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MY YOUNGEST CHILD has a book called Doing Things with Dad which is full of little projects that kids can do with their fathers. She pulls it out whenever she feels the need to gently remind me to spend time with her.
This Father’s Day, it was left on the breakfast table beside a card she made for me. So basically her gift to me was to spend time with her. She’s a smart one.
The project we settled on was to make an insect hotel as a way to encourage more wildlife and biodiversity into the garden – providing beneficial insects with a sheltered winter habitat.
She’s learning about the decline of our insect populations but thankfully she’s also learning about positive things she can do to help (rather than being petrified in to complete inaction, which I guess is how most of society feels about the climate emergency).
I love this sense of purpose in children and I think adults are starting to listen and realise that it’s not enough to be horrified – we have to actually do something.
Things are changing, albeit far too slowly – with people and local authorities starting to think more about re-wilding spaces knowing that we have starved insects of their food and habitats for far too long.
From a food grower’s perspective, encouraging insects in the garden is also a good plan since they play such an important role in the pollination of veg and fruit crops.
They can also bring balance back to your veg patch in terms of natural predators. For example, when your broad beans get an attack of blackfly instead of reaching for the spray you can hang tight and wait for the ladybirds to move in to deal with them.
An insect hotel provides an ideal habitat for all sorts of beneficial insects, particularly solitary bees and wasps that make individual nests for their larvae (as opposed to forming colonies).
The wasps will use two of the great veg patch pests, caterpillars and aphids, to feed their larvae. Insect hotels should also attract ladybirds and lacewings, the latter also being a formidable natural predator of the aphid.
Hibernating insects will hide in the various crevices and holes and bees and wasps will create a mud cap over the holes having laid their eggs.
The result of our two hours together is the contraption you can see in the picture. Our eldest boy was dragged in to help for reconnaissance missions around the garden to gather materials.
A more enjoyable time you simply could not have – an activity with purpose and those you love.
Now we just need to wait for the hotel bookings to start rolling in.
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.
Recipe of the week – new potatoes and egg salad
I harvested some new potatoes this week but was disappointed to find that the spuds are tiny still and need another 2-3 weeks in the soil.
I got around eight to ten little spuds from one plant – not enough for a decent feed, but enough to be the star ingredient in an egg salad which serves 4.
Ingredients
For the dressing
Directions
Bring a pan of water to the boil and lower the eggs into the water carefully.
Cook for seven minutes. Take out the eggs and put them in a bowl of cold water to stop them cooking.
After 10 minutes or so, take the eggs out of the water, crack the shells and peel them. Chop the eggs roughly.
Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pan of cold water and add a little salt.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes, until tender. Drain well and allow the cool. Chop them into bite-sized chunks.
Make the dressing by adding all the ingredients into a jar, pop on a lid and shake well until it has all emulsified.
Finally, get yourself a large bowl and add the eggs, potatoes, tomatoes and chopped spring onion. Season it well with plenty of sea salt and black pepper.
Pour over the dressing and mix well.
Michael Kelly is an author, broadcaster and founder of GIY.
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We need social insect housing !!! NOT more insect hotels.
When will these gardeners learn.
@Mushy Peas: agreed, but we could do with more Air Bee and Bee though
@Mushy Peas: exactly what I was thinking thumbs up on you
@P Quinn: brilliant
@Mushy Peas: Dont think gardeners can build houses for people but they are doing their bit for the ecology. Which is their area.
@Gary Kearney: pffft the Gardeners were never passing the VAT decrease down to the insects. You’re talking nonsense.
Great article.
Inspiring !
I am going to build one in my garden. About 1/4 size or yours but better than nowt!
I would love to see some actual research into how effective these are for increasing insect population in the garden,
@Jenny Hughes: I’d love to know, when all these insect bookings begin in this insect Hotel, how do they pay…?
@Boyne Sharky: They work in your garden for free and kill all the bad insects. Some ladybirds in you garden and the plant eaters are history
@Gary Kearney: really Gary, now that’s interesting, how do I go about getting and keeping ladybirds in and around my potted plants out my back garden?? Any tips would be appreciated,, I’ve lost some fine plants in my war against the aphids, and I’ve heard that the spray isn’t good because it kills all insects including the good ones.
@Gary Kearney: You do realise I was being facetious… right?
@Devilsavocado: if you google ‘bee friendly bug spray’ you’ll come across some recipes to make your own
@James Wallace: done,, I’ll give it a bash.
@Jenny Hughes: yeah , i heard that these were detrimental to bees , as each type of bee needs a specific type of house. Some of the materials used in such houses attract mites which aren’t too great for them .
Better to rewild the grass areas into meadows with pollinators to help them…
@Jenny Hughes: well i turned a small area of our front garden -a former boarder next to a wall – into a wildflower garden over the winter and spring months – i collected wild grass seeds from nearby hedgerows , i collected seeds from various flowers in my garden and scattered them around the area ,i planted sage ,lavender , chives , a buddleia tree , giant daises, buttercups and vetch – let the grasses grow tall and the flowers grow naturally , no cutting back or weeding out – i made insect ‘houses’ out of old logs by drilling holes into them , i left one patch of ground on a slope ,completely bare ,no grass or ground cover and inserted small bits of 1/2 inch poly pie (qualpex) about 2 inch long into the ground to allow for ground nesting bees to use – i found old house bricks at an illegal dump – the type of brick with holes in them for ventilation – stacked in rows of five with a small 10 cm gap between them ,put a layer of earth in the gap and place a second layer of bricks on top cover over with more earth to create another ‘home’. i got some old ‘wind chimes’ from a neighbour – bamboo body with holes in it and with small metal tubes to make the chimes – she was going to throw them out – used the bamboo ‘body’ by capping one end with a small disc of plywood inserted into it- filled it with saw dust (from my workshop table saw) put a string through the top and hung it up on an old bracket that used to be for hanging baskets – the metal tubes were put into an old wooden box i had lying around my workshop -not glued -just pushed in along with bits of hollow bamboo,reeds and grasses ,that was hung on the wall over the wild garden along with the other blocks and things – i also used wood shavings from my workshop to fill small 2 inch off cuts of scrap plastic waste pipe – from a building site next door to me stacke them in a pyramid shape and tie together with hairy string , fill the pipe with wood shavings and hang it on a bracket or put it on a pile of old logs . the area is about 12 ft wide by 18 ft long – it has had little or no maintenance since its construction – the plants /flowers will all self seed and spread to the confines of the area so no need to go buying more . as for results – i now have a colony of ground dwelling bees (non stinging) , a colony of mortar bees living in holes drilled into the wall and in the reclaimed bricks cavities , i have butterflies and moths , hoverflies , and woodlice , worms and beetles – i put a small pond made from a disused pebble pond (2ft diameter plastic tub) sunk into ground level fitted a solar powered fountain to it – this has attracted small green frogs to the garden -something i had not seen in 11 yrs of living here,- i also put up solar lights – only chap ones -(e1.50 in our local ‘deals’ ) . this has added an extra attraction for all sorts of moths and night insects – the rest of my garden has benefitted from all these changes in that i have a lot more flowers and my veg garden is producing brilliant crops – natural pollination and no greenfly ,blackfly or other ‘pests’ . one thing i did learn – move any bird boxs or feeders well away from the wild garden area – i have mine way over in the back garden well away from the natural /wild area . i plan to ‘extend ‘ the area next autumn and i’m already collecting seed heads from the garden for planting . if you really want more information go online to the national biodiversity data centre ‘webpage (www.pollinators.ie) and ask for a copy of their ‘how to’ guide for creating a wildflower garden as part of the all ireland pollinator plan -2015-2020. you might also get the boolets free of charge in your local council offices .
This sort of thing should be taught in school. Every household has got to hep out, make changes and please god stop buying pesticides and weed killers.
The stinging insects are catered for but in the name of inclusivity should we put in a little swing for the swinging insects.
@o’connor: And attract insect compo claims????
@Shakka1244: parasites in the insect hotel??
go to http://www.pollinators.ie -national biodiversity data centre and look up all ireland pollinator plan 2015 -2020 . booklets should also be available in your local council offices . dont use ‘commercial seeds’ to make your wild garden – many of them are chemically treated so as not to produce active seeds, that way you have to go back and buy more each year – try to source natural self seeding plants instead .
Don’t be giving this government any ideas!
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