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Asked by: Elisabete Anopriev
hobbies and interests beekeepingHow do you attract mason bees to a bee house?
Last Updated: 19th May, 2020
During the early spring months, you can try attracting mason bees by providing nesting tunnels, plenty of bee food, and a mud source. Mason bee houses can be bought or made from wood, thick paper straws, or hollow reeds. My father started his mason bees years ago by making a few wooden nest blocks in one afternoon.
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Likewise, how do you attract and keep mason bees?
To attract mason bees and keep them happy, they need access to a nest, flowers for food, and a mud source. You can easily make a nest yourself, or you can buy one from a gardening store. Choose flowers that have one ring of petals to make pollination easier, and create a hole filled with soil to form a mud source.
what size holes do mason bees like? The ideal hole size for mason bees is 5/16”. We'll drill these 3/8”, and after the liner material is inserted, they will be very close to ideal. For clean holes, use brad point bits.
Herein, where do you put a mason bee house?
The Bee House should be placed against a flat surface and located in an area protected from high winds. The front of the house should have a south or southwest exposure where it will get the most sun in winter to keep bees warm. After bees mate, the female places eggs in the bamboo tubes.
How do you feed mason bees?
If any of the bees (typically the males) hatch early, they will need a food supply to sustain them. A suitable food source is a cotton-ball, soaked in equal parts of sugar and water, inside the container with the cocoons.