How to build an insect home

The best time to make an insect home is early autumn, so that the bugs have somewhere to hibernate for the winter.

What you need

You can get creative with these insect homes, as there are no rules. We’ve even got a hot water bottle, an old jumper and a pair of shoes in ours! Here are a few things you might like to use:

Recycled stuff

• Wooden pallets (These are essential – try asking at industrial sites and builders’ yards for free pallets)
• Plastic bottles
• Broken bricks and tiles
• Stone chippings
• Broken plant pots
• Corrugated cardboard
• Drainpipes

Natural materials

• Logs and twigs
• Rotting wood
• Spare rolls of turf
• Dry leaves
• Bark
• Hollow plant stems
• Straw and hay
• Bamboo canes

How to build your insect home

1. Choose a good spot for your insect home

Firstly, because most insects like cool, moist conditions, so a shady area next to a hedge or under the tree works well. Secondly, make sure the home has a firm base, because it will end up quite heavy. Thirdly, choose a spot where the insect home can remain for at least this winter.

2. Create a structure with pallets

Layer old pallets on top of each other as tall as you’d like the insect home to be – ours are around eight pallets high, but five will do. Place any larger pallets at the bottom. Check the pallets don’t wobble; secure each to the one below (with string, wire or pull ties) if you need to.

3. Fill the gaps with other materials

There are no rules as to how you fill the empty pallets, but here are some ideas to attract different insects:

• Dead wood makes a great home for wood-boring beetles, such as the majestic stag beetle, and their larvae. It also supports fungi, which can break down the natural material. Centipedes and woodlice can burrow under the bark.
• Hollow stems, canes, and holes drilled into blocks of wood are all ideal spots for solitary bees to lay their eggs. These bees help pollinate flowers (so helping your plants produce vegetables) in the garden. Because solitary bees like sunny spots, place these on the sunniest side of the insect home.
• Stone and tiles provide lovely cool, moist conditions for frogs and newts. They might be best lower down, on the shadiest side of the insect home.
• Hay and straw give insects a good place to burrow and hibernate.
• Dry leaves provide homes for insects, just like leaf litter on the forest floor. Ladybirds hibernate here over winter – and they’re great for eating aphids in the garden.
• Rotting wood and bark is where beetles, centipedes, spiders and woodlice love to be. Because woodlice and millipedes break down woody plant material, they’re an important part of your garden recycling system.
• Corrugated cardboard rolled up inside a lemonade bottle will attract lacewings, which are really good at eating pests.