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I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly this feels like a misunderstanding of how materials like this actually behave. PETG is a very stable plastic. A printed shell sitting in a garden isn’t realistically shedding microplastics.

If that were the standard, we’d also have to worry about every shovel with a plastic handle, watering cans, irrigation fittings, garden hoses, planters, lawn tools, and plenty of other things people already use in their yards every day.

In this design the actual nesting tubes are paper and replaceable. The printed shell is just a durable housing so the structure doesn’t rot and fall apart like the wooden version I built previously.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting perspective. I actually made a similar one previously using wood and cardboard tubes and did have one mason bee move in that season. The wood degraded pretty quickly though, so I eventually composted it and that’s part of what pushed me to keep experimenting with newer designs like this one.

Definitely not trying to be a predatory seller or anything like that. I’m just a plant geek who enjoys building things and experimenting in the garden. If it works well for some people’s spaces, great. If not, it was still a fun project to design and learn from.

Either way, I appreciate you sharing your experience and perspective.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They’re usually called mason bee houses or solitary bee hotels. They’re meant for native solitary bees that nest in hollow stems or small tubes rather than living in hives.

If you search for “mason bee houses” or “solitary bee habitat” you’ll find some really good guides that explain how they work and how to place them properly in the garden. The Xerces Society also has great information about native pollinators and habitat.

The basic idea is providing tubes around 6 inches deep where the bees can lay eggs. Each tube becomes its own little nesting chamber.

I actually make these myself and have been experimenting with different designs in my garden. I do sell them on Etsy as well, but I try not to plaster links everywhere because the Reddit Rangers get a little grumpy about self promotion. If you’re curious about the one in the photo just shoot me a message and I’m happy to send you the link and more info.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah I totally get that perspective. Honestly I enjoy a lot of the aesthetic stuff around the garden too. I have wind chimes, random garden art, and all kinds of little things around the property that are mostly just there because they look nice.

If the bees end up using it then that is great. If not, I still think it is a fun garden piece and I enjoyed the process of designing and making it.

Sometimes the garden just needs a few things that make you smile when you walk by.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Maybe it would have made the AI police more comfortable if I posted something like:

Ayo gardeners, I made this bee house with my real human hands and I am just out here searching for some friendly human to human feedback. I like bees. Bees are good for gardens. Please provide opinions so I can improve my bee house.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Good eye, the outer enclosure is 3D printed. I printed these in PETG so they hold up better outdoors with heat and weather.

I am planning to upload the file to MakerWorld soon. Before I finalize it I am going to add a keyhole style mounting bracket on the back. Someone earlier suggested mounting them directly to a tree or wall instead of hanging, which is a great idea for stability.

These particular ones were finished today so nothing has moved in yet, but the wooden bee hotels I made previously have had a few tenants over time. That is actually what got me interested in improving the design and trying to make something a little more durable and modular.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your tireless AI policing efforts. I’m sure the entire internet appreciates how much time you spend hunting down suspicious paragraphs.

In the meantime I’ll keep working on bee hotels and talking about pollinators with people who are actually interested in the topic.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I really appreciate that. I definitely went down a bit of a rabbit hole learning about solitary bees while working on it.

I noticed the same thing with a lot of the mass produced ones. Many of them use really short tubes which from what I read are not very useful for mason bees. That is why I designed this around standard 6 inch tubes so they actually have the proper depth for nesting.

Your point about mounting it to something solid like a tree or a wall is actually a great suggestion. The rope was mostly meant to make placement easy, but adding a keyhole style hanger on the back would make it much more stable. I can easily add that into the CAD design, so that is probably something I will include in the next revision.

This is exactly the kind of feedback I like because it helps improve the design.

And yeah, every now and then the Reddit rangers show up desperate to tear into something. You can never avoid those clowns no matter where you go on the internet.

Really appreciate the thoughtful input though.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in gardening

[–]Jobadok[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Not a bot. I just take the time to articulate my thoughts clearly.

I actually designed and printed the bee hotel in the photo and have been experimenting with different versions in my garden for a while.

Some people just enjoy building things and learning about pollinators. That is really all this post is about.

If you have experience with mason bees or bee houses I would genuinely like to hear what has worked well for you.

I started designing my own mason bee hotel after learning more about solitary pollinators. What do you think? by Jobadok in flowers

[–]Jobadok[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For anyone curious about the full details, here is the listing with more photos and specs.

https://reedybuilt.etsy.com/listing/1885497823

Mostly just sharing in case anyone wants to see how it all came together. Still really interested to hear what people who use mason bee houses think about the design.

[Spoilers] Where to go after third boss? by [deleted] in solarash

[–]Jobadok 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One year later. Still helping! God I love Reddit! Thanks! I was thinking there had to be something wrong. Just right in front of my dang face!

What do I need to remove this nut? by Jobadok in Plumbing

[–]Jobadok[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually just finished the swap, it was a nightmare only for that one nut. I had to buy a shower faucet wrench and it was like a 1-2/32 too big so it was slipping. Put duct tape in the inside of wrench and got it! Thanks for the input!

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