Stop Tossing Toilet Paper Rolls: Turn Them Into A Habitat For Visiting Bees Instead

Whenever you go to throw out a toilet paper roll, do you feel a pang of guilt, wondering if there's something else it could be used for instead? If so, you're in luck. You can actually repurpose these simple tubes to help make your garden a pollinator heaven. By turning a toilet paper roll into a bee hotel, you are not only giving that item another purpose but also offering lone bees a safe place to stop off, recuperate, and build nests that are protected from the elements. And doing it yourself is super simple!

You will need a toilet paper roll along with something to help coat the exterior to make sure it lasts longer and doesn't break down in the elements, such as tape, wax, or even colorful acrylic paint. This is an important step not only for extending the life of your DIY bee hotel but also for personalizing it and keeping your garden colorful. In addition, you will need either string to help hang the toilet paper roll or a simple notched tree branch that is perfect for the bee hotel to slot right into. Finally, the project requires some long, hollow materials, such as bamboo canes or plant stems — so that the bees can crawl inside them — and a piece of tinfoil or possibly even simple cloth to cover the end in order to prevent parasites from burrowing into the back and ambushing the bees from behind. 

If you'd like to support solitary bees in your area by giving them a safe pit stop, check out these quick and simple steps to create your own bee hotel from a toilet paper tube.

To start off your hotel, first add the strips of tape or decorative paint to protect the outside. Then, gather your hollow materials — it's best to use organic items such as plant stems, which bees are more likely to recognize as a nesting opportunity — and slide them into your toilet tube. You'll want the inner sticks to be a little bit shorter than the toilet roll itself so they're better protected from sun and precipitation. Finally, use some tape or a rubber band to secure your foil or cloth to one end of the tube.

Once that's done, your inviting hotel for natural pollinators will be officially crafted! Then, you need to think about positioning. It's generally recommended to hang these hotels around 5 feet above the ground with string or place them in a tree branch nook so that the bees inside are safe from anything that may want to eat them down below. The opening should angle approximately southeast so that the buzzing residents can be protected from harsh afternoon sunlight while still benefitting from the heat of the gentle morning sun.

Finally, remember to swap your toilet paper roll hotel for a new one every couple of years to get rid of bits of previous nests and lurking diseases that may have popped up over time. Before discarding an old bee hotel, provide time for the bees inside to vacate it by allowing it to sit on the ground for a year.