Mason Bee Rescue - Transition bees from harmful bamboo

If you are using bamboo or logs with holes and have never cleaned your bee hotels, it’s time to make a change. Using the proper nesting material and fall maintenance are key components to a healthy and thriving bee population. Pollen mites, Houdini fly larva, chalkbrood and mono wasps are invasive predators that will eventually overrun your bee hotel and cause your bee tenants to perish. If you have holes that are plugged with mud, you have baby bees inside. In this video we’ll show you another method to “Rescue Your Bees” right before Spring and transition them from harmful bamboo and drilled logs to healthy stacking trays or cardboard tubes and save the bees inside.

When you set out a “bee hotel” to attract mason bees, you’re also attracting invasive predators. In nature they find natural holes in their environment that are camouflaged and harder for predators to find, but a bee hotel has a sign hanging on it that says “VACANCY COME ON IN”

Please do not use bamboo or logs with holes drilled, those cannot be cleaned and can become infested with predators that will harm your bee population over time. Stacking trays or cardboard tubes that can be unraveled and opened are best for mason bees.

When raising your own mason bees, there are three crucial steps to protect them from harmful predators like pollen mites, chalkbrood, and houdini flies:

1) Beginning of Spring: Place Clean Nesting Material Out Every Spring and Use Nesting Material that Can Easily Be Opened – Use nesting material that can be opened and cleaned, such as stacking trays or cardboard tubes.

2) End of Spring: Remove and Store Nesting Material Safely Over Summer
At the end of spring, remove the nesting material and store it in a cool garage or shed. Since mason bees only live for 6-8 weeks, leaving them out over summer can expose them to predators like mono wasps and birds. Watch the summer storage video below.

3) In the Fall: Harvest and Clean Nesting Material in the Fall – In the fall, open all the nesting material and clean everything thoroughly. If you are renting nesting blocks from our program, simply mail back the nesting block in the fall, and we will handle the harvesting and cleaning for you. If you are raising your own bees, here is a step-by-step video on how to do it.
Learn How to Harvest and Clean Your Bees in the Fall

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Other videos we mention- How to swap from old to good nesting chambers using sawdust.

How We Clean 3 Million Mason Bees in our Rental Block Program

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