Making Native Bee and Insect Nests

Native bees such as mason, leafcutter, mining, sweat and bumblebees are just a few of the important and interesting pollinators that you can attract to your garden by providing habitat that can be purely functional, or can double as garden art! Inadvertently attract other insects, and that's okay -- all creatures have their part to play in the ecosystem. Try new things and see what happens.

When constructing native bee nests, we do advise you on two aspects:

1) do your best to use natural materials, found outside, but

2) do not use cedar wood, as it has insecticidal properties (hence the reason it lasts so well in outdoor construction).

Providing habitat (nesting sites) is easy. Reduce or eliminate your use of landscape fabric so that bees may have access to the ground. Remember that mulch laid thick will also interfere with a bee's ability to nest underground. Consider drilling holes in stumps or logs from a felled tree ... allow deadfall to remain where it lands, or artfully arrange it ... collect twigs and branches ... hang bundles of bamboo or hollow shrub stems, ensuring that they are secured stable and not blowing in the wind ... build small gravel or rock piles in sunny locations. Allow a pile of mud to be accessed by the bees who use it. When collecting your natural materials, ensure there is not a native bee or insect nesting there already! If you’d prefer to reclaim rather than gather wood, perhaps there is a college or shop in your neighbourhood that generates wood waste, in the form of small pieces of 2x4 (not pressure treated!). Generally, you can pick this up for free.