All pictures in this post by Renewables At Home – copyright info
As duly noted in my recent ode to bumblebees, bumblebees are my favorite pollinators and deserve a helping hand. So, in an attempt to practice what I preach, I’ve built a bumblebee nest based on an old flower pot. In this post, I’m documenting the process in glorious technicolor and inspiring prose 
It’s a fun project – should be perfect for doing with the kids. If you want other ways to help the bumblebees and other pollinators, take a look at my list of 10 ways to help pollinators survive and thrive.
In order to keep download times manageable, this mini-project will span two posts. In the one you’re reading now, we’ll take a look at how I built the bumblebee nest and prepared for placing it. In the next post, we’ll venture out and find a good location.
Tools and materials
We need a few basic tools and materials for building the nest. Nothing fancy, though:
The materials – impersonating a happy and slightly deranged robot in the picture above – are as follows:
- A terracotta flower pot with a diameter of 20 cm/8 inches (you can use a bigger one, but a smaller one won’t work)
- A matching tray for the pot – this will be a rain cover for the finished nest
- A square of chickenwire (the light gray part of the deranged robot’s nose)
- Some mosquito netting (any fine mesh plastic netting will work)
- Something for fixing the netting to the inside of the flower pot (my mosquito netting came with self adhesive velcro strips, glue will also work)
- A 30 cm. (about a foot) long length of garden hose – this has to have an inside diameter of at least 18 mm. (0.71 inches)
- A nail slightly longer than the garden hose’s outside diameter
Next, the tools list:
- Tin shears (or something else for cutting chicken wire)
- Glue
- Pair of pliers
- Scissors
- A drill with a reasonably large masonry drill bit (or something else that will pierce terracotta without breaking it)
- A hammer (not pictured)
- An awl (not pictured) or some other sharp tool for making holes through the garden hose
Bumblebee nest ventilation
Like most other animals, bumblebees don’t get much done if they’re too hot.
To make sure the nest doesn’t overheat, we have to provide at least two, preferrably three ventilation holes. Most terracotta flower pots will already have one in the bottom:
We don’t have to make two more that big – as long as air can pass easily through the holes, we’re okay.
So, grab your drill and make two holes on opposite sides of the flower pot. Keep them near the bottom of the pot (this will be the top of the nest), about 1,25 centimeters (half an inch) up.
Keep the flower pot steady while you drill. Start out carefully – the drill will slip easily at first. Don’t push hard; it increases the chances of the pot cracking up. Let the drill bit do its thing. Oh, and turn any hammer action your drill might have off.
Ants begone!
Right, holes are done. We can’t leave them as is, though. If any roving ants pass by, they’ll enter the nest through the holes and wreak havoc on the bumblebee colony.
This is where the mosquito netting comes in. Provided it’s finely meshed, it will let air through but block ants.
Cut out a few pieces of netting and fix them to the inside of the pot, covering the holes completely. I used the velcro strips that came with my mosquito netting and a few drops of glue for this, but using just glue on its own should work fine, too.
Hey presto, ants are kept out! Plus it makes the flower pot look kind of like a loudspeaker ;-D
Chickenwire cradle
Next up is a cradle for the nesting material we’ll put in the nest later.
It’s important that the nesting material doesn’t get wet, or mold and other bumblebee-bothering unpleasantness may show up. Keeping the nesting material above ground with a chickenwire cradle is a good way to keep things dry.
Cut out a square of chickenwire that will almost cover the wide end of the flower pot (see photo below).
Use the pliers to bend the corners of the square. The corners should work as feet for the cradle. Also bend any sharp wire points inwards, below the cradle. I don’t know if bumblebees are particularly vulnerable to sharp points, but we might as well be careful.
When you’re done bending the corners, set the cradle down and make a dimple in the middle. The end product should look something like this:
The nest entrance
Bumblebees aren’t the most demanding in terms of grand entryways. As long as it’s an obvious tunnel that ends somewhere dry and cozy, they’re happy. Which means our length of garden hose fits the requirements quite nicely 
To make sure the nest and the entrance tunnel is kept dry when it rains, we have to make some drainage holes in the hose.
Make several holes near the middle of the hose length, along the outside curve.
Run a bit of water through the hose to make sure the holes are big enough to work as drainage.
The final step before finding somewhere to place the bumblebee nest, is keeping another unwanted guest out: Slugs.
Slugs won’t attack or harass the bumblebees directly, but they might crawl into the nest’s entrance and die. The bumblebees won’t be able to get it out of the way.
To keep slugs out, we run the nail through the garden hose, close to one of the ends. Make sure you run it through slightly off-center. This should work as a discouraging roadblock for slugs, while still letting the bumblebees pass.
The great outdoors
The bumblebee nest parts should now be ready to be taken outside and set up in a good location.
In the picture below, the parts for my nest look happy at the prospects of getting some fresh air 
That’s it for this part – continue on to How to build a bumblebee nest – part 2 to see how we find a good site for our nest.
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This post was tagged with: bumble bees, bumblebee nesting boxes, bumblebee nesting sites, bumblebee nests, bumblebees, pollinators
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Looks like a great project! I’ll be watching for part 2.
Tommy
In my (b)humble opinion your greatest post ever!
Let us know how the nest works out please. Yay for bumblebees!
@Tommy, Daria: Thanks for commenting
With any luck, part 2 will pop up later today.
Oh, and maybeit would be an extra precaution against snails if you glue sand or chrushed seashells to the inside of the hose? Just an idea, I don`t know if it will work…
@Daria: You mean to make it harder for them to crawl through the hose? Hm, I don’t know – we want to keep the snails completely out of the hose in the first place, so they don’t block it. If they crawl into the hose and then get stuck, the bumblebees are blocked. Sand might be useful if you put it around the entrance, though. Snails tend to avoid sandy areas, since they might get dried out by crawling through them.
I see your point
Looking forward to your next post, maybe I`ll try this for myself.
Would this work if you used a plastic pot instead of a terracotta pot?
Thanks and i will defiantly have a go at making one of these!
(what are the chances of the queen nesting?)
Thanks again!
@Zouaoua: Sounds great, please come back here and tell us how it goes
I think a plastic pot should work. The only possible disadvantage to a plastic pot I can see, is that it might not stand up to a lot of direct sunshine; some types of plastic will go soft and other types might crack over time when subjected to a lot of heat and light. That being said, you shouldn’t place the nest anywhere with too much direct sun anyway – the bumblebees will overheat.
As for the chances of a queen nesting, it’s hard to give a good estimate. It would depend on several factors, such as how many bumblebees are in your general area in the first place, how many suitable flowers and pollen-bearing plants there are available, how many natural suitable nesting sites there are etc.
If you want to increase chances of the queen nesting, you could plant good pollen-bearing plants in the vicinity of your nest. Bumblebees tend to like flowers that naturally belong in their local area the best. Also, if you have a lawn, don’t mow it too often. White clovers and other yummy treats for bumblebees might pop up if you leave it for a while. Also, take a look at these tips for helping bumblebees and other pollinators.
Oh, and if no queen moves in, leave the nest out during the winter. With any luck, a mouse family will nest in it instead and leave their droppings there. This increases the chances of a bumblebee nesting there the next season, since mouse nests often are perfect for bumblebees.
Ok thanks!
I will make one soon and i will come back to say how its gone.
I do have quite a few lavender, honeysuckle, rosemary and other plants such as chives, primroses etc. but they are around the patio. There are other plants around the garden too but not as dense as around the patio. Two years ago there were loads of bees (really loads!) but last year there were not so many. I think it may be because the lavender is getting old (as the lavender is what makes up most of the plants) and so less bees came to the patio. (there are loads of other plants around the garden but, like i said before less dense, i.e. cherry trees etc.)
As there were less bees last year i though i might try this.
Would it work if i put the home along a fence under a big tree? Although, there are not many plants nearby (probably about 10 meters away from the patio)
Thanks again for this guide and all the help!
I forgot to say in the last post i do have lots of plants in the grass like daises and white clover that came up the last two years.
Thanks!
@Zouaoua: You’re welcome! I’m happy if it helps someone
The local bumblebees here absolutely love thyme, you might want to try planting a little of that.
Putting the nest along a fence under a big tree sounds close to ideal. Bumblebees tend to look for linear features like fences, and under a big tree the nest should get some much-needed shade. Plants being 10 meters away shouldn’t be too big a problem, but maybe you could set up some potted plants closer to the nest if the soil around it won’t support any decent plants?
Good luck with your nest, I hope you attract a queen
Ok thanks for the info.
I have just built it and put it under a cherry tree at the top of the garden where i just noticed the other day, there were quite a few bees and so i thought (as by the fence I don’t see many) I may have a better chance of attracting the queen. There are lots of primroses etc. by the tree.
I am currently rooting some lavender so i can put it up by the home so they will hopefully come to the ground more to the nest.
Thanks again for all the help!
Sounds great, keep me posted if there’s any sign of queen activity