Mini-Beast Hotel

/

By Mel Evans

If you read our Bug Hunting post then you will know that we love the Mini-Beasts we share the woods with, so logically we have made quite a few Mini-Beast Hotels in our time.

This is a lovely way to connect with nature, improve the habitats offered in your garden and encourage empathy and understanding. Children love making Bug Hotels. The activity offers loose parts play with different tactile materials and a chance to create imaginative small worlds.

Making a Mini-Beast Hotel is really very simple. First you create a structure that will provide shelter and then you fill it with materials the bugs will love. Your hotel can be as big or as small as you like and could even sit on an external window ledge.

67780567_2073706136267438_2366671445615968256_n.jpg

Every Mini-Beast Hotel needs a cute sign.

Below are a few ideas for creating the structure of the Mini-Beast Hotel followed by a list of materials to fill it with.

30222073_1795502930754428_9203235602378522624_n.jpg

This recycled Bug Hotel uses an old plastic milk bottle filled with natural materials.

40045449_1887134041591316_3600985818887356416_n.jpg

Here we cleaved a log into parts, filled the middle and tied them back together.

61076495_2029457337358985_309361701147377664_n.jpg

Roof tiles could be used to give shelter.

14522987_1591966957774694_5066038525467327866_n.jpg

You could use an old plant pot. This one had a piece missing so sat well on the floor.

62067718_10161651830740237_6772047361360265216_n.jpg

This Mini-Beast Hotel used a plant pot with an added roof.

60951821_10161586500640237_666673087202197504_n.jpg

Pallets can be stacked up to make a grand Mini-Beast Hotel.

27540122_2082316831997487_8086360446735991022_n.jpg

This one uses pallets, plant pots and has a roof.

Your residents will generally be happy if there are some cozy spots in the hotel and some dead wood or leaves to eat. Bamboo canes and other hollow stems are great for the Mini-Beasts to hide in and if you are lucky a Solitary Bee might hibernate in one when Winter comes. You can also drill holes into logs to add to the Hotel. Solitary Bees like a hole around 7 or 8 mm in diameter, but a range of sizes will attract a range of creatures. Other things you could add include bark, hay or straw, pine cones, moss, sticks, soil and bits of terracotta pots or tiles. You can fill and replenish the spaces over time and collect things on walks, making this a lovely ongoing family project.