A fun & simple project for you & your kids to take on over the summer holidays! Building your very own insect hotel with your children will help them to learn more about nature and biodiversity.
A very simple insect hotel can be made by drilling holes about 10cm deep into a block of untreated timber. Be sure to vary the diameter of the drilled holes – this will help attract insects of different types and sizes. Fix the block to a sunny wall or fence at least 100cm off the ground.
You can also be a little more elaborate! Taking items such as any old pallets that you may have around, you can saw these in half and stack them on top of each other. Pallets are ideal as they have ready-made compartments that you can fill with materials that insects love, such as; twigs, logs, tin cans, stones, broken plant pots, bricks, old tiles, straw, rolled cardboard etc.
Hollowed out bamboo canes can be cut into short lengths and stuffed into a tin can. We also drilled holes directly into the solid blocks that hold the pallet together.
Top tip!
Create a roof for your hotel to keep the inside dry for the hotel ‘residents’ perhaps by recycling some old slates.
As it is summertime, it may be a while before you have any guests – but you won’t be disappointed come autumn!