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How to fill a bug hotel

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have a wooden box, a tin, or a clay pot, and a packet of hollow stems that still need fitting. How to fill a bug hotel is that packing job: each tube needs one closed end, a mouth set back from the rain, and a case that stays dry on a UK wall. Shop refills often arrive open at both ends, so the rear stop comes first. The [bug hotel filling comparison](/hub/garden-supplies/bug-hotel-filling) sets out the packs, and hole size sits on the [buying guide](/hub/garden-supplies/bug-hotel-filling/sub/bug-hotel-filling-buying-guide). Peter F. used those UK guides and one amazon.co.uk review. There is no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a wooden box, a tin, or a clay pot, and a packet of hollow stems that still need fitting.

Our top picks

POPETPOP POPETPOP 100 reed tubes, 15 cm

Best overall

POPETPOP POPETPOP 100 reed tubes, 15 cm
5.7/10about £13.99
View offer
TOYANDONA TOYANDONA 100 reed tubes, 15 cm

Rank 2

TOYANDONA TOYANDONA 100 reed tubes, 15 cm
7.8/10about £10.49
View offer
MAGICLULU MAGICLULU 100 reed tubes, 15 cm

Best value

MAGICLULU MAGICLULU 100 reed tubes, 15 cm
6.7/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Close the back before you pack
  2. 2.Pack them shorter than the case
  3. 3.Sun, height, and a firm fixing
  4. 4.Keep cones and straw in another compartment

Close the back before you pack

A solitary bee nests in a tunnel that stops. A stem open at both ends is a draught, and the Natural History Museum treats a node, or a stop you add, as the rear wall. If the bamboo was cut between nodes, or the reeds arrived hollow right through, as in a UK review of POPETPOP, you make that stop yourself. Friends of the Earth suggest clay or wax in the rear. A back board works for the row only when every tube meets it. Land one bamboo end on a node and check with a fingertip. If light shows through, the node is not a wall yet. Clay should fill the rear few millimetres and dry hard. Wax suits a slippery reed, while a plug at the mouth blocks the entrance. Friends of the Earth also show a plastic bottle as an outer sleeve. That plastic is the case, not the nest wall, and a liner in the hole stays damp.

Pack them shorter than the case

Stand the tubes on end, mouths forward, rather than laying them flat. The Natural History Museum sets the canes about 1 cm short of the rim so rain does not run into the holes. A 15 cm reed in a case only about 9 cm deep will stick out. Trim to the case, or use a deeper box, and keep that recess. Bundle reed tubes after the recess is settled. A UK review of an open reed pack described a slippery set about 9 cm across that needed string after an elastic band. Tie in the middle and again near the rear, tight enough that a finger cannot slip between stems, though not so tight that you crush a thin reed. Tilt the mouths slightly down. If birds pull stems, mesh is a later fix, and worn tubes belong on the when to replace bee hotel tubes page. The bundle is finished when a gentle shake moves nothing.
POPETPOP POPETPOP 100 reed tubes, 15 cm

Testsieger

POPETPOP POPETPOP 100 reed tubes, 15 cm
5.7/10about £13.99
View offer

Sun, height, and a firm fixing

Where to put a bee hotel comes once the stems no longer move. Keeping a bee hotel south facing means the holes look south or south-east. Fix the case so it cannot swing. A wire on a hook lets it twist, and a twist tips rain into the holes. Screw the box to the shed, or strap a pot so the bracket does not crush the rims, and leave a roof overhang of a few centimetres. Keep climbers off the holes. A clematis across the face is a wet mat by July. Flowers and bare mud within about 300 m, the foraging distance the Natural History Museum gives, belong in the same choice. A bare fence with neither is a dry tunnel and little else, and bees may still not use it. Wet reed and wet bamboo part company on the reed or bamboo bee tubes page.

Keep cones and straw in another compartment

Pine cones, dry leaves, and straw are a different shelter. A cone in the same cavity blocks the bore, holds damp, and gives a bird something to pull. Put stems on one shelf and cones on another, with a divider so the loose fill cannot migrate. The two fillings can share a hotel. They should not share a hole. Hand the saw to an adult when you cut bamboo canes for bees down to a node. The RHS is clear that an adult makes that cut. A child can press clay, pass the string, and check the recess. Discard a split cane, because a crack lets rain in. Next spring's swap, including plugged tubes, stays on the replace page.

Common questions

How do I close tubes that arrive open at both ends?
Press clay or wax into the far end, or seat every tube on a solid back board so no light shows through. A bamboo node works when the cut lands on it. One open stem in a tight row is still a draught, so check each one. Clay on the mouth blocks the entrance, and a plastic insert is not a rear wall.
How far should the tubes sit back from the rain?
Set the mouths about 1 cm inside the front rim. That is the recess the Natural History Museum uses. You can go a little further back if the tunnel is still at least 100 mm, or 150 mm when the case allows. Tubes past the rim catch wind and rain. A slight downward tilt sheds drips, though it does not replace the recess or a small roof.
Which way should the hotel face, and how high?
Face the mouths south or south-east, into the morning sun, and keep the wettest wind off them. Friends of the Earth put the case at least a metre up. The RHS allows about 0.5–3 m, so a fence post or a shed wall both fit. A north wall, and the spot under a dripping gutter, stay damp.
Can I mix pine cones in the same holes as the bee tubes?
No. Cones, leaves, and straw shelter insects that hide in crevices, which is how the Woodland Trust separates them from bee tubes. In the same hole they block the bore and hold damp. Use another compartment and a divider. A second shelf of cones suits other insects. It should not share the nesting bores.
What if the reeds will not stay in a bundle?
How to stop bee tubes falling out starts with the tie, not with more stems. Smooth reeds slip out of one elastic band. A UK review described a set about 9 cm across that needed string as well, tight enough that a finger could not pass between the stems. Add a second tie near the back.

Related pages

Best bee nesting tubes

Bug hotel filling

Bug hotel filling: checks to make before the price

Reed vs bamboo bee tubes: which suits the UK garden

When to replace bee hotel tubes after the adults emerge

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk listings in this set. Page updated 22 October 2026.

  1. Bumblebee Conservation Trust: solitary bee nest boxes (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Bumblebee Conservation Trust: solitary bees (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Buglife: bee-hotel guide (PDF) (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Buglife: how to be the best bee hotel manager (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Natural History Museum: how to make a bee hotel (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. NatureScot: solitary bees and bee houses (PDF) (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. BWARS: bee hotels information sheet (PDF) (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. RHS: habitats for wild bees (retrieved 22 October 2026)