How to Make a Bug Hotel

Bugs are necessary for healthy gardens and gardens are great places to learn in and from. In scientific studies, gardening has been shown to reduce stress, alleviate depression, have a calming effect, and stimulate the senses. 

Bug hotels give your bugs a place to hang out and hibernate in during the winter months. If you build it, they will come! Solitary bees (whom, despite their name, fly around in small swarms) like to use hollow stems for the winter. They’ll pack a few members of their group into each hollow stem, and close it up with a little mud to create the perfect place to sleep through the winter months. Ladybugs enjoy nesting in between dry twigs. Other bugs have a variety of preferences, so you need a variety of different materials. 

You will need:

• Bamboo stems (cut to the depth of your box), twigs, sunflower heads (optional), lichen, pinecones, wood shavings, and leaves to attract a variety of bugs
• A large wooden box or crate, you can find these at craft stores
• A drill 
• Garden twine

Directions:

1. Before you get started on the decor for your bug hotel, drill two holes in one of the shorter sides of your box. The holes can be right next to each other but will work better if they are at least 5” apart. They’ll need to be aligned to the center of the side of the box, in order to be able to hang your bug hotel and balance it evenly. 
2. Take 16” of twine and thread it through one of the holes. Tie a knot in the twine in the inside of the box, do the same for the other end of your twine using the second hole. 
3. Pull on the string to make sure that it’s secure and will be able to hang your bug hotel. If you feel like the knots won’t hold, reinforce each of them by adding another knot around the original knots. 
4. Once your structure is ready, you can start adding your materials.
5. Start at one end by laying the cut bamboo stems down so that the holes are facing outwards. Fill a third of the box in this way. 
6. Next, lay a 2-inch-wide pile of twigs across the box and kind of jam them in to make sure that they stay in place.
7. Next, pack the rest of the materials into the remaining space in the box. Keep all of the similar materials together (i.e. keep the pinecones with the pinecones) 
8. When packing the materials in, make sure that they’re tight enough to stay in but not too tight that the bugs can’t get in!
9. Hang your bug hotel in your garden and watch as they start to check-in!

About Stephen’s Place

Stephen’s Place is an independent apartment community for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, located in Vancouver, WA (7 minutes from Portland, OR).

If you have a loved one with developmental or intellectual disabilities, who is looking for a community to live in, please contact us for more information. Stephen’s Place is a private-pay apartment community due to our state-of-the-art amenities and programs. We are a nonprofit and do not profit from our community. We are private pay because we spend more than some housing communities to ensure that our residents are comfortable and can safely live their lives with independence and dignity.