Birds and the Bees

Insect-eating birds may be attracted to your bee house and these are our Pro Tips for keeping your mason and leafcutter bees safe.

• Install your bee house a fair distance from birdhouses
• If needed, install wire cloth with a minimum of 3/4" openings in the front of the bee house
• Bees need space to move during flight
• Bubbled 2-3" away from the front of the nesting holes
• Bowing the wire cloth away from the nesting holes also makes it harder for birds to reach the front of the nesting holes
• Install bird deflectors near the bee house
• At the end of each bee's season of activity, remove filled nesting materials and store in an unheated garage or shed
• For mason bees, they are usually finished nesting about 6-8 weeks after you released their cocoons, store over the summer in your garage or shed
• For leafcutter bees, they will finish flying at the end of summer when daytime temperatures fall consistently below 60F