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What You’ll Need: Block of untreated wood 6- to 8-inches long. drill with 5/16-inch drill bit. drill press. water-resistant paper (optional) scrap wood for roof structure or a larger container to insert the bee house into. hardware cloth. staple gun. L brackets or pipe strap.
How deep should a mason bee house be?
Ideally, the hole should be around 8mm (around the width of a pencil) and 3-4 inches deep. The female bee will collect pollen and place it in the hole, then lay her egg, then seal up the development chamber with mud — hence the name mason bee.
How do you attract mason bees to a bee house?
During the early spring months, you can try attracting mason bees by providing nesting tunnels, plenty of bee food, and a mud source. Mason bee houses can be bought or made from wood, thick paper straws, or hollow reeds. My father started his mason bees years ago by making a few wooden nest blocks in one afternoon.
Where should a mason bee house be placed?
The optimal location to hang your mason bee house is 6 to 7 feet off the ground, preferably under an eave of your house, garage, shed or some other shelter. If this is not an option, choose a house design that provides adequate shelter from the elements on its own, like the Beeworks Kit with Bees.
How do you make a simple bee house?
All you need is a wooden box, open on one side, with a sloping roof to deflect rain. Fix it to a sunny fence or wall. Fill it with blocks of wood or small logs into which you have drilled small holes. A variety of solitary bees will use these tunnels as nest sites.
What do you do with a mason bee house in the winter?
Mason bees over winter as pupae.Follow these eight simple steps to give your mason bees the best chance at a thriving population. Step 1: Remove the tubes. Step 2: Remove the cocoons. Step 3: Sorting. Step 4: Bath. Step 5: Selecting. Step 6: Refrigerate your cocoons. Step 7: Wait. Step 8: Release your bees.
When should you put up a bee house?
Put your house out when the blossoms are starting to swell and the chance of frost is low. For Blue Orchard Mason Bees and other spring time bees this is when the temperature exceeds 50*consistently. Bees will emerge 1-14 days after warming up.
What do you feed mason bees?
Mason bees do not make honey. They eat pollen and nectar throughout their lives as they forage. There is no need to create stores of food as the adult bees die before the weather gets cold and the species overwinter as pupae. The pupae will emerge when the weather warms in the spring.
What size holes do mason bees need?
Holes should be drilled at least 5 inches deep. However, holes that are 6 inches or deeper are best for the proper ratio of male to females bees.
How do you take care of a Mason Bee House?
Sometime in October, take your bee house down and put it in an unheated shed or garage so that hungry birds and other critters won’t snack on what’s inside. In early spring, when the first flowers arrive, put the bee box inside a cardboard or plastic container with a small hole cut in the top or side.
How do I attract mason bees to my yard?
Since mason bees rarely sting, they’re great to attract to your garden. You can attract them by building a bee house, placing a mud source nearby, and planting specific flowers. You can buy a bee house or build your own from drinking straws or wooden blocks.
How long do masonry bees nest for?
The sole mission a female mason bee is to lay eggs, and she needs pollen and nectar to begin this process. She can lay between 30-35 eggs in her lifetime, which again is only 4-6 weeks long.
When should I clean my bee hotel?
Any time from October to February is the ideal time clean them as it will be quite obvious which tubes are in use and which are not. The ones where you can see mud or leaves covering the end of the hole are in use and you should leave these ones alone.
Are carpenter bees the same as mason bees?
Mason Bee Characteristics Physically, the mason bee is much smaller than the carpenter bee. They are also fuzzy all over, whereas the defining characteristic of a carpenter bee is their bare, shiny abdomen. Notice the mason bee’s fuzzy abdomen while the carpenter bee’s abdomen is bare and shiny.
Do you have to clean bee houses?
With no cleaning, fungi, debris and parasites tend to build up which can be damaging to the bees. Bring your nest box into an unheated shed or garage during the autumn and winter to protect it from damp and wet weather. If you don’t have either then a porch or any covered area will do.
What direction should a mason bee house face?
The Bee House should be placed against a flat surface and located in an area protected from high winds. The front of the house should have a south or southwest exposure where it will get the most sun in winter to keep bees warm.
Is it too late to put out a mason bee house?
Yes, you can buy the house any time, but bees can only be put out according to their natural lifecycle. That’s when you can buy cocoons — any time between roughly October and January, but you will need to keep them in cold storage until the weather is ready for them to go out.
