Buckets for beetles - John Day

Beetle bucket

After reading the People's Trust for Endangered Species advice sheet on creating a stag beetle home using an old 15 litre bucket (that’s three gallons in 'old money'), I did a bit of lateral thinking.

The advice recommends you bury the bucket in your garden, but I started to wonder what could be done if you haven't got a garden and don’t live in a known stag beetle area.

The stag beetle is Britain’s largest beetle. It has a limited distribution, mainly in south-east England and it is listed as a Nationally Scarce Priority Species. The larvae of this impressive insect need rotting tree stumps in dry sheltered places.

Making a stag beetle home would not just benefit stag beetles. Many other insects need dead wood in which to complete their life cycles. A large proportion of them are locally distributed, rare or endangered and declining throughout Britain and Europe, so dead wood is really valuable in the garden.

A lucky break

My neighbour was clearing out their shed and came across some old buckets – the sort you might get at the builders or local farm store, with a lip on one side and a handle. What’s more, one of the buckets already had some big holes in it.

‘In all, it took about half an hour to create. It only cost me a bag of playbark chippings, and I recycled the bucket!’

'Perfect', I thought! 'Can I have it?', I asked. It must have seemed like a strange request for a bucket, which to all intents and purposes was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard! Fortunately, my neighbours are used to me creating odd wildlife habitats and willingly gave up the bucket.

I made some more big holes in the bucket, using a large diameter drill bit in a brace. I then mixed some wood chips with soil and peat free compost (2/3 chips to 1/3 soil) and filled the bucket.

To make it into more of a feature, I sacrificed some of my horse chestnut fire logs. I arranged them vertically in the bucket, before placing the bucket among other plant tubs on my patio.

Half an hour well spent!

In all, it took me about half an hour to create. The task that took the longest time was drilling the holes! It only cost me a bag of playbark chippings and another bonus was that I recycled the bucket. It’s early days yet, to say if it will work, but I am hopeful...

Although not ideal, I had to resort to using pine bark chippings - hardwood chippings are best. I’d hoped to get some from a tree surgeon, but have been unable to yet.

Homes for wildlife tips

  • Although some of the materials used were not necessarily ideal, any dead wood is certainly better than none. You can always add to it at a later date.
  • Another step could be to plant some nectar rich flowers in the surrounding planters. Access to nectar is an important part in the life cycle of many dead wood invertebrates. It will also attract prey for the more predatory species.

Last modified: 21 August 2008