Rishi from the TheGrowingHome.net explains how to build a Mason bee house. Mason bees pollinate around 20 times more blooms than honey bees do. Building this…
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13 Responses to How to build a Mason bee home for increasing pollination in your garden
question: is it worth it to build such a device if i live in Canada? are those bees exclusive to a specific place in america?
bad example friend. We need to be able to get into these homes to rid the hive of mites and that’s impossible with a solid house. That’s why straws are reeds work so well or even a a house made where each row can be removed.
From what I have learned the holes need to be nearly TWICE as deep to allow more eggs and BETTER PROTECTION to the larvae. I would also like to know how and if you clean the holes each year. I have also learned that drilled wood houses have a live of about 3 to 4 years as they get infected with mites.
@kabrilew I believe they are different, carpenter bees are large, looking like a brownish bumblebee, the males are territorial and will dive bomb you if you approach their nesting hole (though they rarely sting) and are more of a pest since they are destructive to existing structures. Mason bees on the other hand are smaller, look more like a honeybee, and extremely docile. They use existing holes and do not bore their own holes, but create compartments within out of mud.
question: is it worth it to build such a device if i live in Canada? are those bees exclusive to a specific place in america?
Marco St-Pierre
June 10, 2013 at 9:40 pm
bad example friend. We need to be able to get into these homes to rid the hive of mites and that’s impossible with a solid house. That’s why straws are reeds work so well or even a a house made where each row can be removed.
Mark Gailmor
June 10, 2013 at 9:41 pm
Not Good For Mason Bees. You need to have a way to clean out mites, please use tubes and be responsible!!
Samantha Tompkins
June 10, 2013 at 9:46 pm
From what I have learned the holes need to be nearly TWICE as deep to allow more eggs and BETTER PROTECTION to the larvae. I would also like to know how and if you clean the holes each year. I have also learned that drilled wood houses have a live of about 3 to 4 years as they get infected with mites.
IdahoViewing
June 10, 2013 at 10:38 pm
This is wonderful!
s volk
June 10, 2013 at 11:08 pm
Will you need to clean this out or anything later?
czintx
June 10, 2013 at 11:37 pm
sooooo….did it work?
ConcernedMushroom
June 11, 2013 at 12:33 am
Exactly correct! Thank you for the input!
localblu
June 11, 2013 at 1:10 am
@kabrilew I believe they are different, carpenter bees are large, looking like a brownish bumblebee, the males are territorial and will dive bomb you if you approach their nesting hole (though they rarely sting) and are more of a pest since they are destructive to existing structures. Mason bees on the other hand are smaller, look more like a honeybee, and extremely docile. They use existing holes and do not bore their own holes, but create compartments within out of mud.
mrmrlee
June 11, 2013 at 1:42 am
– let us know if it works!
localblu
June 11, 2013 at 1:56 am
A high rise apartment for ghetto bees!
SSanf
June 11, 2013 at 2:11 am
I believe you’re right (at least according to Wikipedia). Cool!
localblu
June 11, 2013 at 3:03 am
I think we call them carpenter bees in the South (North Carolina) and they often burrow in on their own to wood railings & such.
kabrilew
June 11, 2013 at 3:16 am