DIY Bee House

I was in Target this week and saw a really cute bee house in the gardening area.  I have a fascination with bees and would love to own more land so I could actually try my hand at bee keeping but in the meantime, I decided to make a DIY bee house for our back yard!

Bee houses are a fun way to become a solitary bee keeper!  While honey bees live in colonies and generally require large complex living spaces, solitary bees like mason bees thrive in modest surroundings and bee houses require very little upkeep.  Solitary bees will nest in small tubes or tunnel and that will become its home for its short life {generally about eleven months} from egg to adult.  They rarely sting and they’re very useful for pollinating fruit crops.

I thought it would be fun to build our own bee hotel and see if we can provide a place for these useful little creatures.

To make this simple bee house, I used a 1×6 board and cut it into two 4 inch long pieces and two 5 inch long pieces.

I also bought a pile of bamboo stakes.  Online garden shops sell small stakes in bulk.

I used my nail gun {affiliate} to attach the pieces of wood together into a square with openings on each side …

… then cut the bamboo stakes to the length of the house.  If the bamboo sticks aren’t dry enough, they may still have a soft center in them.  Use an awl to poke that center out. 

Then place the house on its end with the front facing up and place the bamboo pieces into the house, continuing to add more until all the bamboo pieces are wedged tightly in.

Place the bee house in the yard, preferably near a water source.  I placed mine in a tree but if bees don’t start coming around, I’ll try it on the fence or in another spot.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens with our little backyard bee hotel!

Don’t want to make your own bee house?  Buy a ready made bee house here {affiliate}!

For more ways to draw nature to your yard, be sure to check out these fun ideas for repurposed bird houses …

… and a cedar bird feeder with homemade suet.