Open your own bug hotel

Insects and minibeasts need safe spaces to shelter, hide from predators and raise their young. Follow our step-by-step guide to create your own 5-star hotel and start welcoming your garden critters.

Some materials that work best are:

Pinecones
Leaves
Twigs
Plant pots
Bark
Broken pottery
Toilet roll tubes
Moss
Straw
Hollow bamboo canes
Planks of wood
Old roof tiles
Wood pallets

Step 1: Collect your materials

You can make your bug hotel from any materials in your garden. Or you can collect items while you’re out for a walk in your local park. The best thing about them is that they come in all shapes and sizes so you can design yours to work with the space and natural materials you have.

Step 2: Choose a location

Pick a hotel location that’s cool, damp and has lots of cover to protect it from predators. They work great against a fence or tree trunk.

Step 3: Create a base

Use your larger materials to create a base. You may need a parent or guardian to help with this bit. They could use wooden planks and nails to make it extra sturdy.

Step 4: Start designing your hotel rooms

You can now begin filling your base with different habitats to cater for the different visitors.

Here are a few you could try:

Twig towerblock

Pack them in tightly so they don’t fall out and fill the gaps with leaves. This will attract beetles and spiders.

Pinecone penthouse

Tie a few together using string. Ladybirds love to crawl in and hide in the gaps.

Hollow dens

If you want to attract solitary bees, use bamboo canes. They’ll love the circular spaces and will hibernate here.

Step 5: Final touches

Fill any gaps with your spare materials so that nothing will fall out. If you come back in a week, you should start to see your guests arriving. If your hotel is still empty, try moving it to a different location.