Our Spring Garden Upgrade Kit comes with everything you need to raise gentle mason bees for spring pollination.

The upgrade kit is designed to work in any of our classic cedar bee houses (Chalet, Cottage, or Tower) or you can add the kit to your own DIY bee house. Just make sure your homemade bee house has minimum interior dimensions of 4”H x 6”W x 8”D.

Instructions:

• Select a location that faces S to SE, morning sun is optimal to warm the bees so they can begin to fly. 
  
• Install bee house on a sturdy wall or fence, at eye level for easy observation of bee activity, about 5ft (1.5m) from the ground to protect from pests and predators.
  
• Locate the house within 300ft (100m) of your flowers.
  
• Position your bee house away from birdhouses and bird feeders.
  

1. In the spring when your blooms are opening and the weather warms to 55F/13C, set up your bee house. Place the 48-hole reusable wood tray (8mm) OR the 70 natural reeds (8mm) for mason bees into bee house, lightly apply InvitaBee Plus+ to the front of the nesting materials, and set your mason bee cocoons on top and towards the back. Clayey mud is vital to mason bee nesting. If needed, add Mason Bee Mud Mix to a hole in the ground within 25ft of your bee house.
   
2. When all female mason bees are done nesting, remove the filled nesting tray and store with open end facing up in the BeeGuard Bag. Store over the summer in an unheated garage or shed.
3. Harvest your spring mason bee cocoons in the fall between October and December. Store mason bee cocoons in the HumidiBee container in your fridge.
   

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