What’s An Insect Hotel?

I knew they existed but didn’t know one was in my neighborhood, just a few houses down. While my husband and I are busy feeding the birds in our yard, our neighbor Tom ensures the birds find more than dried fruits and bird seeds.

Imagine making sure that there are more songbirds in your region again. How about making a meaningful contribution to the environment and only spending a maximum of one afternoon to do so?

I don’t kill spiders and would never harm a bee. I love watching butterflies and I even set stinkbugs free, which somehow every winter find a way into our home. Well, setting them free is perhaps more self-defense than love, because they do smell bad if you smash them -which of course (fingers crossed behind my bag) is only hearsay. But, I don’t murder ladybugs or other crawling insects and I relocate worms into the flowerbeds. Sadly, I have to confess I murdered thousands of ants, perhaps a whole colony with borox and baking powder. And don’t get me started on Mosquitoes. I am prepared for battle 24/7 from head to toe and back. I even have the BUG BITE THING thanks to Shark Tank (which works like a charm) and I use it frequently because one of these bloodsuckers always gets me, no matter how much bug spray and cream I put on myself.

Besides my regular killing sprees, I have no problems with insects, not at all.

I help a few – and murder others. A form of Yin and Yang in the insect world I suppose.

I am all for the environment. The more one side refuses to accept climate change, the more people like me will do everything they can to live environmentally friendly, which includes plants, earth, animals, and animal welfare -and of course, it includes the group we call bugs.

Insect hotels are a great way to support the environment. These are artificially created shelters and serve primarily as a shelter, so insects can nest undisturbed and have a place to hibernate in winter.

In addition, insect hotels are ideal for observing insects in their natural habitat. Contrary to the possibly misleading name, the insects do not only “spend the night” in the insect hotels, but inhabit and care for them independently. Observing this is actually very fascinating.

Types of insect hotels

Wild bees in particular rarely find a nesting site and depend on shelters such as insect hotels. The lacewing, known as golden or pearl eye, also often colonizers in artificial shelters. A wooden box filled with straw is particularly suitable for them. Lacewings hibernate from September to spring, which is why it is so important that they have a safe place.

I was wondering about the different insect chambers, offered in the hotel. Turns out they attract various insects. The above hotel is ideal for hornets. We all know that hornets like to nest in a roller shutter box, an old shed, or an unused shed? On the other hand, the hornet colony can develop optimally with its own nesting box.

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Instructions for an insect hotel

One way to design the insect hotel yourself is to hollow out a clay block or build your own wood frame, in the form of a house, just like Tom. Traditional clay blocks are easy to get, they are available in many craft stores. The hollowed-out tunnels should have a diameter between 1/4 of an inch to 1/2 an inch. Installing play spaces is therefore suitable, as the different preferences of different insect species can be fulfilled in this way.

The classic variant, however, is the lattice brick. Inexpensive to buy, it is ideal for building a nesting aid for wild bees with children.

However, if you decide to use pieces of wood, make sure that the holes are drilled carefully, otherwise, the wood will splinter and nesting insects could injure themselves. You should also decide against softwood, which quickly falls victim to the weather. Instead, hardwood variants such as oak, ash, or birch are excellent.

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This is how the Insect Hotel is set up

Insects are sensitive to weather and need a certain temperature to survive. Therefore, it is advisable to place the different nesting aids that have been made protected from the weather. A modified wooden shelf is suitable for this. To protect the insects from the wind and to warm up the insect hotel faster, you should provide it with a back wall. In addition, it is important to set up a stable rain cover. However, such a roof must be translucent so that the top floors also receive sunlight. You can use plastic sheets, such as polycarbonate, for this purpose.

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Environmental benefits

The interdependencies of plants and insects are equally adaptable and impressive. I remember the year when our tomatoes bloomed but didn’t produce any fruits. There was nothing in our yard to attract bees or other polluting insects, so they didn’t stop by. A lesson learned the hard way.

If you place the insect hotel near an orchard, you are sure to see rapid developments. Insects depend on food sources and will visit the provided plants and sometimes also plants with infested pests. The insects contribute to the ability of the plants in your garden to reproduce through the complex process of transferring pollen. The result is amazing. Your garden will blossom noticeably and be populated by an unusually high number of insects.

Of course, investing in an insect hotel is only one possible step to making a contribution to the environment. In addition, there is an excellent opportunity to support the initiative of the flowering area. Give nature a gift, become a bloomer today, or support one of our other projects to protect the environment by making a donation. Their support promotes independent and regional environmental protection.

And stop spraying chemical pesticide bombs, please.

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