Activity

Build a minibeast hotel

Create a home for minibeasts to provide hidey-holes for creatures galore. Building a minibeast hotel, wildlife motel or nature stack in your garden can provide a safe hideaway for wildlife and help make use of your garden waste.

A series of wooden cubbyholes filled with hollow bamboo tubes and sections of logs with small holes drilled into them.

This Helping Nature activity can be completed as part of Schools or Families Wild Challenge.

Season: Autumn, Summer, Spring

Instructions

Choose a suitable site

It needs to be level and the ground firm. You’ll get different residents depending on where you place your hotel, as some (like woodlice) enjoy cool, damp conditions, while others (such as solitary bees) prefer the sun. If you have vegetable beds, keep it a good distance away from them just incase you attract slugs!

Build the basic structure

You will need a strong, stable framework that's no more than a metre high. Old wooden pallets are perfect for a large hotel as they’re sturdy and come with ready-made gaps.

Start by laying some bricks on the ground as sturdy corners. Leave some spaces in between the bricks for critters to move in. Add three or four layers of wooden pallets on top of your bricks. If you leave larger gaps, you’re more likely to attract Hedgehogs.

A lone Hedgehog sat on top of a moss covered log.
Partnering with

The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International.More