Bee Hotels: Completing the Habitat

Flowers provide food, but habitat completes the picture. Many native bees and beneficial insects don’t live in hives — they nest in hollow stems, wood cavities, and protected spaces.

Native solitary bees—like mason bees and leafcutter bees—are some of the most efficient pollinators in our gardens. Unlike honeybees, they don’t live in hives or produce honey. Instead, they nest in small cavities and spend their short, gentle lives pollinating the plants we love. Providing a simple bee hotel gives these beneficial insects a safe space to raise their young while greatly increasing pollination in your yard or garden.

A bee hotel provides:

Safe overwintering sites
Nesting areas for solitary bees
Protection from wind, snow, and moisture

With the right materials, proper placement, and a little yearly care, you’ll support the beneficial native bees that quietly do so much good.

Choosing Safe Materials for Your Bee Hotel

The safest and most successful bee hotels are made from natural, breathable materials. The goal is to mimic the hollow stems and burrows bees seek in nature while avoiding moisture buildup, chemicals, or rough surfaces that could harm them.

Good Materials to Use

Untreated hardwood (cedar, maple, birch, oak) drilled with clean, smooth holes.
Replaceable paper liners or paper nesting tubes placed inside larger drilled holes.
Cardboard tubes or natural reed tubes, which are smooth inside and reduce the risk of splintering.
A sloped rooftop to shed rain and keep the interior dry.
A protective finish on the outside using natural oils, waxes, or exterior-safe finishes.

Treating the outside of your bee house with beeswax is perfectly fine. Beeswax is natural, non-toxic, and waterproofs the wood without harmful fumes. The key is that the inside surfaces must remain untreated.

What NOT to Use

Not everything that looks rustic or decorative is actually safe for bees. Some materials absorb moisture, harbor mold, or expose the bees to chemicals. Here are the materials you should avoid:

❌ Do not paint, stain, or seal the inside of holes or tubes.

Bees need raw wood or untreated tube material. They line nests with their own propolis. Anything coated inside—paint, oil, stain, or wax—can prevent that and sometimes even repel them.

❌ Avoid high-VOC paints, stains, or chemical sealants.

Strong-smelling finishes (especially pressure-treated wood) will deter bees or harm the larvae.
Low-VOC exterior finishes are fine on the outside only.

❌ Don’t use chipboard, MDF, or particleboard.

These swell, crumble, and mold quickly once exposed to moisture—ruining the nests inside.

❌ Avoid plastic or glass tubes.

They hold moisture and overheat in the sun. Trapped humidity leads to mold and fungus, which kills developing larvae.

❌ Don’t use pinecones, moss, bark, or similar “filler.”

These look cute but are not used by solitary bees for nesting. They may attract pests instead.

Protecting the Bees From Predators

Even a well-built house needs protection from creatures that love an easy snack.

Use a Front Guard Screen

A hardware cloth barrier (¼ or ½ inch spacing) placed a few inches in front of the hotel. This spacing ensures bees can freely enter but predators cannot reach the tubes.

A barrier protects against:

Birds pecking out larvae
Mice and chipmunks
Raccoons
Parasitic wasps

How to Use a Pollinator Hotel Successfully

Placement Tips

Mount it in a dry, sunny location, ideally facing east or southeast so the morning sun warms the bees.
Place it 3–6 feet high and firmly secured to a building, fence, or post.
Keep it under a small overhang or roof to prevent rain intrusion. You need to protect your hotel from excess moisture.
Surround the area with plenty of early-blooming flowers, water sources, and mud (for mason bees).

Annual Maintenance

Your hotel should be cleaned or the tubes replaced once a year—usually in fall or early winter. Replace paper liners, remove any used tubes, and store viable cocoons safely until spring. This will prevent disease buildup and keep your bee population thriving.

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