I have been successful with bats, toads, and mantids in and around my garden...but have never tried mason bees. I have read some of the posts on here and researched alot so I think I am off to a good start.
I am going to start with a fir 4x6" cut to 7" and drill 28 holes in the end on about 3/4" centers. I am using a 5/16" drill bit to make the holes about 6" deep. I will be putting a "roof" that overhangs 1" over the front. Everything I have read says to place the house about 3 feet off the ground and facing South to catch the sun's rays for warmth. I plan to place the house within 6 feet of my vegetable and flower garden.
Attracting them naturally will be my first task, as I am not ready to purchase bees, and I am pretty sure I have spotted quite a few during the Spring and early Summer in my yard.
Am I off to a good start in having an occupied mason bee house?
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Czechmate79
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The way you describe it, it sounds like you are going to be drilling with the grain. It's hard to keep a drill bit going straight that way. You also won't get clean holes; there will be lots of wood fibers in the hole, and the bees don't like that. I would suggest that you glue two pieces of 4x6 together to get the 7 inch depth. You would wind up with a 8x6 nominal (actual dimensions will be 7x5-1/2). Use a non-toxic waterproof glue (I use Titebond II). That way you can drill across the grain. You can clean up any wood fibers in the holes by putting a round file in your drill and clean the holes up that way.
3 feet off the ground is little low. The usual recommendation is 5 feet, but the height is not a critical item, so if 3 feet better suits your needs, that's OK.
You want eastern exposure rather than southern exposure. The idea is to get early morning sun in order for the bees to warm up sooner. Also, with a southern exposure they may get too hot during the middle of the summer.
One of the best places to put a mason bee house is under an over hang on the side of a building. They don't seem to be as attracted to post mounted nests. Wherever you put it, mount it securely; they should never be hung where they can swing in the wind.
As a general guide, you can expect to see mason bees from about 2 weeks before the apples blossom until about 2 weeks after the apple blossoms are done. They are an early bee. Not to worry about your vegetable pollination thougth; you probably have leaf cutter bees in your area, too. They are a later bee, and will also use the same nest block.
Good idea to try to attract the bees that you already have in your area. It's very hard to find mason bees for purchase that are native east of the Rockies. All most all of the mason bees that you see for sale come from west of the Rockies, and they are a different strain that is not really adapted for the east.
Best of luck with your mason bee houses.
3 feet off the ground is little low. The usual recommendation is 5 feet, but the height is not a critical item, so if 3 feet better suits your needs, that's OK.
You want eastern exposure rather than southern exposure. The idea is to get early morning sun in order for the bees to warm up sooner. Also, with a southern exposure they may get too hot during the middle of the summer.
One of the best places to put a mason bee house is under an over hang on the side of a building. They don't seem to be as attracted to post mounted nests. Wherever you put it, mount it securely; they should never be hung where they can swing in the wind.
As a general guide, you can expect to see mason bees from about 2 weeks before the apples blossom until about 2 weeks after the apple blossoms are done. They are an early bee. Not to worry about your vegetable pollination thougth; you probably have leaf cutter bees in your area, too. They are a later bee, and will also use the same nest block.
Good idea to try to attract the bees that you already have in your area. It's very hard to find mason bees for purchase that are native east of the Rockies. All most all of the mason bees that you see for sale come from west of the Rockies, and they are a different strain that is not really adapted for the east.
Best of luck with your mason bee houses.
Last edited by NEWisc on Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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applestar
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You know those DIY IKEA shelves that has predrilled holes on the uprights? I got creative and shortened some of them to fit a design I had in mind and left the pieces by the patio -- some on a bench (18"H) and and others on a fence (5'H). I kind of forgot about them, and about a month later, found most of the holes filled with mud. 
Were those mason bees?
Were those mason bees?
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The Helpful Gardener
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Possibly, but there are several species that cap the hole with mud.applestar wrote:You know those DIY IKEA shelves that has predrilled holes on the uprights? I got creative and shortened some of them to fit a design I had in mind and left the pieces by the patio -- some on a bench (18"H) and and others on a fence (5'H). I kind of forgot about them, and about a month later, found most of the holes filled with mud.
Were those mason bees?
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The Helpful Gardener
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