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Use this tutorial to make a simple bee house for wood - draw close bees in your garden . It habituate leftover scraps of untreated 2x4s for an eco - friendly way to facilitate native bee .
We also havefree nest box seat plansfor birds admit chickadees , jenny wren , and bluebirds .
Turning scrap lumber into a bee house
About Bee Houses
Ever enquire what bee houses are for ? A beneficial bee house provides a dependable place for bee to lay their ball — the next generation of bees .
In nature , Natalie Wood - nestingandcavity - nestingbees use material like vacuous plant stems and decaying Mrs. Henry Wood ambo to put up their eggs .
While raw material — including dead and decaying matter — are vital for aneco - friendly garden , a bee house may also avail .
DIY bee house in garden
I made this simple bee firm from scraps ofuntreated2×4 lumber that was head for landfill . It ’s a shame how many wood scraps end up in landfill so I ’m felicitous to reuse them where I can .
The design is a mo dissimilar than other bee houses for two important reasons .
We have a hatful of “ burrow bees ” in our garden . They currently spend a lot of clock time make cakehole in the wood walls of our terrace and shed — only to ascertain they ’re too shallow for nesting so I ’m hoping this house will put up another pick ..
If you decide to make a project like this , keep in brain it ’s not arrange - it - and - forget - it . Just like birdfeeders and cuddle box , bee mansion require routine alimony and cleansing . The goal is to attend to native bees without spreading parasites , mites , and disease .
I had a mansion similar to this some years ago that get unspoiled use so I ’m curious to see how this one does .
come to : Where Native Bees drop the Winter ( & How Gardeners Can Help )
Make A Bee House
I ’ll walk you through how I made this bee house .
Supplies & Materials
This is what I used . conform to employ what you have .
Use Untreated Scrap Lumber
It starts with scraps of preservative - free baseball bat . I used piece of 2×4 spruce .
Choose a Layout & Cut Wood to Size
The next scene alternate ahead in the process to show the layout I choose for my bee house .
For the tunnel part , I used ( 10 ) 2x4x7 - column inch woods pieces ( 2 rows with 5 block each ) . These pieces demand to be long than the drilled tunnel are recondite .
bee wo n’t apply tunnel that are open at each terminal . And neither will they use tunnels that are too shallow ( less than 2 or 3 inch ) . My drill bit reached approximately 4 - inches deep .
The inning are made from ( 4 ) additional 2x4s cutting off to size to check around the burrow blocks . Do n’t make the skeleton until your tunnel blocks are all ready — measure will exchange with sanding and assembly .
interrelate : Build a Bluebird Nesting Box
Drill Holes
The genuine bee tunnels ( drilled holes ) are create between two spell of wood . This allows you to take them aside for sanding now and cleaning later .
To drill holes , line up two piece in a frailty and practice where they join .
I used a 1/4 - inch drill bit and made each hole as deep as the mo could reach .
Make Registration Marks
After drilling each set of tunnel , line up your drilled pieces with the tunnels aligned and delineate enrolment cross . Write your crisscross at the ends where you did not practise . The frame will conceal them later .
I gave each piece of wood a name ( first row – A , B , C , D , E and second row F , G , H , I , J ) . After exercise each lot of trap , I pull two line of work to make it easy to realine the piece to the tunnels would describe up again .
In the following photo , see slice G and F and the draw lines ? That ’s what I think . Next I cross out G and H. Then H and I. And so on .
Join Us
Sand Everything
I used anorbital sander(Amazon ) to smooth edge , remove any sharp bits of Sir Henry Wood , and make the tunnel nice and smooth .
Build Frame
The bee home is held together using 2.5 - inch screws .
First , make a frame using scrap 2x4s , encasing the tunnel pieces .
Cut each one to the accurate sizing needed by putting the Natalie Wood in place and mark the hope cut line .
Attach in station using 2 shtup at each turning point .
Even with the physique in place the blocks will be slightly wiggly . To fix this , I bestow one shtup into each tunnel block through the shape .
Make a Hanger (Optional)
Decide how you need to hang the building block on your fence or bulwark .
I made a hanger with wire , washers , and woodwind instrument screws like you see below .
To make it really secure , predrill hollow and employ foresighted screws on an angle through the frame , into the fencing .
Hang Bee House in Garden
It ’s normally recommended to hang bee house 3 to 5 - feet above ground in a part - Dominicus location .
Again , ensure it ’s really unattackable in place and will not wiggle or wobble .
Maintenance
As bring up , all artificial ( human - made ) wildlife feeders , houses , and nesting boxes postulate steady sustainment to ascertain they are dependable and beneficial .
The Xerces.org clause in the Resources surgical incision below has wind for maintenance .
If you suspect your bee house is not put up to the well - being of your garden , slay it .
I hope your bees savor the new nursery .
Resources
Is my garden part of a healthy ecosystem?
Here are some finish :
you could readmore ecologic horticulture wind here .
Eco-Beneficial Gardening Books
I recommend these record book because they get nurseryman activated about ecological gardening and the unbelievable family relationship between industrial plant and animals . Our hereafter is in our hand !
1The Pollinator Victory Garden|Kim Eierman| pull ahead the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening ; Attract and Support Bees , Beetles , Butterflies , Bats , and Other Pollinators
2A Garden for the Rusty - Patched Bumblebee : Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators : Ontario and Great Lakes Edition |Lorraine Johnson , Sheila Colla| All the information gardeners need to take action to back and protect pollinators , by creating home ground in yards and community distance , on balcony and boulevards , everywhere !
3The Gardener ’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region|Rick Gray and Shaun Booth| Distills all the data indispensable for develop 150 species of garden - worthy native plants into a single , at - a - glimpse guide .
4Bringing Nature abode : How you may prolong Wildlife with Native Plants |Doug Tallamy
5Garden friend : The Insects , Birds , & Other Animals that Keep Your Garden Beautiful and Thriving |Frederique Lavoipierre
6The Humane Gardener : Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife ( How to make a Sustainable and Ethical Garden that advance Native Wildlife , plant life , and Biodiversity ) |Nancy Lawson
~Melissathe Empress of Dirt ♛
