Carpenter bee house diy

As I mentioned in my previous post about bees, I am upset about finding dead bees, Valley Carpenter Bees to be specific. It appears other carpenter bee house diy might want them dead and gone or at least off of their property. I hope to offer them sanctuary and welcome them at Hanbury House.

For this project, you can pretty much use any chunk of wood you have lying around. Other than than that, you need a few flat boards, such as shingles, and some board to attach it to. I'm pretty sure the shingles don't actually make the bees want to move in any more than without them, but they make the finished project look kind of cute. I figure the best way to do this is to have your bee house attached to something solid such as a post or tree, although I have seen ones that are meant to hang from something, but that seems like it wouldn't be so good in the wind. You can choose either way, but I go with attaching them to something solid with a backboard. Since you can really get any deeper than what you drill bit can reach, that's about how long the logs should be. Just eyeballing the first one, it pretty much just needs to be cut in half, same as the one to the right, the block to the left being pretty good size already.

Carpenter bee house diy

When it comes to Bee Houses I think most people think of a traditional bee hive with honey bees. However, many bees are not hive bees and prefer solitude. These solitary bees include bees such as Mason, and Leafcutter bees. They like to burrow into wood and prefer solitude. The plan included was no different and is extremely easy to follow. The Bee House was made out scrap pine and cedar wood. The cuts and assembly are extremely easy and this makes it an excellent beginning woodworking project. If you make one of these be sure to post a picture of it over on the WoodLogger Facebook Page. I chose to make my house with four boards across, but you can easily add or subtract more boards to meet your needs. Be sure to adjust your roof to the size you decide on. If you want a set of plans be sure to check out the book I picked up at Amazon. Next up, I glued the four boards using an exterior rated glue. I used clamps to hold in it place until it was dry. Before drilling holes into the boards I drew a grid across all of the boards so that I could space out the holes one inch apart.

I have seen the carpenter bees in my yard but they seem healthy. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

You can attract these super-pollinators by building an easy-peasy DIY bee house. Not to mention their behavior patterns. Most solitary bees are quite docile unless disturbed, and many cannot even sting. So, if all you need is some extra bees, or you want to help promote the pollination patterns in your areas, solitary bees are the way to go. These hiveless bees often occupy the same living spaces.

Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 13 years. Amanda Rose Newton is a pest specialist and horticulture expert, reviewing pest control and gardening content for The Spruce's Cleaning and Gardening Review Board. Her passion for pest control and sustainable gardening allows her to review plant and pest content for best practices and accuracy. She is a professor of Horticulture, an Education Specialist, and a pest specialist. Do-it-yourself beekeeping has gained in popularity as people realize the benefits of bees to our environment.

Carpenter bee house diy

As I mentioned in my previous post about bees, I am upset about finding dead bees, Valley Carpenter Bees to be specific. It appears other folks might want them dead and gone or at least off of their property. I hope to offer them sanctuary and welcome them at Hanbury House. Valley Carpenter Bees are solitary, docile, hardworking, native bees, that spend many hours a day pollinating fruits and vegetables. Because I want to keep the bees around the garden, I decided the the best way to do it was for the kids and I spend an afternoon on a homemade DIY project of making carpenter bee houses out of leftover wood we had lying around. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Although European Honey Bees like community hives, our Bee houses are a series of holes for the carpenter bees to hopefully discover, improve, and make into a nest. I have seen some commercially made bee houses for sale at Amazon and in gardening catalogs. I love learning about insects and try to provide a habitat for a variety of beneficial ones.

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Advertisement Advertisement. Remember, most bees sting because they are either feeling threatened or protecting a colony—and Carpenter bees do not have a colony to protect. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Carpenter bees are your typical busy bee. We have a lot out under the eaves beside our garage but a woodpecker found them recently and I can see that some of them are looking for a home. I have a beehouse in my garden. We all want to protect our homes but not all of us want a destructive solution that can further impact our new population. This article contains incorrect information. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. They are quick to move into a DIY bee home and start their interior decorating asap. Choose a wildflower mix to plant right on top of the sod stack. Other than than that, you need a few flat boards, such as shingles, and some board to attach it to. Please tell us what was incorrect: missing: Your Name:.

The Walled Nursery Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post at no extra cost to you. Thank You for your support.

Just eyeballing the first one, it pretty much just needs to be cut in half, same as the one to the right, the block to the left being pretty good size already. So, be a good host and accommodate your native solitary bees with a DIY bee house. Thanks, Lianne Loading Your answer will be used to improve our content. Before drilling holes into the boards I drew a grid across all of the boards so that I could space out the holes one inch apart. This one is about a half inch in size. I have seen some commercially made bee houses for sale at Amazon and in gardening catalogs. Naturally, I chose not to sand it or do anything special, but that's just me. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Over the years I have learned a lot about insects that are found in California. Send Cancel. We have pileated woodpeckers which increase the hole size by 10x once they discover the larvae. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. I, too, am glad to see a positive site about carpenter bees. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns.