bugs

[Holly]

Hello all!

Recently, I've come across a few examples of 'wildlife hotels' – wonderful structures made from pallets that create a variety of habitats for garden wildlife.

I was wondering, does anyone make an effort to encourage useful insects in their garden? How should I go about attracting aphid-guzzling hover flies for example?

And does anyone make an effort to have hibernation quarters for ladybirds and lacewings?

I seems as though there is a real movement towards 'bug hotels' at the moment so I'd be interested to know what you do on your patch...

Thanks very much!

Holly

Your comments may be edited and printed in the November issue of GYO.

[vicky]

I leave the brown dead foliage and dead flower heads on plants such as fennel, sunflowers, echinacea, artichoke, rudbeckia and lots more over winter and don't cut down till march (ish) when it will start to re grow. The dry hollow stems provide a safe place for hibernation for all sorts of bugs (particularly ladybirds). Plus the frost on dead flower heads on a cold sunny winter morning is very beautiful!

[binley100]

I have made a wildlife hotel using pallets , bits of canes, corrugated cardboard etc. Not sure what may be living in it , hopefully the tadpoles grew up and moved in. I've found that french marigolds attract hoverflies in their thousands .

[womble]

Just let a nice big patch of nettles grow, to get beneficial insects you need prey insects! Alot of people don't seem to realise that.
Early nettle aphids will go on your nettle patch and other things will come to eat them.

Alternatively, I can assure you a plum tree absolutely covered in aphids will attract millions and millions of aphids and ladybirds! Unfortunately it will also attract millions of wasps and hornets as well, meaning I couldn't get close to it for weeks!

[Holly]

Yes, I suppose there is a delicate balance of attracting 'helpful' critters and keeping more pesky ones at bay!

Has anyone had fun making bug structures with kids over the school holidays? Or does anyone know of schools that have installed some wildlife accommodation?

[SueA]

I've got a ladybird tower & a couple of bee homes which were given to me as presents & although they look lovely they don't seem to attract the intended occupants, they seem to be full of spiders, slugs & snails but maybe I just haven't spotted the ladybirds & bees. We have leafcutter bees in the garden but I haven't found where they're nesting yet.
I leave piles of logs & prunings under the trees at the bottom of the garden & there seem to be quite a few insects down there & I quite fancy constructing a bug hotel from hollow canes, bricks, pine cones & boards etc.
There were some very nice bug hotels made by children at the Tatton Flower show including one on the display by the school GYO member 'MrsC' teaches at. Photo of it here:-

[SueA]

We also went to the National Wildflower centre at Liverpool a couple of years ago & they had a huge 'bug hotel' wall which included some strange objects such as old computers, shoes, lawnmowers, mugs etc. & had an old bird box in it which was being used by bluetits. If nothing else it looked amazing!

[Holly]

Ah - they do look amazing! I really love the way people are so imaginative with these, it seems like such a good way to use up a bit of clutter for a really good cause... that is assuming they work of course.

Has anyone else found that the wrong kind of visitors set up home in bug hotels?

[gojiberry]

All I seem to get in mine are earwigs and woodlice neither of which I want to encourage. The bumble bees prefered to build a nest in the apex of the shed.

Ian

[zazen999]

Well Holly, I am making one tomorrow so I will be using Sue's pics above for inspiration...got 6 pallets to fill with junk from the garden.

[Holly]

Hi Zazen999,

Have you started making it yet? I'd love to know exactly how you've chosen to make one. Which insects are you particularly hoping to attract? Let us know how it goes...