There a number of good tutorials on the internet on making Mason Bee Houses. In an effort to help our bee population, we decided to give it a go.
What you will need is a wooden frame and anything that either already is hollow, or can be made so.
We used different size bamboo canes, with diameters up to about 1/2 inch. We also used old corn stalks from last summer. They are either hollow already or the bees can easily chew their way in. Pack them in pretty tight.
Consider starting smaller than we did. We underestimated how many canes we would need when we built the frame, so we drilled a few wooden blocks and added a wee bit of whimsy to help fill in the area.
This figurine is of a bird catching a butterfly with a net, a gift from my late mother. So in her honor we set up an old birdbath in her area of the garden and placed the bee house on the basin.
We added dirt to the basin, which will become mud when the spring rain comes. Once we see the nesting is pretty much complete, we’ll cover the basin to be sure there is a safe place for the young ones to land when they emerge.
The area also has lots of fallen leaves. We learned from perusing the internet that different mason bees use either mud or leaves to seal their larva in the hollow opening.
This area is the southeast section of the garden, which is where it is recommended to place the house. We used twine to secure the house to the fence, just to play it safe.
Now we will wait until spring to see what happens. Hopefully the new area will be all a-buzz.
