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Reed vs bamboo bee tubes

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have an empty compartment in a wooden bug hotel and two refills in the amazon.co.uk basket. Reed vs bamboo bee tubes is the choice between a light hollow stem and a hard cane you still have to stop at the back. Both can house a cavity-nesting bee when the hole is right and one end is closed. The [bug hotel filling comparison](/hub/garden-supplies/bug-hotel-filling) lines up the packs, and the [buying guide](/hub/garden-supplies/bug-hotel-filling/sub/bug-hotel-filling-buying-guide) holds the bore and length checks. Peter F. read these listings, with no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have an empty compartment in a wooden bug hotel and two refills in the amazon.co.uk basket. Reed vs bamboo bee tubes is the choice between a light hollow stem and a hard cane you still have to stop at the back.

Our top picks

TOYANDONA TOYANDONA 100 reed tubes, 15 cm

Best overall

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
JACKANNA JACKANNA 200 bamboo tubes, 20 cm

Rank 3

JACKANNA JACKANNA 200 bamboo tubes, 20 cm
4.0/10about £22.75
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Both can be a nest if the hole is right
  2. 2.When reed or wheat stalk
  3. 3.When bamboo
  4. 4.Cardboard is a different shelf

Both can be a nest if the hole is right

Reed and bamboo pass or fail on the same measurements. A useful tunnel is a hollow stem about 2–10 mm across the inside and about 15 cm long, with a solid back so the bee is not looking straight through. BWARS treats garden canes and bamboo alike: cut just below a node, aim for about 150 mm, and keep plastic out of the nest wall. Shop reed is a thin stem, and many packets leave both ends open, so the stop is a board, clay, or the rear of the box. Bamboo carries its own stop only if a node is still in the cane. A 20 cm cane in a case about 12 cm deep still sticks into the rain until you shorten it and set the mouth back from the rim. Buglife's complaint about bought bamboo applies here: too short, too wide, or splintered at the mouth, and a reed fails the same way. How you seat that recess is on the how to fill a bug hotel page.

When reed or wheat stalk

Choose reed, or a wheat stalk sold beside it, when you want a light refill of about 15–20 cm and you will read the printed inner bore. The stems fit a small compartment without a saw. A 15 cm reed is already near the 150 mm length BWARS describes, so you trim for the recess rather than cutting a hard node. BOBOZHONG in this set says natural reed in the title and wheat stalks in a bullet, so the plant is clear only when the bag is open. Treat that clash as unknown material and judge the hole you measure. A small printed bore can suit a smaller cavity-nester and still miss the bee you had in mind. The other reed packs are named on the best bee nesting tubes page.
TOYANDONA TOYANDONA 100 reed tubes, 15 cm

Testsieger

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

When bamboo

Choose bamboo when you want a hard cane of about 20 cm and you will cut or block a back. The only bamboo pack in this set is JACKANNA, 200 pieces at about £22.75. The listing says the tubes are open on both sides and includes no back board, so the node BWARS describes is not guaranteed. German reviews call the canes hard, even, and sawable. Do not read those comments as British opinion. A rushed cut splinters the mouth. A node is the cleanest back when the cane still has one. Cut just below it and the stop sits about 150 mm from the mouth. Clear any pith that blocks the hole, or discard that cane, as the museum warns. Open-both-sides bamboo is unfinished rather than useless if you block the rear with a board or clay and recess the mouths against rain.

Cardboard is a different shelf

Cardboard tubes turn up on amazon.co.uk as a third material, and they are not among the five packs in this set. Ark Wildlife sells a 30-tube card refill as its own product. BWARS keeps plastic liners out of the bee section, and that limit still stands beside either plant. If a card insert you already own is damp, take it out rather than packing fresh stems in front of it. A sagging block is a storage problem, and it does not tell you whether reed or bamboo fits the compartment.

Common questions

Is bamboo better than reed for mason bees?
Neither plant wins on its own. A mason bee needs a hole in the usual 2–10 mm range, about 15 cm of tunnel, and a closed back. Bamboo works if you cut just below a node or block a cane that arrives open. Reed works if the printed figure is the inside diameter and you close an open end. Compare the hole and the back, then the plant.
Why do some sites say avoid bamboo?
Cocoon sellers in the United States often avoid bamboo because the canes are hard to split when nests are harvested. That is a rearing workflow, not a UK ban. BWARS and the Natural History Museum still allow bamboo if you cut just below a node and keep pith out of the hole. A short, wide, or splintered bundle is still worth rejecting.
What if the pack is wheat straw labelled as reed?
Read the clash as a listing problem. BOBOZHONG says natural reed in the title and wheat stalks in a bullet, so you know the plant only after you open the bag. Wheat can still be a hollow stem in the 2–10 mm band. Measure the inside and make sure one end can be closed before you pack the hotel.
Are open bamboo canes useless?
They are unfinished, not useless. JACKANNA lists 200 tubes of about 20 cm at about £22.75, open on both sides. Bees will not use a tunnel they can see through, so cut to a node if one exists, or block the rear with a board or clay. Left open, that bundle is wasted however hard the cane is.
Is cardboard a third option on amazon.co.uk?
Card tubes are on sale, including a 30-tube refill from Ark Wildlife, and they are not part of the five reed and bamboo packs here. We have not scored them. A card tube can work when the hole is right and the card stays dry, though it softens in a wet hotel. It still needs a closed back.
Does a harder tube mean a safer nest?
No. Birds pull loose stems, damp spoils the box, and an open back wastes both materials. A hard cane can resist a tight tie, and it splinters if the saw jumps. A light reed can crush in the post and still be the better nest if the bore is right and one end is closed.

Related pages

Insect hotel comparison

Bug hotel filling

Best bee nesting tubes: the five amazon.co.uk packs

Bug hotel filling: checks to make before the price

How to fill a bug hotel with the back and a recess

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)