You’ve bought the bee hotel, hung it up, and… crickets. Not literally – hopefully – but no bees either. Don’t worry, you haven’t been stood up; you probably just need to sweeten the deal. Here’s how to turn your empty bee hotel into a fully booked one.
1. Location, Location, Pollination
Bees want a south or south-east facing spot that catches sun from around 10am – warmth tells them when to wake up and get to work. Mount it 1-1.5 metres off the ground, away from foliage blocking the entrance, and fix it firmly to a wall or fence with screws or nails. Bees are famously bad at landing, so a hotel that swings in the wind is basically a moving target – and eggs get crushed if it sways too much.
Woodpeckers and other birds have learned that bee hotels are a buffet, and they’ll happily peck tubes open over winter to get at the grubs inside. Protect your guests with a simple wire mesh screen (the hole sizing about 19x19mm to comfortably fit solitary bees) fixed a 5 to 10 centimetres in front of the tubes – wide enough for bees to pass through, too narrow for beaks.
2. Give the Neighbourhood a Reason to Move In
Even the swankiest hotel is a hard sell with no restaurant nearby. Plant bee-friendly flowers underneath – a mix that flowers across the season gives a steady supply of pollen and nectar. Think lavender and borage in summer, crocus and primrose in spring, sedum and ivy come autumn and winter honeysuckle and mahonia flower even in the cold snap – a rolling buffet keeps guests checking in all year.
Primrose
Borage
Winter honeysuckle
Sedum
Different guests have different tastes. Leafcutter bees love a rose bush nearby – they neatly snip circular pieces from the leaves to line their nests. Mason bees need bare, damp soil or clay close by to seal up their tube entrances, so leave a patch of exposed earth or a small mud tray within reach.
No garden to speak of? Scatter some wildflower seed balls nearby the entrance on the ground or in a pot. Build it, and feed it, and they will come.
Bees get thirsty too! A shallow dish of water with pebbles or marbles poking above the surface gives them a safe place to land and drink without drowning. Top it up regularly, especially in hot weather, and place it near the hotel so it’s a one stop shop for food, water, and lodging.
3. Check the Room Specs
Solitary bees (mason, leafcutter, yellow-faced) are fussy guests. Good tubes should be:
- 150mm long, so females can be laid safely at the back and males near the front
- 3-12mm in diameter, so all types of solitary bee species can comfortably fit in
- Clean, smooth, and crack-free – splintered ends can shred delicate wings
- Sheltered from rain under an overhang, since damp tubes turn mouldy fast
Approximately every one to two years the tunnels will need to be replaced with fresh new ones. This will help prevent the build-up of fungus, mould and parasites and give your hotel a little spruce!
4. Bee Patient
This is the one everyone skips. Bees may not check in during year one. It can take a full season or two before word gets around your area that rooms are ready. You’ll know they’ve arrived when tube entrances get sealed with mud or leaves – that’s a “do not disturb” sign.
5. Skip the Pesticides
Nothing kills a booking faster than chemical warfare next door. Avoid using pesticides and herbicides near the hotel – they don’t just deter bees, they can harm the ones that do show up.
6. Full House: The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy
Don’t be alarmed if your bee hotel picks up other tenants. Spiders help by eating flies and mites that could otherwise harm your bees. Lacewings feed on aphids, keeping nearby plants healthy. Ladybirds do the same, and often shelter in the same nooks over winter. Most guests mind their own business and cause no harm.
A few, though, that aren’t so welcome. Houseflies and small drosophila-type flies (such as the Cacoxenus indigator) lay eggs in the bees’ pollen stores, and their larvae outcompete or kill the bee grubs – remove and replace any tube with fly activity. Mould (fuzzy grey or white growth) means damp got in and can kill developing larvae – clear out affected tubes. Mites clustering at entrances can weaken or kill bees in heavy numbers – remove and replace badly affected tubes. A quick seasonal check keeps the good guests safe from the bad.
Ready, Set, Bee-come a Host
Give your bee hotel the right spot, a nearby buffet, decent-sized clean rooms, and a little patience, and you’ll go from vacant to fully booked before you know it. Every guest that check in – bee, ladybird, or lacewing – is a sign your garden is doing exactly what it should: supporting the pollinators and wildlife that need it most.
We hope this has helped you turn your bee hotel into a five-star destination. If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you.
Happy hosting! 🐝
Written by Mika Daryadoust
