The Internet is brimming with killer bee houses. They may be cute, rustic, or modern; but they can turn your backyard into a bee death trap.
The Internet is brimming with bee houses. They may be cute, rustic, or modern; but many are killer bee houses. Some are painted or stained with toxic, high-VOC finishes. These are quite literally bee killers, The second problem is that these finishes may discourage nesting. But that’s just scratching the surface. You will often find these houses filled with bamboo nesting tubes glued in place or pieces of wood with drilled holes. Bamboo is next to impossible to split open for harvesting, and you could never harvest drilled wood blocks. Harvesting is essential to avoid turning your beloved bee house into a bee death trap.
Crown Bees has a wonderful video on these types of bee houses.
Harvesting is essential to successful beekeeping and directly affects the well-being of any bees in the area. You may see success in your first year after installing your killer bee house, but what happens when you fail to harvest and protect your bee cocoons?
Pests and diseases claim squatter’s rights to your bee sanctuary, laying eggs inside bee tubes and cocoons. Their young emerge to feed on your precious bees and introduce diseases and fungi. Surviving bees carry those diseases from flower to flower. Bees raised naturally or in well-maintained bee houses now drag these problems back to their once-clean nests. By the third year, these adorable bee houses have become bee cemeteries.
Most solitary bees nest in the ground, while others nest in hollow stems and holes in dead trees. After nesting season, the stems wither, die, and are unavailable for reuse. The sporadically spaced holes in tree stumps contrast starkly with the veritable buffet provided by closely spaced nesting holes in a backyard bee house. Properly setting up and maintaining your bee house and annually harvesting cocoons ensures your bee habitat remains a safe sanctuary for nesting bees.
So, please. Do create backyard bee habitats—both through natural means and bee houses. Raising bees is like gardening. It is rewarding but requires knowledge and commitment to prevent your yard from becoming a bee death trap!
Kopek, K., & Burd, L. A. (2017, February 1). Pollination in Peril, A systematic status review of North American and Hawaiian native bees. Pollinators in Peril. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
