About Wild Bee Hotel

Why we started

Bee hotels are sold by the million and most of them never get used. They are drilled at one diameter, made of thin painted softwood or cracked bamboo, roofed in felt that fails in a winter, and left open at the back so parasitic wasps can reach the brood. Gardeners buy them in good faith, hang them up, and nothing ever moves in — or worse, bees nest and the brood dies of damp before spring.

We set out to build the opposite: a hotel where every decision follows from how solitary bees actually behave.

The decisions behind the design

• Tunnels from 2mm to 10mm. Different species need different widths. A range fits many; one size fits almost none.
• Untreated Western red cedar, 19mm walls. No paint or lacquer to deter inspecting females, naturally rot-resistant, and thick enough to buffer temperature swings.
• A hand-formed copper roof. Overhangs on all sides so rain never reaches the nesting face. Copper will not rust or split, and looks better as it ages.
• Hand-sanded interiors. A female enters and leaves her tunnel hundreds of times a season. Rough walls cost her wings.
• A solid rear panel. Parasitic wasps attack brood from behind. A solid back removes that route.
• A heavy-duty steel mount. Rigid on a wall, fence or post — bees reject nest sites that move.

How we sell

Direct only, at £39.99 for a single hotel with free worldwide shipping, and multi-packs for gardens, gifts and allotments. No middle tier of retail margin, and no pressure: you get 30 days to hang it, look at it closely, and send it back for a full refund if it is not what we have described.

Talk to us

Questions about positioning, species or an order are welcome. Write to us on the contact page and a person will answer.