Build your own insect hotel - free building instructions

• Three building instructions
  • Standard Insektenhotel
  • Comfort Insektenhotel
  • First-class Insektenhotel

With an insect hotel, you are truly doing your garden good. Now there are the practical houses of course in various variants ready to buy. However, these are often very expensive, so it is advisable to lend a hand. We show you three great ways to build an insect hotel!

As disturbing as they may be, insects have enormous environmental benefits. For example, wild bees and bumblebees pollinate the flowers of strawberry and cherry trees, while parasitic wasps control aphids and other pests. With an insect hotel in your garden, you can secure the valuable services of the little animals. Just build yourself such a cottage yourself - with our simple instructions for 2-, 3- and 4-star accommodations!

An insect hotel acts as a habitat for various beneficials. In order to provide them with a suitable housing, you must pay more attention to the preparation and installation:

• The surrounding area of ​​the hotel should not only consist of sterile green areas and imported flowering plants, but also have natural trees, shrubs and flowers. Otherwise, the longed for guests will stay away. Also advantageous is a water point within reach, such as bird baths or similar small, shallow bowls.
• All materials used must be absolutely dry, natural and free from pesticides, paint, solvents, wood preservation and impregnation.
• Choose a wind and rain protected as well as full sun location for the finished insect hotel. Orient the entrance opening to the south. Set up the house in February or March before the insects awake from hibernation. And: Leave it out all year round, even in winter.

Three building instructions

Standard Insektenhotel

2 stars for the tin can bamboo dwelling

The easiest way to build an insect hotel is the tin can bamboo combination. Such a dwelling does not necessarily look fancy, but it does its job - the little creatures will feel comfortable. Apart from the fact that you are with this variant both in terms of manufacturing and in terms of cost on the extremely low-effort side.

Materials:

• old tin can
• bamboo sticks
• plaster
• twine
• scissors
• tin opener
• possibly: cotton or cotton wool
• possibly: boring tool

Method:

Step 1: Grab an old tin can, clean it and remove the bottom with a can opener.

Step 2: Then it's time to work on the bamboo sticks. Cut them with scissors, but not too strong. They should look out of the can at the front and back. If you have bamboo poles that are completely open, clog a side with cotton or cotton wool - bees and other insects do not like passage. Maybe you'll have double-ended bars instead. Then of course you have to drill a page, otherwise find the animals no nesting possibilities.

Tip: Bamboo poles are available at a low price in the hardware store.

Step 3: Put some plaster in the tin. In this way, the tubes sit tighter and the likelihood that they fall out, drops significantly.

Step 4: Now is the time to fill the can with the bars. Use so many poles that they support each other and can not roll any of them out.

Step 5: Pull a sturdy twine through the can. With this you attach your just completed standard insect hotel in a suitable place in your garden.

Comfort Insektenhotel

3 stars for the home made of a grid brick

Similarly cheap, but optically a bit more elegant, the insect hotel is made of a simple grid brick - which you can buy at the hardware store. The work steps are logical and simple, so that the construction of this hotel is also a nice option to introduce children to the craft trades.

Materials:

• honeycomb bricks
• grater
• thick wire
• Clay and water (for a clay pudding)
• matching pieces of wood (to push the clay slurry into the openings)
• bamboo tubes
• Nails, knitting needles or round wood (to punch holes in clay)

Method:

Step 1: The openings on the grid tile usually have a very sharp burr, which carries a high risk of injury. For this reason, you should remove it with the help of an old rasp.

Step 2: After you have removed the ridge, you can drill two holes in the brick left and top right with a stone bur. But since the Gitteziegel already has many holes, this does not necessarily have to be done. Be sure to drill the holes so big that the thick wire fits through.

Step 3: Bend the wire and insert its ends into the previously drilled holes or those already in the brick. He serves the suspension of the insect hotel.

Step 4: Mix loam with water to make a tough pulp.

Step 5: Using suitable pieces of wood, press this clay slurry into the holes.

Attention: Leave some holes open. There, in the last step, you can work in bamboo tubes that are preferred by some wild bee species.

Step 6: Pick up nails, knitting needles, or round logs to make holes in the soft clay with a twisting motion. The holes should be about ten inches deep and have a diameter of three to six millimeters.

Note: Push the holes completely through with your chosen aid, otherwise they would partially collapse again when pulling out the utensil (keyword air pump effect). Once you have pushed through all the holes, cover them with clay at the back again. After a few hours, re-work the openings - again with the twisting motion.

Step 7: Now you can cut the bamboo tubes and work them in. In principle, the same applies here as we already wrote at the standard insect hotel. In summary:

a) Cut the rods so that they project a few centimeters into the front and back of the brick.

b) The rear ends must be open to the front.

c) Tubes need a secure hold - pay attention to the size of the holes or rods.

Step 8: Hang up the dwelling at the designated location.

Your 3-star insect hotel is ready!

First-class Insektenhotel

4 stars for the wooden accommodation with extras

The 4-star insect hotel looks very chic, but is also a bit more expensive than the 2 and 3 star accommodations. Our third variant should be adopted only experienced craftsmen who can handle wood and drill well.

Materials:

• old wood residues
• Drills and screws
• Hardwood and hand or circular saw (optional)
• Bamboo sticks (optional)
• hollow or stalked stems (optional)
• thin twigs and secateurs (optional)
• empty snail shells (optional)
• Straw (optional)
• Wood wool (optional)
• Cones (optional)
• dried leaves (optional)
• Bark mulch (optional)

Note: The optional materials are possible fillings. Decide for yourself what you want to equip your insect hotel. We will explain immediately afterwards, which "furniture" which animals especially attract.

Method:

Step 1: Build a house from old wood scraps with several small to medium sized rooms. The larger you design the framework, the more space you have available for the setup. Connect the individual pieces of wood with drills and screws. The exact arrangement and layout is up to you, you are the architect of the first-class insect hotel. Of course the house must be open at the front but closed at the back.

Step 2: Now comes the exciting part - the filling of each room. Below we explain the most important of all the materials that we have listed in the list above. What utensils should it be for you "> Drilled hardwood

Hardwoods are especially popular with bees. Suitable are domestic varieties such as oak, beech and ash. In any case, you should use hardwood and never softwood for your insect hotel. Soft wood does not guarantee insects the necessary safety, as it could be deformed by external influences - such as humidity - and could crush the animals. In contrast, hardwood is very resistant and does not cure so that the bees find an optimal living space. Use a hand or circular saw to cut several hardwood branches to the depth at the insect hotel. Then you have to drill the branches.

Tip: Every wild bee species has different preferences as far as the diameter of their home is concerned. For drilling, use wood drills with diameters between two and ten millimeters. Also, vary the depth of each hole, making sure they are not too close together.

Choose a room in your first-class insect hotel and fill it with the drilled branches. Open spaces can be decorated with smaller branches that have only a single hole.

Bambusstäbchen

You already know how to handle bamboo tubes. Otherwise, just look again at the other two hotels featured in this DIY guide.

Hollow or marrowed stems

Examples of hollow or marrow-containing stems are straws, reeds, elderberries, lilacs or thistles.
Simply cut the stems to the required depth and layer them in your insect hotel.

Empty snail shells

Wild bees also like empty snail shells. These are available in craft shops - online as well as on site. Give a helping of snail shells in one of the rooms.

Thin twigs

While the previous furniture mainly bees be happy, thin butterflies are especially happy about thin twigs.

Arm yourself with pruning shears and search for trees with thin branches less than five millimeters in diameter. Cut them off and clamp (exceptionally) undried into the chosen butterfly tray.

straw

Straw attracts above all earwigs. A very small pack of so-called "strewn straws" is enough to fill a tray. Put the straw loosely in the designated compartment.

spigot

Pine and pine cones also entice earwigs, but also many other insects to stay in your hotel.

excelsior

With wood wool, ladybugs and lacewings can do a lot. Just make sure that the wool is untreated.

Dried foliage

In autumn, hunt for fallen leaves and dry them by placing them on a newspaper in a warm place in your home. Marian and other beetles will thank you.

Tip: In order to make lacewing even more comfortable, you should give the tray a red painted cover and drill in small holes .

bark

Bark mulch can be found in the garden center. A space filled with it is a small paradise for a variety of beetles.

Tip: Rooms with loose materials such as snail shells, straw, cones, leaves or bark mulch should each be provided with a grid - for example made of hare wire.

From the 2- to the 3- to the first-class 4-star accommodation, anything is possible in the creation of an insect hotel. Who wants to do the accommodation quickly and comfortably, opts for the tin can bamboo or the brick variant. For the high demand, we recommend the wooden hotel with its varied filled rooms that attract a variety of animals. In any case, the effort is worthwhile for those who want to cultivate their garden ecologically sensible!

Tips for quick readers:

Standard Insektenhotel

• Fill open tin can with bamboo sticks closed on one side
• Pull the string through the tin and hang up the hotel

Comfort Insektenhotel

• Free grating tiles with a rasp from a sharp burr
• Drill two holes left and right above with a stone drill
• Insert ends of a stable bent wire into the holes
• Mix loam mash and stuff with wood pieces in the holes
• Leave some holes free for bamboo sticks
• Press holes into the clay with nails (turning movement)

First-class Insektenhotel

• Build cottage from old wood leftovers
• Fill sections with drilled hardwood, thin twigs, leaves and other things