Bee boxes: Good idea or not?

[Herbsandveg]

I'd quite like to attract bees into the garden, and would consider investing in a 'bee box' if I thought they might possibly. I'm growing quite a few veg as suggested in James Wong's 'Homegrown Revolution' book, and it was he that I got the idea from, so I'm surprised that a man of his experience could recommend something which all the reports I've read are of the conclusion that they simply fail to work in almost every case.

Could anyone suggest a good alternative if the reports are true that the boxes don't work...

[purplekat]

Bee boxes seem to have very low uptake but you can attract plenty of bees just by having some flowering plants nearby. James Wong is very experienced in some fields, but I would suggest he's added the idea of bee boxes to his book as a nice idea rather than something he has great experience of.

Chives are a fantastic bee plant and edible too, as are raspberries; apple, pear, plum and cherry trees; or most herbs. Comfrey was probably the best bee attractant in my garden last year. The trouble with bees is individual bees forage on the same plant for days, if not weeks at a time (will visit all the apple trees in the area rather than all the flowering plants in one garden) so to pollinate your veg, there will have to be other similar veg plants in the area.
However, if they are already in your garden feeding on one type of flower, you will already be on their flightpath and map of the world for when they move onto the next type, increasing the chance that they will feed on other plants in your garden.

[roitelet]

Don't know about bee boxes but every small hole in the windows and doors, put there for drainage, becomes a bee home even OH's bycycle pump! Every autumn I have to clear the holes or we get an internal flood. Perhaps some bits of wood or log with holes drilled in them would work, cheaper too. Anything that attracts or provides shelter for benifical insects is a good thing. If the bees don't use the holes something else will.

[dogsbody]

I have the Oxford Bee House for pollinating non-swarming red / blue mason bees from CJ Wildbirds - it was so popular last year that I ended up using the spare tubes I had in a soup can hung underneathe the original and that was filled too. They are both currently hibernating in the garage ready to come out again mid march. I would suggest investing in the house and bracket once but refills and soup cans do work just as well.

[veggiechicken]

Hello herbsandveg and welcome! Here are some simple instructions on how to make a beebox http://www.devon.gov.uk/ndccs-beebox.pdf
I have lots of bee and insect friendly plants in the garden, as well as wood piles and unmanaged areas and there are always bees around.

[catbasket]

... all the reports I've read are of the conclusion that they simply fail to work in almost every case.

Some of the purchased boxes can have incorrectly sized holes, but my home made ones have been hugely popular the last two years. Last year's box filled so quickly I had to drill extra holes -

May 25th and June 1st -


A tip - it's not the cold that kills the young bees during winter, it's the wetness from all the winter rain. It's a good idea to move your bee box into somewhere sheltered like an unheated shed for the winter months, putting it back in position for early spring.

[Kirk]

Which of the 2 options do you mean?

You can make a brick type box for bumble bees fairly easily, made a few and placed them around but they didn't seem to get used. Equally I may well have not put them in a reasonable position. Can put down upturned flower pots that may be used - try bumblebee.org

The other is a box of small tubes into which solitary bees (red mason bee) lay their eggs which then hatch.

Both seem to be talked about here.

[purplekat]

I was replying about bumblebees, I forgot about the lovely mason bees, they're meant to be good for pollinating and a lot easier to get to nest if you have a sunny wall. Certainly look into making some nesting tubes for those

[catbasket]

And I forgot about bumblebees! Probably because I've not tried making a bumblebee nest as I've read the take-up can be very low.

Maybe that's the cause of the confusion - the OP has read about bumblebees and artificial nests but James Wong is talking about nest tubes for solitary bees?

[This thread reminded me to put the bee box back up on the wall. It's now basking in the February sun ]

[Two_Sheds]

We had bumblebees nesting in an old bird box

red tailed bee nest - YouTube

[purplekat]

I've never heard of Red Tailed nesting in a bird box, only Tree bees.

Probably worth sending a link to that video to
Welcome to BWARS | BWARS

or
Bumblebee Conservation Trust

I'm sure they would be interested in seeing it

[Two_Sheds]

Go on then, you're welcome to: I haven't the time

[Lucymouse]

Hi I'm new to your site but I have some pretty bees I've noticed going in and out from under my patio I don't want to hurt them do you think a bee box would help them? Thanks for reading x x

[Compo72]

I just bought a bee box last week from the garden centre .
Unsure whether it will attract the bees .

We only moved here late last year . What I have noticed this summer .
Is the different species of bees . That seem attracted to the fox gloves and geraniums .

Hence I'm keen to encourage bees into the garden as much as possible

[Madasafish]

I am a bee swarm collector and this year I have had 5 calls - all for bumble bees in small bird boxes. Mostly I tell callers to leave them as they will die out in autumn.

Be aware there is a bumble bee - the tree bumble bombus hypnorum - which loves bird boxes . BUT it has always 3-4 guard bees flying around on sentry duty and if disturbed can become quite aggressive and sting.

I relocated one nest to our garden on Thursday as the house owner was expecting visitors subject to Anaphylactic Shock if bitten.

So beware: not all bumbles are harmless . Last year I (suited up) moved another nest in a bird box. In a garden with kids they had become very aggressive and stung anyone who approached within 10 meters. At the bottom of our garden they were left alone and were fine.

So If you place bird boxes or bee boxes in the garden be aware of the potential problem and my advice is to site them well away from kids play areas and doors..

Edit

We have planted our garden with bee friendly plants over the past 10 years. Apart from our own bees, we have about 6 or 7 types of bumble bee foraging on plants ..

(We also have several wasps nests but that is a different story)