Bug, bird and bat boxes question

[fruit&vegvirgin]

is there anyway to attract beasties to use these things? we have one existing birdbox which gets used every year, and a bat box which I dont think is used. have just added another bird box and a bug house, but do I need to do anything to attract creatures into them or will they just find them?

[catbud]

Make sure they are sheltered and 'hidden' so that the "beasties" feel safe.

[eskymo]

We put a bee box out this year but I think we put it out too late as there are no bees in resdence. So we're just going to leave it out and hope for better luck next year. We've planted tons of wildflower mixes at the back of the garden around the pond and near the beebox and so hopefully that will help.

[SueA]

FVV, you can buy ladybird attractant which is a powder which you mix with water & smear onto the bug house or plants nearby. I just bought some from the Harrogate flower show,it cost £2.99, but I haven't tried it yet,You can buy it from some pet stores & suppliers of ladybird/bug houses.You could also try mixing sugar & water & smearing it onto the bug house as this would attract butterflies & bees. Just got 2 bee houses this year & am trying to attract something to them. Also lots of nectar rich plants should attract bugs etc. but I don't think they will use the houses until Autumn as I think they're mainly for overwintering in except some of the bee ones which may be used as nests.

[fruit&vegvirgin]

ah, didnt realise they used them for overwintering (insects I mean)! we have lots and lots of nectar plants and are usually pretty rich in insect life, I just wanted to give them a bit of a helping hand. I've got a butterfly house somewhere too I think, so will dig that out and try the sugar/water trick.

as for the birds - ungrateful beasts, I feed them all year, give them boxes, they treat the place like a hotel, but to date I've never seen one eating an aphid which I thought the bluetits were meant to do. I do like seeing a thrush with a snail though!

[smallblueplanet]

Sue - I've read about 'honey and water' being taken successfully by early bees (ones about before any nectar), try that instead of sugar?

[SueA]

FVV.The bluetits eat the greenfly off my climbing roses but as we only have 2 of them who regularly visit they don't always keep the aphid population down enough. I've just smeared some of the ladybird food/attractant only their 'house' to see if that works-it smelt a bit like beef-no idea what it is , probably powdered aphid? Used my fingers, but washed them after!
SBP. I might try honey & water instead of sugar- it's makes sense when you think about it.

[fruit&vegvirgin]

powdered aphid is a horrible thought. except of course it also means dead aphids, which is good. except then, what do the bug eaters eat??
blimey, it does get complicated when you start thinking about it!

[eskymo]

We got the bee box as they're supposed to attract bees in spring - mainly a queen, who will nest in it and create a mini colony - not honey bees though so it's not like a hive. You are supposed to attract a queen into it using Honey but I think we times it wrong and put the box out too late in the year...so hoping for next year instead.

My partner is an artist and is doing lots of research into bees at the moment for a piece of work, so i got him a bee box for his birthday - he was planning on recording the sound of the bees within the box, but no bees nested.

[Alice]

My garden is full of bees - all kinds of bees. We have little orange coloured bees (no sripes) we call cuckoo bees but don't know if that is a real name. anybody know anything about them? We have loads of bumble bees but today for the very first time I saw an orange bee (no stripes) the size of a bumble bee. Anybody any idea what kind.

[SueA]

We have big fat ginger bumble bees, red-tailed & white-tailed & lots of small bees but I don't know what they are all called. I would love one of those big glossy books listing them all but they always seem to be about £20-£25 which is a bit much !

[smallblueplanet]

Sue - did you see this link to id-ing bbees?

Bumblebee id link

esky - checkout the link page 3 - videos of bbees choosing a nest

bumblebee nests

[blackkitty]

WE have a ladybird box which came with some of that attractant, it seems to have worked as we have loads of ladybirds in the garden around it.

[fruit&vegvirgin]

weird question, but does anyone know if ladybirds have sex???!!!! only I have just seen 2 which appeared to be doing exactly that, but it seems a most unlikely event to me. I thought they laid eggs or something?

[shine388]

are you sure it wasn't giving the other one a piggy back?