Wooden Insect Hotel – Gardener’s Exclusive

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A few days ago the editors were at lunch when one of them got the following text: “UPS just dropped off the Insect Hotel.” The what?

As it turns out, the Insect Hotel is a shelter for insects such as butterflies, solitary bees, lacewings and ladybugs. The Wooden Insect Hotel is an exclusive item available at the Gardener’s Supply Company.

Creating a garden that appeals to beneficial insects is an excellent, natural way to help control insect pests— without the use of pesticides.

It’s also rather marvelous, is in the marvel of it: a “good” garden provides a safe haven for beneficial insects to lay eggs, construct nests, and weather storms.

Insect houses and bee hotels (yes, that’s a thing) attract creatures that contribute to the garden, both in pollination and pest control.

 

Made from fir, plywood, and bamboo, the Insect Hotel comes almost fully assembled. Just plant the 30-inch stake about eight inches into the ground, and screw the, building, onto the stake.

The various openings in the Insect Hotel accommodate all kinds of bugs:

• The bamboo tubes provide places for solitary bees to nest and lay their eggs.
• The vertical slots invites butterflies to roost.
• The horizontal slots are attractive to lacewings.
• And the holes and dried wood chips offer a place for ladybugs to crawl in and rest.

We chose a sunny spot in the RainyDayGarden that is also protected from high winds. Because our soil is kind of rocky, a hole was first dug before inserting the stake. The set up took less than ten minutes.

We are eager to see who will be the first to come and stay at our new AirBnB for bugs! We want urban gardens like ours to happily coexist with all kinds of nature. We don’t use fertilizers or pesticides, and we are always happy to find ways to make it more habitable for the creatures who come to visit the RainyDayGarden.

Links to items mentioned:

• Wooden Insect Hotel with Stake