Do It Yourself Bee House

Have you thought about starting a mason bee hotel or house? Now is the time to make your bee dreams a reality.

Whether you want to build it all yourself, customize and make a house your own or somewhere in between we will give you all the info., tips and tricks you need for an amazing bee house.

DIY- LEVEL CUSTOMIZE:

We stock the perfect size house for any garden and orchard. You can find our options here. Our houses are great on their own but they are also a perfect blank canvas for you to make your bee house your own by customizing it. Paint it your favorite color, add a fun design or quote and enjoy watching your  bees for years to come.

DIY- LEVEL bee house

“Can I paint my bee house?”  is a commonly asked question. The answer is yes… but the smell of paint can deter the bees from nesting in a painted house. To reduce the risk of deterring your bees leave the inside of the bee house unpainted. It is best to paint the house a few months prior to the bees being released so the paint has time to cure and the smell can dissipate.

On this house we used a stencil to trace the shape of a bee and hexagons. Then we painted them with acrylic paints.

DIY- LEVEL bee house
DIY- LEVEL bee house

This house was customized by adhering pennies to the roof like shingles. To duplicate this look start by placing a line of pennies along the bottom of the roof line and work your way up, overlapping the pennies as you go.  We used gorilla glue brand hot glue to adhere the pennies. We recommend using a glue that is non toxic. It is best to customize the house a few months before releasing the bees so the smell of the glue will dissipate.  Alternatively use materials that can be nailed or stapled to your house and there won’t be any chance of an adhesive deterring the bees.

Be creative and find some awesome stuff to adhere to your bee house. Some other fun ideas to try: old tin from a shed, old license plates, broaches/old jewelry, pebbles, etc..

DIY- LEVEL bee house

Customizing your house with a wood burning tool is a fun way to make your house unique. For this house we picked a cute quote and hand drew the design on the house with a pencil. Then we traced the lines with the wood burner tool. We found our tool on sale for less than $10.00

Wood burning is an excellent option because the smell will not bother the bees at all. In fact all of our reed tubes are torched around the openings to get rid of any splinters.

DIY Level Assemble:

DIY- LEVEL bee house

Our mason bee house kit comes neatly packaged with all the pieces required to build a clean modern home for your bees. This size house is perfect for the small orchard of up to 4 fruit trees. We will be getting a leafcutter bee house kit but it isn’t stocked yet. Sign up for our emails to be notified when they come in.

The bee kit comes with a coupon for ordering bees, bees are not included in the kit.

DIY- LEVEL bee house

This kit makes a fun afternoon project for kids to help with. It is a great way to get your kids/grandkids excited about gardening.

DIY- LEVEL bee house

Kids love to get involved with the process. This year we are giving a custom painted bee house to grandma (pictured above).

Bee house

We painted the top piece turquoise with acrylic paint to customize this DIY bee house. It is easier to paint your bee house before you assemble it.

You can purchase your kit here. Directions and a video tutorial can be found here. Additional supplies you will need include: wood glue, a screw or nail for hanging, and paint supplies if you want to customize it.

DIY Level- Total DIY:

This level is a lot more work but can really let your bee mansion dream come to life. A few tips to help you with the design process for your DIY bee house:

 

Bees House

Make sure your bee house is at least seven inches deep. This ensures the bee house will protect the nesting materials. When mounting the bee house angle it slightly down so water  won’t come into the house, having a roof overhang also reduces water pooling.

Bees House

Determine what size to make your bee house by determining how many bees you need for your yard. When starting out plan on having two holes for every bee. Two tubes per bee allows for room to grow your bee population. You can get bees for your house here.

Bees House

Plan on using the best nesting materials. Nesting materials are the primary focus of the bees. If you choose the wrong materials you might have an awesome looking, EMPTY bee house. Find our favorite nesting materials here. To learn more about nesting material options click here.

Wood

Use a material that is natural. Wood is what we use because it is found in the bees natural habitat. Don’t use wood that has been treated with chemicals. Other materials like PVC pipe can be used for an easy DIY bee house but be careful that you aren’t creating a heat box that will cause the bee offspring to over heat and die. We have tried hatching bees from multiple colors of PVC pipe, including, white, black, and clear. The white works best at keeping temperatures low enough for mason bee offspring.

Bees house

DIY Mason Bee House Kit

$59.99

Our DIY Mason Bee House Kit Comes with everything you need.
DIY Mason Bee House
10 mason bees
Bee Safe
We ship through USPS Priority Mail, Monday to Noon on Wednesday.
Special request call or email us at 801-648-9035 Success@masonbeesforsale.com

DIY Mason Bee House Kit

50 Reeds Large

$14.99

Large Reeds about 5/16 inch in diameter, 6 inches long
Use for Mason Bees, Sunflower Bees, Osmia Texana, and Osmia Californica.
More Information on Nesting Material Click Here
We ship through USPS Priority Mail, Monday to Noon on Wednesday. Special request call or email us at 801-648-9035 Success@masonbeesforsale.com

96 Hole Laminate

96 Hole Laminate

$35.99

96 Hole Laminate
Comes with 2 reusable bands
Cardboard backing so light doesn’t come threw the back
Reusable year after year
Used for Mason bees, Sunflower bees, Osmia Californica, and Osmia Texana
Fits in the Deluxe Bee House
More Information on Nesting Material Click Here
We ship through USPS Priority Mail, Monday to Noon on Wednesday. Special request call or email us at 801-648-9035 Success@masonbeesforsale.com