Have you heard about Bug Hotels?
An insect hotel, also known as a bug hotel or insect
house, is a manmade structure created to provide shelter for insects.
They can come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the specific
purpose or specific insect it is catered to.
I recently attended the Eau Claire Garden Expo. The featured speaker gave a demonstration on a bug hotel that was built by a student of hers.
You may be wondering why on earth do we need to have Bug Hotels in our back yards? Most of us do not like bugs! Ah, but bugs have a reason to be here too. Many bugs are beneficial to our gardens. The decline in bee population is a true thing.. having a small bug hotel can help.
Beneficial insects need love too
Many of your garden’s pollinators are solitary insects like butterflies, moths, ladybugs
and solitary bees. These insects do not live in colonies and must find a
warm, dry space to build their nests and to hibernate over the winter.
The decline in bee populations has been in the news for the last few
years. With their numbers dropping around the world, these insects could
be our garden’s next best friends.Click here for more information.. Natural Living Ideas
The bug hotel I saw at the Garden Expo will have crab grass growing on the roof top.
Another peek at the Bug Hotel.
Ideas to fill your bug hotel with..
dry logs
cardboard rolls
dry leaves
bamboo poles
straw
twigs
We plan on building a Bug Hotel to set out in the back yard this Spring.
To be continued..
These are so cool!! I"m not a fan of bugs but I know they can be beneficial to our gardens. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOkay Carla, that is pretty darn interesting. I've never heard of such and the only bug hotels I've ever seen were the ones where "roaches check in but they don't check out"...LOL I hate bugs but I know they are beneficial to soil and help keep things in balance. I can't wait to see yours and see how it works! Love and hugs! Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteFascinating! We have a over two acres of forest in our back garden that we keep as natural as possible. We've been thinking of starting a compost heap, but now I want to create a bug hotel village. Ha ha!
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about having a bug hotel. It's really cute and very interesting!
ReplyDeleteYour bug hotel sound cool but I would prefer having a bee hotel only. They sell bees and bug houses as well as butterfly houses in the seed catalogue. I'm not a fan of bugs either but I know they have their place in our garden but we had an over population
ReplyDeleteof earwigs and in only one night they destroyed a whole tray of marigold. They left big holes in my Clematis. and other flowers. I have used corrugated cardboard as trap but still they were too many to control. Last year, the flood took care of the over population so I think nature took care of that problem. I wish people didn't sprayed chemical on their lawn that harms the bees.
I have lots of flowers in my yard that attract bees so I hope I'm doing my share to support them.
Have a lovely weekend.
Hugs, Julia
This is pretty awesome Carla. I usually buy lady bugs to put in my garden to help each year. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday.
Kris
I have never heard of this, oh my GOSH!! It is almost unbelievable. I did think right away of the beneficial insects like ladybugs and praying mantis. What is the plural of mantis anyway, manti? Anyway, I have arachnophobia, and could never do this. Because I am sure some very bad neighbors would move in, too. But it is so interesting! I wish you great luck, and look forward to watching this project, from miles away and safe behind my computer screen! Maybe I will get to see ll kinds of strange critters.
ReplyDeleteThey are nifty and attractive, too. The only issue with them is that they need to be cleaned regularly to avoid spreading diseases among the insects. If you're willing to clean them, they're great. I opt for leaving stems of plants and a few piles of leaves in the garden over the winter, and then doing an annual garden clean up. It seems easier to me. But there are so many ways we can help the insects...including gardening and including native plants! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL- Just when you think you have seen and heard of everything. LOL I am not crazy about bugs but it does make sense...as long as we are not harboring bed bugs I am okay. Happy Snowy WI weekend, Carla. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I think I could package up some Florida bugs to send you...not sure they would all be good and beneficial though! lol Hugs!
ReplyDeleteAdorable...but I wouldn't want one in my house! When we're kids we love bugs, keep them in jars and name them. I often wonder when the adoration goes away...
ReplyDeleteI think if I had a bigger garden and the hotel could be right at the bottom of it I'd be game but I'd be worried about transferring bugs indoors. Will be interested to see how you get on and agree that it's important to protect our insect friends.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting!
ReplyDelete