is a great video! So informative. I'm making an insect hotel myself right now

[@SusansInTheGarden]

That is so exciting! They are a lot of fun to make. Enjoy!

[@JS-jl1yj]

Are you planning to harvest the Mason Bee cocoons in order to clean them up of any mites so they can stay healthy during the winter before they emerge? If so, how will you be extracting them out of those long holes drilled in the thick branches?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

That is a really good question! I don't know of any way to safely extract the cocoons out of the logs so I have an alternative suggestion. After the eggs have hatched, remove the logs from the insect hotel and replace them with fresh logs that have the holes drilled into them.

[@JS-jl1yj]

@@SusansInTheGarden I recommend that you watch this video that explains the need to remove the cocoons from their nesting place, be it tubes, channels in wood blocks. This appears to be a way of giving the cocoons a better chance of surviving their dormancy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHTQfGuGa9iKnJY

[@JS-jl1yj]

@@SusansInTheGarden Yes. Providing a new log with clean holes would benefit the new eggs. But what about the hygiene of the existing cocoons? The female cocoons of Mason Bees are located in the back of the "tunnel". When the female bees chew their way out of their cocoons and emerge, they also have to crawl and chew their way through mud plugs and chambers that are containing dead larvae and bunch of active parasitic mites. This situation could be avoided if you used cardboard tubes or bamboo or wood blocks, that allow you to extract the cocoons to examine them in late fall and to clean them and store them in clean and safe environment over the winter and then place them in an emergent box. They can then use their saved energy to start flying, feeding and mating.

[@susanmerritt8331]

Thanks Susan. Great idea!

[@donthelegend2682]

Love it will be building me one soon thank you for the content !

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Awesome!

[@ArranRWilliamson]

I've now got the perfect gift for when any of my friends move to a new place with a garden. However, I'm not sure everyone shares my love of ecology. 😅

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Great idea! You can be a good influence in their lives, right?

[@dreamasue]

Sweet idea ! 💕

[@cynthiahamblin-perry5880]

Been wanting to build one of these - thanks for all the ideas and how tos!

[@EmoEmu]

Awesome!

[@aaqilian5.085]

Lovely. I’m definitely going to give it a try! Thanks for the education!

[@OSGCourtWatch]

Is there a habitat and/or food that will attract green lacewings in the Pacific Northwest (pdx).

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hello! You will attract lacewings by adding diverse plantings of flowers in your landscape.

[@OSGCourtWatch]

@@SusansInTheGarden thanks. What type and Is there a type of structure I can build to encourage them to overwinter? Thanks again

[@Headhunter_212]

I saw in GardenNinja’s YT channel that using bamboo for the solitary bees result in too large tubes. Apparently 6-10mm in circumference works for him (he’s in UK) Then 100mm in depth. Then clean them out every spring after the bees lay and young fly off. Your mileage may vary (I’m not familiar with Mason Bees).

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Thanks for sharing that!

[@andreeablonde9052]

Thank you so much for sharing! I really love it!

[@bzhikurdistan4407]

great video , I got Bob Ross vibes, thank you for this great video

[@SusansInTheGarden]

:o)

[@marcellamorales-gaona2578]

¡It is COOL! Looking forward to build ours @ our community garden! Thanks for sharing!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

My pleasure, Marcella!

[@vida-zoe.itamarsantos270]

Great video.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Thank you.

[@sharonm2626]

lovely

[@parapearce3129]

Just found your channel today. Excellent and so informative! Subbed. :)

[@garyhook8827]

What depth is the used super that is being used? Can it be any depth?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Gary. We used a medium super, which is just under 7" in depth.

[@visieraverde]

Masterpiece! Just one suggestion if I may: I drilled holes of different diameters on the trunks in order to almost fully exploit the wooden surface exposed to the outside. This allows me to have osmia, insects and solitary wasps from March to August of very different sizes fluttering in front of the hotel (northern Italian latitude so to speak) which use both mud and plant residues as cell closure material. Here's an example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJibnGNtgZtgsLs

[@kazutokirigaya4633]

I would put mine on a south wall but unfortunately on that wall there is very little sun could I do it on a west wall where there is more sun

[@soledude]

👌👌👌

[@anafindlay1696]

Hi Susan your insect hotel turned out pretty awesome! I'm definitely building one this winter can I repurpose an old medicine cabinet as the structure then add more shelves and nesting material? Thank you 🐝🐝

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Ana. I'm assuming the medicine cabinet is made of metal? If that's the case, I think I would be concerned about using it because it would probably hold moisture rather than providing a dry, safe environment for the insects that want to nest or hibernate in it. I would recommend using a wooden structure instead. Sorry!

[@anafindlay1696]

@@SusansInTheGarden Hi Susan thanks for responding so quickly..my medicine cabinet it's made out of wood but it's painted white, I was thinking of sanding it down first then assemble once it's ready!!😄

[@SusansInTheGarden]

@@anafindlay1696 OK, that would work!

[@catiecodes]

Thanks for toughing it out! The final product is lovely. How is your orchard doing? Is the hotel full now?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Catie. The orchard is doing great. It will be a big harvest this year. The hotel has a lot of occupants but it isn't quite full.

[@FrenchieFrench1555]

I heard that we need to clean the hotel at the end of the season, how do you clean it?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi there. The timing of cleaning an insect hotel is challenging, to be honest. If you were to clean it at the end of the growing season, you risk removing the eggs that beneficial insects such as solitary bees have already laid. I try to replace the bamboo tubes and hollow stems shortly after the bees have emerged.

[@FrenchieFrench1555]

@@SusansInTheGarden Ok thank you but this does not answer my question fully.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

@@FrenchieFrench1555 I found some helpful information for you on when and how to clean an insect hotel: pollinators.msu.edu/publications/building-and-managing-bee-hotels-for-wild-bees/. Check out pages 5 & 6 for specifics. Enjoy your weekend!

[@FrenchieFrench1555]

@@SusansInTheGarden Thank you again

[@yoshiman12232]

Fun project, do you need to clean out the holes at the end of the season or is it pretty much set and forget?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

We actually do the "set and forget" routine and here's why: I haven't figured out when I would clean them out because during the summer, fall and winter, the holes are filled with eggs/larvae. And in the spring, the females mate and turn right around to lay eggs. So when is it possible to clean them?! However, if I were using the cardboard tubes for mason bees, I would exchange them at some point, perhaps removing the cocoons for the time being, and going from there.

[@jesuschristislordoflordsan427]

cool, will try this if God wills. also i would like to harvest honey, but one step at a time, i guess

[@ErikaMahoney]

is paper wasp Pollinator too?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Yes.

[@DianeMorissette]

Inspiring! I may actually try one this year. Could I use drinking straws instead of the tubes?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Absolutely!

[@ultragoldcoin8780]

Diane Morissette no plastic straws also

[@SusansInTheGarden]

I agree. Let's all get away from using plastic drinking straws! Sorry I didn't think to clarify that PAPER straws would be much more environmentally-friendly.

[@Birdhouselady]

Very nice. I am going to make a insect hotel. I do have a question. I live in Idaho would I bring the hotel into the garage for the winter? Also with this type do I clean it out in the fall and put the bees someplace cold for the winter or do I just leave it alone. Thank you

[@mit1346]

Face North in the Southern hemisphere?

[@virgosat03]

Are flies coming here too? I don't want to have flies nearby. How Big Holes Should I Drill in Wood? Thank you!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi there. I've never seen any types of flies near our insect hotel. The holes should be about 6" deep and about 3/8" in diameter.

[@binflynn1]

Class

[@WATCHINGTHEWATCHERS]

I don't build a insect home like that I just pile up lots of different wood on top of a compost pile. That dose the trick. I found a nute the other week.

[@parapearce3129]

We are in Texas. Would you still recommend facing it south ? Want to build one of these. Have seen mason bees at our place.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

That’s an interesting question! Maybe try facing it southeast or east for the morning sun.

[@johnjude2685]

Agree kids should not squish all the insect 🐝🦋🐝

[@rukasan5929]

How do they get out when they are at the very back? You said the females come out first, does that mean the bee knows which egg is which and sorts them out out something? Or do they climb over one another? I know this is silly but I'm just baffled haha

[@SusansInTheGarden]

That's not a silly question at all! It's actually quite a good one. Each egg is laid in a separate chamber, each containing a ball of pollen for the newly-hatched larvae to eat. Afterwards, they spin a cocoon and go through a metamorphosis. When they emerge, they eat through the plug that its cell was closed off with. For more details, I found an interesting article on this for you: extension.psu.edu/orchard-pollination-solitary-mason-bees.

[@mikemunro2905]

How did you put the Cheetos cat in the bottom layer? Looks cool

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Cheetos cat???

[@mikemunro2905]

@@SusansInTheGarden Yep looks like close up of nose and cheeks

[@SusansInTheGarden]

@@mikemunro2905 I never looked at it that way before but I will now, LOL!

[@hutarian]

Be sure to maintain, you don't want bees reusing dirty tunnels.

[@snowolfeh]

Didn’t really show us how to build the structure tho.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

As I explained in the video, I was recycling a bee hive for the structure. You can use anything you like for the structure itself, and it can be any size you want. Remember: there are just 2 rules: the structure needs a roof, and it should face south or southeast to get the early morning sunlight. Cheers.

[@catfyn]

More like a insect ghetto but great idea

[@universaltruth2025]

I need some reassurance that its not just going to get filled with spiders. Can anyone guarantee me that?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

There are probably no guarantees! But in the years we’ve had insect hotels, that has never happened. I suppose I should mention that spiders are beneficial insects that we gardeners, despite our fears, should welcome.

[@universaltruth2025]

Susan's In The Garden Thanks. My son got one for Xmas & I was v reluctant to put it up, but will give it a go..

[@kshawnkindred3303]

RIP :(

[@munniupadhyay6392]

Please please please translate this in Hindi