Create an insect hotel in your garden

THE biodiversity is on everyone’s mind and insect hotels are a very effective way to create them in your garden.

Don’t be afraid when we talk about insects, they are not harmful to your plants, on the contrary. They are necessary to pollinate fruit trees for example or eat other insects which are harmful (the best known case is that of the ladybug which feeds on aphids). In this case we are talking about auxiliary insects.

But it is still necessary attract them to your garden et allow them to survive through the winter. Here’s what insect houses are for and here’s how to build one yourself.

Choose the right location

Before we talk about building your insect shelter, you first need to determine its location. In fact, depending on where it is located, you will be able to do so determine the maximum size of the one.

To be useful, an insect hotel must be facing south : you will have an open part, the one facing the sun, and a lower part that will be closed to protect from wind and weather (in addition to the roof obviously).

It should not be at ground levelTo avoid drowning in heavy rain or being attacked by animals, raise your construction by about thirty centimeters.

Finally, it must be near flowering plants that the hosted insects will pollinate or on which the parasites will eat.

The modules

If you’ve ever looked at insect shelters, you’ll have noticed thisThey are available in all sizeswith one module (a box) for the smallest ones, almost ten for the large structures.

Actually, each module made with different materials will attract different insectsit’s up to you to see if you prefer (and if you have the space) a construction that brings together several modules or, on the contrary, if you prefer to have several small shelters scattered around your garden.

I could tell you for each module what types of insects it will attract, but that would be quite technical and sometimes it’s not always the desired insect that takes up residence there (but in all cases it’s useful). So I prefer to advise you to create several, to attract as many different species as possible and therefore promote the ecology and good health of your garden.

You can create forms with:

• AND bundle of marrow stems (soft interior): elderberry, bramble, buddleia…
• AND bundle of hollow stems of which you will have to seal one of the ends (the rear one) with earth.
• A trunk with holes of different diameters.
• A perforated box full of dead leaves or newspaper.
• Del wooden planks arranged parallel and spaced 0.5 cm apart (or by extension, a perforated brick, with, if the spaces are large, straw).
• You can also use pine conesbundles of twigs, straw… If you use natural materials, there’s a good chance it will serve as shelter!

Since it is all natural, it will degrade over time. You must therefore remember to renew the contents of the modules and clean them from time to time.

Assembly

The construction itself is quite simple. We have to create a wooden structure a bit like a birdhouse, adapting the dimensions to your wishes.

Then it is necessary create boxes for each module.

I remind you that the bottom of the shelter must be closed, and the front part will face south.

Since the goal is to attract biodiversity and therefore respect nature, it is necessary avoid chemically treated wood. Prefer a European and naturally rot-proof species such as larch or chestnut.

For the roofyou can leave the wood bare if it is very resistant (very hard), or cover it with a sheet of slate. Again, avoid a waterproof tarpaulin which is rarely natural!

If you are worried about items on your forms falling (e.g. pine cones) or your dog or cat getting scratched, add a fence to the open portion.

Last piece of advice, avoid chemical treatments in your garden, it would still be a shame to attract insects and then kill them!

To complete my observations, here are some insect hotel photos that will give you ideas!

Now, are you ready to create a shed like these in your backyard?

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