Snug as a bug in a…hotel

Fostering close relations with the local wildlife is a key element of maintaining a healthy environment (there are some inspirational BBC videos about permaculture here).

My childhood attempts to create something for nature’s smaller inhabitants consisted of stacking large curved roof tiles asymetrically at the bottom of the garden, behind a hedge amongst composting leaves and a carpet of catkins.  This was a ‘toadery’ and any time I found a toad in the garden it would be taken here for safety.  Whether or not any of those who were forcibly moved here remained is open to debate but the damp composting environment certainly provided my precious toads with a lot to eat – the whole thing was always riddled with insect life of various shapes and sizes.

Whilst the intention was never to create food for the toads (merely to find them somewhere warm and damp to nestle down) I had inadvertently created my own variety of bug hotel.

Thanks to the recent study tour to Cornwall and contributions from members we are now able to bring you the first definitive guide to bug hotels in the UK and one which I hope will give some of the more established guides a run for their money in due course…

For those on a budget in Fife…

Bugpackers hostel

…which clearly has at least one enthusiastic spider in residence.

For those looking for a Cornish country retreat…

4* Bug Hotel

…for those looking for somewhere for a longer stay, with more facilities. (I assume that the obligatory pool is somewhere out of sight.)

Finally, for those for whom money is no object and a personal suite catering to your every desire is an absolute must…

High Class Apartments

…is it really surprising this luxury property was to be found in Kensington & Chelsea!

There are many articles out there which give some insight into the benefits of building a bug hotel so why not give it a try and share your experiences with us here?