Providing nesting and overwintering sites for pollinators is a requirement in the creation of a Certified Pennsylvania Pollinator Friendly Garden.
Handmade insect hotel
Home gardeners can encourage pollinators by providing nesting and overwintering sites. Nesting sites can be as simple as patches of bare soil for bumble and solitary bees that nest in the ground or stacked dead wood for some bees, wasps, beetles, and ants. There are also many options for purchasing or building nesting blocks. Blocks should have holes 1/4" in diameter and 3-5" deep.
Overwintering sites for pollinators are also important. Home gardeners can leave the garden clean-up activities for the spring. Perennials and grasses provide shelter for insects through winter.
Visitors to the Pollinator Friendly Garden Project at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds can check for nesting pollinators in a 3'x5' handmade insect hotel. Crafted by a Master Gardener volunteer, the insect hotel features several options for nesting sites, including drilled blocks, hollowed canes, pinecones, and stacks of tree bark.
The Pollinator Friendly Garden Project at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds is funded in part by the Wyoming County Room Tax Fund and the Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau.
