Build a Minibeast Hotel in Your Garden
Kit List
Ask an adult for help when carrying heavy materials
- Pallets or wooden slats
- 4 bricks
- Old roofing slates / timber / material to make a waterproof roof
- Compass (optional)
Collect up waste biodegradable materials such as:
- Cardboard tubes
- Bricks with holes in
- Bamboo or hollow stems (ask an adult to cut materials to length of the pallet or smaller)
- Bark
- Logs
- Sticks
- Corrugated card
- Straw
- Leaves
- Pinecones
Method
- Collect up as much biodegradable waste material as you can (see list)
- Decide where to build your bug hotel. For the best results place in a partly shaded, sunny area facing South. This will attract solitary bees
- Place 4 bricks at the corners of your hotel and place the pallet on top. Make sure the pallet is sturdy. You may need to dig the bricks slightly into the ground for this
- Stuff the pallet with the largest materials first
- Ensure hollow stems, bamboo or drilled logs are in a South facing sunny section.
- Fill in the smaller gaps with the remaining materials (you may want to leave a slight gap on the base layer to attract hedgehogs!)
- Place the next pallet on top
- Repeat steps 4 – 7 until your hotel is the desired height
- Secure the roofing material to the top, ensuring a slight overhang. We used wire to hold on old roofing tiles
- Wait for minibeasts to move in to your hotel!