DIY Bee House

By Staff
Published on June 9, 2016
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Make bees of all stripes at home in your yard with an easy-to-make clay bee house.

While scientists debate the many potential (and likely conflated) issues to blame for the loss of our pollinators, nearly all agree that habitat loss is a major factor. By encouraging bee populations in our own backyards, we can help combat this pollinator crisis. Planting flowers that encourage bee activity is one way to help (learn how in Drought-Tolerant Pollinator Plants). Another is creating a backyard bee house.

Bee houses are different from hives, and encourage a more diverse bee population. Bees come in a variety of shapes, sizes and habitat types. Miner bees burrow underground. Carpenter bees make homes in dead trees and stems. The mason bee is known for building beautiful nests that incorporate flower petals and snail shells, and is particularly well-suited to pollinating fruit crops.

Some bees, called solitary bees, don’t even live in colonies. Creating a home for solitary bees in your yard is a simple process that requires only a few easily found materials. Encourage pollination in your yard and help the earth at the same time by building a friendly spot for bees to thrive. Your garden (and the bees) will thank you for it.

Mimicking natural holes in bare earth, a clay bee house is robust and long-lasting. Use traditional or air-hardening potter’s clay or heavy, clay-rich garden soil, but avoid polymer modeling clay, which contains potentially harmful chemicals.

What You’ll Need:

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