How to Make an Insect Hotel From an Old Drawer

Here's how to make an insect hotel, recycled from an old drawer to attract wildlife, such as bugs and bees for a more productive garden. You can also find a set of free insect hotel plans if you're building it from scratch.

Recently I teamed up with Alan Titchmarsh and David Domoney on ITV's Love Your Weekend TV show on creating insect houses for the garden.

I was asked to design something easy and low cost that anyone can make at home. The trouble is, there are so many bug hotel ideas out there, I wanted to make all of them.

But something I'm always interested in exploring, as you'll find out over the coming weeks, are upcycled drawers ideas.

Recycle Old Dresser Drawers

We all have, know of, or can find second hand, locally, an old dresser drawer that's dying to be repurposed. And the nature of drawers is that half of a wooden insect hotel is already made as it offers a box shape that doesn't need building.

They also have a backboard or base, making them the perfect design we can fill to make an insect house. And whatever drawer you find, you can make a small or large insect hotel. Or, even several hotels! You could even make it solely a bee hotel if you wanted.

All you need to worry about it giving your residing creepy crawlies and any other different species, some dry shelter. Also, if you don't have an old drawer, you could even use wooden pallets or wood offcuts instead.

Why Have an Insect Hotel?

Now, I'm not going to tell you I know all the benefits as to what do insect hotels do. You can read David Domoney's complete guide to making an insect hotel here and their importance.

But, what I did learn on the day is that many insects have a role of eating other pests that may be lingering in your garden. It also encourages plants being pollinated and birds.

However, one key question I had was, is it a good idea to have a birdhouse in a bug hotel? *Note, there's quite a few for sale on Amazon that would make you think otherwise. And as cute as they look, David said it would be counterproductive and essentially like creating a buffet for a bird.

Side note: It doesn't have to be a bee and insect house. There's nothing stopping you re-purposing an old drawer solely for a bird's nest box!

Equipment I Used

• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Hand saw
• Compact saw
• Glue gun
• Glue gun sticks
• Impact driver
• Combi drill
• A range of drill bit sizes
• Wood screws
• Roof felt *offcut from my how to build a chicken coop project
• Galvanised mesh or chicken wire *offcut from my how to build a chicken coop project
• Stapler
• Materials from the list below

What Materials Can I Fill My Insect Hotel With?

I'll give you a heads up: all of the natural materials I used to create nesting or bee house compartments didn't cost me a penny. To home your insects, it's easy to find things while out and about and get the family hunting together on supplies.

And, what to put in an insect hotel is up to you and what you want to attract. For example:

Offcuts of wood:

Solitary bees, such as mason bees, mining bees and leaf cutters, don't live in hives like honeybees. With that in mind, you can use offcuts of wood to drill 2-8mm holes on the grain side. And ideally at least 4 inches deep.
*While doing research, some people said bees don't like living in holes that are drilled against the grain.

Old dowels or broom handles:

Being a carpenter in training, I'm inundated with offcuts as above. I also had lots of old dowel from previous projects. It's easy to underestimate how much you may need to fill an insect house, but it's simple to cut, glue gun together and drill holes for bees.

Twigs, branches and logs:

Similar to above, my dog always finds sticks and branches when we walk. And we were also, thankfully, inundated with them at Manor Farm, Hampshire. Also, they're naturally untreated with no harmful chemicals, making them the perfect insect hotel furniture.

Bamboo canes:

What I like about bamboo canes is that they naturally come with ready-made holes. Also, they're very easy and cheap to find. I recommend cutting with a handsaw or jigsaw as opposed to snipping to prevent damage. Or, you could look for plant stems.

Dry leaves:

These, also free, make great shelter for insects. No pocket money needed!

Pine cones:

I was particularly proud of the very large pine cones I used on the show. I like to collect them every time I go to Bordeaux, but any pine forest will do and they're great for shelter. But don't assume they'll be easy to cut down as they're rock solid. So depending on your size, try to source a range of sizes to pack them in.

Straw or hay:

For a cozy nesting box gap filler, straw or hay are also ideal for any insects in hibernation.

Cardboard:

David also recommended cardboard on the day. I'd also seen some rolled up cardboard to create tubes, but you'll definitely need to keep your bee hotel away from wet weather.

Where To Install an Insect Hotel

It's advised that solitary bees prefer to be warm, so having it South facing towards sunlight is a good idea.

Also, ideally off the ground to ensure it's away from damp and if you have some form of shelter, then even better.

How to Make an Insect Hotel From a Drawer

Firstly, this is such an easy project, you won't even need insect hotel plans. But here in my insect hotel how to, I cut it up with a compact saw, then a handsaw. (*The latter was so it was quiet while Alan interviewed people).

To ensure my shelves and roof were long enough, I cut it up in a way that I was able to use every bit for shelving and a sloping roof.

Note, I didn't cut it up exactly in half and the house section was more like the bottom 3rd.

Cutting Insect Hotel Shelves to Size

As my old drawers were made traditionally with dovetail joins, I cut these off with a handsaw.

I also cut other shelving using the same method, to exactly the same internal width as the drawer.

Creating a Multistory Insect Hotel

For ease and quickess, I also used my offcuts that will form my bee hotel later, as a depth gauge.

I did this by pushing the shelf against it and drilling and screwing the sides of the drawer to the shelf. Then did exactly the same with the 2nd shelf.

As for filling my bug house, it was very simple:

• I drilled a variety of different holes in untreated offcuts of wood
• Filled it with cut-up canes,
• Drilled holes in dowels and hot glue gunned them together to prevent any from falling out
• Added twigs and leaves
• Filled the top shelf with pine cones
• Tin snipped some galvanized mesh and stapled it over the pine cones to prevent birds from having a nibble
• Quickly nailed or stapled a bit of roof felt on top, overlapping the edges to keep all the insects dry. You could nail some trim to tidy up, but it's not completely essential

How Much Did This Insect Hotel Cost?

The total cost of this Love Your Weekend insect house project was absolutely nothing. Everything was sourced for free, including the old set of drawers.

Free Insect Hotel Plans

If you don't have access to a drawer, then I've put together a free set of plans so you can make an insect hotel from pallet wood offcuts.

Please see these as a guide. You can, of course, make it bigger or smaller, depending on what you have available.

But, what you'll notice is, the main sides is cut equally in half, on an angle. This will then give you two matching sides. Then 4 matching shelves, a slightly deeper roof and find any sheet material to panel pin on the back.

If you want a guide on how to build this, then you can follow along with my how to insect hotel video here.

Should I Treat My Insect House?

I personally wouldn't treat an insect house, which could create a toxic environment. Also, I believe that keeping it natural is more likely to invite guests.

Yes, if it is exposed to wet weather, it will rot after a number of years. However, as you can see, they're easy enough to make. And once you see anything box shaped, you could make several for your garden.

Other Insect Hotel Ideas You Might Like

• Why not fill a hollow concrete block with one of the suggested materials in the list above?
• Or find and fill an old leaf patterned concrete block often found in decorative wall?
• Search RSPB Bug Hotel using recycled bits around the garden
• Make a bee hotel, recycling an old plastic bottle, filled with cut up canes, hanging on a wall
• Or, if you're not looking to make one, there are plenty of insect hotels in the UK you can buy, including Amazon, Morrisons and more

More Projects as Seen on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh

• Rustic bookcase DIY
• DIY chicken house
• How to make a chicken pen
• Making planters from old drawers
• Make a mud kitchen made out of pallets and an old chest of drawers
• Not on the show, but this How to Make Wood Bird Feeders and Table is another great one to make for your garden!