skip to main content

Fruit & Orchards

Bee-block hole-size?

16 years ago

I was talking to a local orchard owner near me and he suggested a way to increase pollination and bee numbers in the orchard was to hang blocks of wood in the trees with holes drilled into them. The idea is that the bees would use the holes as nesting cavities (I think) and would therefore be very close to all the blooming fruit trees.

Does anyone do this?

What size holes should I drill in the blocks of wood?

Thanks,

Bart

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

murkwell
16 years ago
I think 5/16" diameter about 6" deep is what I've been told is best for the Orchard Mason Bees in the Pacific NW.

I'm not sure actually in the tree is the best place. The block needs to be somewhere that it won't be jostled by wind or creatures. The eggs are laid directly on top of their food ration and should the egg or larvae fall off they are unable to feed and will die.

I suppose if your trees are large enough that you can firmly attach the blocks they may be OK.
flyboy
16 years ago
To take murky's post a bit further.

5/16th is indeed the recommended size for attracting Mason Orchard Bees. The depth of the hole is somewhat important. Too shallow a hole and you may get nests consisting mostly of male bees and it's the females who are the pollenatin' machines. Also, the experts recommend drilling the holes with a percision drill bit. I think it's called a pilot point bit. It makes a very smooth hole which the bees seem to prefer.

Final point. These nesting blocks need to be anchored. If they move around, the bees will not use them. A lot of people recommend east facing orientation. And also you need to have a supply of mud around for them to use to build their nests.

The best things about these lovely little solitary bees are they are superior pollenators, non-agressive, and will work in colder, drearier weather than regular honey bees, highly desirably for things like cherries, apricots and other early bloomers.

Don
Related Discussions
Bumble Bees drilling holes in cedar shakes?
Q
Comments (2)
If they're bees, they're not Bumblebees. They're more likely Carpenter Bees. The female Carpenter bee will bore a hole about the size you indicated, and about 3/8 to 1/2 inch deep into the wood. At that point, she'll turn 90 degrees and continue boring, parallel to the surface of the wood, for another couple of inches. Within this little wooden cave, she'll lay her eggs. On her way out, she'll seal the hole (to varying degrees) and leave. When her off-spring hatch, they'll bore their way out, leaving the hole open. There's many suggestions on how to keep them at bay and away from the house. The most often heard suggestion is paint. Unpainted wood is an easy target. There are those who swear by paint, saying that painted surfaces keep the bees away. I wouldn't know that from personal experience. The Carpenter bees around here don't seem to mind the paint at all. Try Googling for 'Carpenter Bees' and experiment with the methods of deterent you find. It can be a challenge. Haven't found one that works well, yet.
...See More
Mason/Orchard Bees - any experience? Sources for bees?
Q
Comments (9)
If you spray for carpenter bees, you will kill all the native mason bees you attract to your nesting spaces! So that is something huge to consider. If you have an out building that you do not spray, that might be a consideration - however you will probably still kill off that population. Now is the time to work on changing over your carpenter bee habits. Fill each hole with diatomaceous earth or borax. Then take a dowel and plug each hole up. That will stop new bees from emerging. Spraying in the holes will not totally eliminate the baby bees in there, only the first. There will be several in each hole. After you do that, then you can put up the bee houses for your carpenter bees. It really does work wonderfully well. Each fall, just take your Carpenter Bee houses down and clean out the tubes and kill the baby bees inside if you don't want them. Wash them well to remove bee fermones. Hang them again for next year. It's the existing fermones of baby bees that attract the new adult bees (and the babies also come back as adults) to lay more babies in your house. I had some good luck keeping the bees out by simply regularly washing my home and stopping up bee holes, and removing all mud dauber tubes (after hatching) and using this method for carpenter bees. We did get a lot of them when I moved here.
...See More
concrete block holes
Q
Comments (15)
I have three 24" high raised garden beds made from 8x8x16" cinder block brick. At my request, the landscapers did not do any kind of mortar etc., as I intend to expand their size next year. The holes in the blocks happily grew strawberries, basil, and even a small green bell pepper; I didn't have all the seeds I planned (I killed my seedlings with leggyness et al.) but I think it'll grow anything that isn't too large. As far as getting pushed out of place, my 7 year old and her friends did manage, in walking/playing on them, to move a few top bricks slightly (a few inches) -- I just pushed them back in place, no big deal. Remember they've no mortar whatever, they're just stacked on a strip of 1/4" hardware panel (to keep out moles etc.) and then filled with soil. I wanted to be able to change my mind, change the size, move things if necessary, without being committed to these giant planters, hence the no-mortar thing. We did a square bed, a rectangular bed, and a circular bed (around a stump I want to rot out). The circular doesn't allow me to use the holes in the block because they all lead to open air at some point due to the shape. The others are fine, but unless you are planting something super short (like strawberries), be sure you only plant away from the sun, so you don't shade the bed, or with some space (so you can reach over them into the bed to do stuff). This is the first winter, so we will see how it does over winter. However, I've seen cinderblock in other yards for other reasons and it doesn't seem to fall apart in the cold in this climate (I think it's around -10F zone). This spring once it warms up, my plan is to paint the outside of a bed's blocks with Killz, which is a white paint that will paint over anything (rust, you name it), and then my 7 year old will have a 'garden party' and I'm going to bring in a bunch of kids, have them sit down and paint pictures on the blocks, each of them having half a dozen blocks for their pictures. I thought that would result in a rather unique, fun look for her bed, and a fun party too. Palyne
...See More
Mason bee block
Q
Comments (8)
I have had issues with GW lately failing to email me when subsequent posts to threads come up, so you're not the only one it doesn't like! The mason bees have one generation per year. It makes them so easy to have around. You certainly don't need to bring in the bee cells to your home if that's not your thing. If you don't, there could be several predators that will mine little holes into some of their tubes and attack the developing larvae. Some suggest waiting til fall to bring them in, but if I remember, I just grab the blocks that are filled up and store them in the basement once the adults are no longer visiting the blocks (usually around the beginning of June). Bringing them in greatly reduces the risk of predators. The adults are only out from late March to early June. Once you've got all your planting done for the season, but the end of May early June, then it's time to start to monitor the boxes for adult visitation drop off. Yep, we've certainly had a few bees in the house! If you forget them in the basement, they will emerge by about mid April no matter the temperatures, so you gotta get them outside by the end of March. If a couple do emerge earlier, I put the freshly emerged adults into the refrigerator with a cotton ball soaked in sugar water 2:1 water to sugar. The cold slows them down and the sugar water sustains them for a few days to a few weeks. I then put the entire little box in the fridge until it looks like Mother Nature is cooperating, and providing them with blossoms to visit. To avoid any issues, I try and put the boxes and bee cells out when the flower buds on the fruit trees start to look like they are about to open. I wish I had some pictures of the larval cells. They are like little bullets with mud on either side. As a note, the roofs on the boxes for mason bees are totally not needed, though I think the little workers appreciate a little rain cover. I've seen people stack 2x6 blocks in their yard without any rain cover or roof, and they still keep their bees happy. In the late fall, you can often find folks selling starter mason bee pupal cells on Craigslist and EBay for around 20 bucks. Of course you can purchase them from online sellers as well. I never have had that many blocks where I had a bunch of surplus bee cells, but maybe I'll build a few more boxes this fall to increase the reproduction opportunity next spring. I'm not in it to make money, but I would be willing to donate some starts to someone wanting to give them a try if they produce enough next spring. Zach, as much as you seem to like insects, this little cheap project should be on your to do list! Of course, I'm happy to answer any questions that may come up along the way. Dan
...See More
tcstoehr
16 years ago
Right, do not hang them in the trees. The swaying motion in the wind is no good and bumping against branches is very disturbing to the adults and larvae inside. Getting wet is also no good for several reasons. Attach it to a house or shed or some rain protected spot that cathes some morning or mid day sun if possible. Keep it as close as possible to the trees but 200 feet away is still fine.
I find drilled wood blocks to be difficult for the bees to use cuz theres always splinters and fibers standing up inside the holes, especially after being left outside for some time. I like to use cardboard tubes inserted into cedar and copper structures that I've put together. Bamboo is also fun for this purpose if you can find bamboo with 1/4 - 3/8 diameter interiors. Or drill them out yourself as I have done. See picture below.
murkwell
16 years ago
Those look really nice. What fills the smaller holes?

The cardboard tubes seem expensive to me. Maybe I'm just cheap. I bought a house that is a stack of interlocking plastic trays that can pull apart for cleaning and to inspect and remove the cacoons.
tcstoehr
16 years ago
I get the cardboard tubes for free, and then give them back full of bees. If it wasn't for that, I'd stick to the bamboo pieces.

The small holes, 1/8 inch, are filled by a little wasp that eats aphids. I didn't know if it would work but sure enough I can see little wasps return to these holes with an aphid in their tiny jaws on each trip. It's interesting to see what happens when you drill holes in wood. If you drill it... they will come.
murkwell
16 years ago
Oh, that makes sense tcstoehr,

I probably have some of the progeny of yuor bees flying around in my yard now since I bought mine from the HOS.
jellyman
16 years ago
Bart:

Note that the favorable comments on orchard mason bees come from the Northwest of the country, because that is where they work best. They do not work in the Mid-Atlantic Mid-South, or South of the country, where they quickly die out. I conducted a fairly expensive experiment with them several years ago, buying the tubes, boring redwood blocks, etc., all to no avail.

They are sure right about the 5/16 hole size and depth, and hanging the blocks under the eaves of a shed or other protected place. Go ahead and try them if you like. It will result in the transfer of funds from your pocket to that of an orchard mason bee producer in the Northwest, and that's about all.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Related Stories

DECORATING GUIDES Honeycomb Shapes Are the Bee’s Knees

By Susan Redman

The hexagon is everywhere in nature — in honeycombs, tortoiseshells, snowflakes. Why not replicate it in home design?

GARDENING GUIDES Put Out the Welcome Mat for Leafcutter Bees in Your Garden

By Pollination Press LLC

Provide a diversity of flowering plants from spring through fall for these charismatic native bees, and you won’t be disappointed

EARTH DAY How to Design a Garden for Native Bees

By Debbie Ballentine

Create a garden that not only looks beautiful but also nurtures native bees — and helps other wildlife in the process

EARTH DAY 12 Entertaining ‘Bee-haviors’ of Native Bees

By Debbie Ballentine

The parade of pollinator antics is another reason to create a garden that nurtures native bees

HOUSEKEEPING Quick Fix: How to Patch a Drywall Hole

Dents and dings disappear, leaving your walls looking brand new, with this fix that even a novice can do

DESIGN DICTIONARY Weep Hole

Shedding water and venting air, weep holes are healthy escapes for homes

GARDENING GUIDES Small Carpenter Bees Are Looking for a Home in Your Plant Stems

By Pollination Press LLC

Provide flowers and nesting sites in your garden for this beautiful, tiny, metallic blue wild bee — your plants will thank you

GARDENING GUIDES Invite Mining Bees to Your Garden by Planting Their Favorite Plants

By Pollination Press LLC

Look for mining bees (Andrena) pollinating woodland wildflowers in U.S. gardens this spring

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Gardening for the Bees, and Why It’s a Good Thing

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

When you discover how hard bees work for our food supply, you may never garden without them in mind again

GARDENING GUIDES Welcome Sweat Bees to Your Garden Throughout the Growing Season

By Pollination Press LLC

Look before you swat! These friendly sweat bees will feed on your sweat on a hot summer day, but their main buffet is flowers

Sponsored

More Discussions

Is there any treatment for this?

3

raise the soil level around a grapevine

2

Peach tree dead buds

2

No flowers on my apricot tree?

6

Beginner apple tree initial care

0