Make A Bug House For Kids

Build a simple bug house, bug hotel, insect hotel or whatever you want to call it for your backyard! Take science outside and explore the world of insects with a DIY insect hotel. Add this spring science project to your list and get the kids outside investigating the world of bugs.

Why are Insect Hotels Beneficial?

Even a simple bug hotel can encourage and support biodiversity in your garden by attracting various insects. A bug house helps to grow the ecosystem around it because it gives a place for bugs to visit naturally! Gardens can benefit from placing a bug house amongst the plants.

A bug house or hotel can decrease the need for pesticides because many wonderful insects help with this naturally. Think of an insect house as real estate for bugs! Many urban areas have removed habitats for beneficial insects that help balance our ecosystem, but a simple bug box can bring them back and give them a place to live.

Insect Houses Can:

Give back natural habitats in places where they have been removed from heavy landscaping
Encourage useful insects to visit so they can help control pests naturally without pesticides
Bring back biodiversity to a garden by providing places for inects to live
Educate kids on how a balanced ecosystem works (more hand-on Earth Day ideas here)

Other ways to give back to the environment include making homemade birdseed feeders or seed bombs!

How To Build An Insect Hotel

The best part of building this house for bugs is gathering the materials. You only need to head to the backyard or go for a hike to find your insect hotel materials. Get creative with the structure you use to put the materials in too!

ASK: What materials will hold up best outside in the elements?

Supplies:

twigs
leaves
corrugated cardboard
small pots
toilet paper rolls
wood chips
rolled up paper
pieces of bark
hollowed out branches, reads, or logs

Instructions:

STEP 1: First, you need to start with a structure into which you can insert the bug house materials. You should consider using something that will withstand the elements. Here, we built a simple wooden box from scrap wood. A pre-made wooden crate will also work.

What else could you use to make a bug hotel? The size doesn’t matter too much. You could use a planting pot tipped on its side even! How about an old birdhouse with the front removed. Upcycle a wooden drawer or end table even! Cookie tin anyone? There are many possibilities for the insect house structure.

STEP 2: Gather your insect hotel materials and start working them into the structure you have selected. Here, we added some dollar store mini pots. You can also add plastic or glass jars or toilet paper rolls to create more mini compartments.

A big rock can also help break up space. Make sure to give your bug friends a little hidey-hole to set up their homes!

STEP 3: Get creative to fill your bug hotel! You may have to arrange and rearrange the materials several times to find the best layout or to fill the space well. We did!

Where is the Best Place To Put A Bug Hotel?

We put our bug house by our woodpile, but you can also add them to a garden! Find a nice dark place with a bit of shelter. Bugs will prefer damper surroundings but you don’t want your insect hotel to flood either. Look for a hollowed out log and place it near it or under a bush.

What Kind of Bug Is This In My House?

Depending on where you live and how big your bug hotel is, the following bugs (insects, spiders, millipedes) may visit you!

beetles
ladybugs
solitary bees
butterflies
green lacewings
leaf miners
whiteflies
mole crickets
cabbage worms
garden spiders
millipedes

Free Nature STEM Activities Guide

Do you need ideas for what to do outside this spring and summer? Here is a fun nature activities guide to get you started

More Fun Bug Ideas For Kids

If you’re kiddos love creepy crawlies, we have plenty of great activities, from sensory play to science!

Printable Animal & Bugs Activity Pack Bundle

Explore three groups of animals, including forest, jungle, and pollinator animals. The additional pack includes fun bug games, a thumbprint bug drawing guide, and bug pattern block cards. Younger kids will love exploring these animals and insects with one easy-to-use Animal and Bug Activity Pack.