Two new mason bee houses that Richard made me and the bees. The outside is metal wrap left from when our house was sided. The inside is bamboo in the first pic and plastic straws in the second one. The hole side should be 5/16" and I got lucky and found the straws at Walmarts and they exactly 5/16". We were able to cut them into and use all. Now I have to just wait for the bees. I hope they like the pretty one ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden )
I'm sure the bees will love both of the houses Donna. I do like the one made of straws though as it looks very cheery. :-D
Double check about using the plastic straws though. I have read that they hold in moisture and cause fungus to grow so the straws should be paper.
Donna, we too have mason bee homes, but not nearly as pretty as yours. We had some odd ends of 4"x4"s, so my husband drilled the appropriate size holes and put L brackets on the top and bottom. He mounted the mason bee homes to fence posts, and of the three he made, two are occupied. We are going to move the third, hoping a bit more sun will encourage the bees to set up housekeeping!
Toni, I read that also. So we put it under a roof and it should stay dry. Now a hurricane might be a problem.
