Here’s a simple insect inn you can make that will welcome bugs to your yard or garden!

What You Need

• clean and empty plastic bottles (Two-liter size works best.)
• scissors
• stapler
• hole punch
• long strand of twine
• items to fill the hotel, such as twigs, leaves, bark, rocks, pine cones, broken clay pot pieces, and hollow bamboo canes or straws
• mesh produce bag (optional)

What You Do

1. Create the compartments.
   To create the hotel’s compartments, cut the bottom five inches off each bottle. (Ask an adult for help.) Staple the bottle “cups” together as shown or create your own arrangement.
2. Prepare for hanging.
   To hang the hotel, punch two holes about an inch apart in each cup. Thread twine through the holes until you have wrapped it all the way around the cups. Tie the ends of the twine in a knot at the top.
3. Fill the hotel.
   Tightly fill each compartment with the items you have collected. To prevent some of the objects from falling out, you can cover one or more of the cups with a piece of the mesh bag.TIP: Non-stinging bees love neat, round holes. To attract more bees, you can drill holes into a block of wood and add it to your hotel. Just make sure the wood isn’t “pressure-treated” with chemicals.

   Want to see other lodgings for beetles, bees, and other creepy-crawlies? Check out our article, “Bug Hotels” from the June-July 2014 issue of Ranger Rick magazine.

   Craft by Michele Reyzer. This activity originally appeared in the June-July 2014 issue of Ranger Rick magazine.