Our Webazine JUNE/JULY 2017 | Page 35

eggs. Whether you build them a 5-star hotel, a little bungalow or bach-type dwelling, I promise – they won’t leave

grumpy notes in your guest-book: They’ll be content little tenants happily sharing their space with other bugs.

Here are a couple of additional tips and ideas you might like to use to make their dwelling more welcoming:

Use open-ended plastic bottles (cut to size) to put rolled-up cardboard in – this will stop the cardboard from rotting.

Position in a sheltered area of the garden, away from wind. Some insects prefer a shady, damp spot, but solitary bees will prefer a sunny position – the cold doesn’t suit them.

Wood and bricks with holes are particularly enticing to the insects for crawling into and building nests. Don’t drill completely through the wood – 5mm- and 10mm-deep holes about 2cm apart will be ideal.

To ensure your materials, like bamboo, fit tightly into your compartments, you may want to hot-glue gun some of the pieces into place. But don’t squeeze everything in so tightly that air doesn’t circulate.

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