Nature-friendly spaces - making an insect hotel

The basics – making an insect hotel

A very simple insect hotel can be made by drilling holes about 10cm deep into a block of untreated timber. Varying the diameter of the drilled holes will help attract different types and sizes of insects.

Fix the block to a sunny wall or fence at least 100cm off the ground.

Our insect hotel was a little more elaborate, made from a few old pallets that were sawn in half and stacked on top of each other.

Pallets are ideal because they have ready-made compartments that you can stuff full of materials; twigs, logs, tin cans, stones, broken plant pots, bricks, old tiles, straw, rolled cardboard etc.

Hollowed out bamboo canes can be cut into short lengths and stuffed into a tin can. We also drilled holes directly into the solid blocks that hold the pallet together.

Creating a roof for your hotel is a good plan too, as it will keep the insides dry for the hotel residents – we used old slates.

But with it being summertime, it might be a while before insects move in.