Selfsufficientish.com

I've been looking at these online and wondered if anyone knew if i would be able to make one myself and if so HOW save me spending £20 on one

Best way is to grow a clump of something that leaves hollow "straws" as it dries out in autumn, for the ladybirds to overwinter in. They also overwinter in long grass and leaf and twiggy debris. Also a clump of nettles can help get things off to a good start in spring by providing a ready source of nettle aphids, which are around earlier than most of their cousins.

All in all, what I'm saying is that a "wild corner" in the garden, coupled with not tidying up debris from the garden until the spring, will provide you with lots more ladybird habitat than a house. And it doesn't cost a penny.

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/gg44.php

This wildlife tower is from a project in Cheshire manxminx. I'd love to get round to making one!



All ingredients are scroungable. I think it's important to leave 'managed' wild bits on the plot - mine is the other side of a footpath and fence along the back of the allotment, deliberately prickly, scruffy and sting-ey to deter two legged predators as well. I left my sweetcorn stalks standing - will ladybird larvae inhabit these, do you think?

More about their various wildlife projects at http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/cheshir ... dening.htm

The wild life tower is awesome!!! That would be fantastic ina school or something - I may just suggest it to our out of school club as a project!
Chris made bumble bee/digger bee houses last year, I'm sure they would work as ladybird houses too. They were simply squares of 2" thick wood with shaped edges glued one on top of the other, a triangular piece as a roof so that it looked like a mini bee hive. Then he drilled about 4 holes into each layer - but not all the way thru and hey presto - the kind of insect house you pay £20 for for nowt!!!

I visted Garden Organic's garden at Ryton last week & they had a similar wildlife tower in their children's garden.

I've seen a ladybird house made from a sheet of corrugated cardboard tightly rolled & stuffed into a plastic bottle (with its bottom removed). This is then placed in an area of dense vegetation.

Apparently the gaps in the corrugation are the right size for ladybird larvae.

Can't remember where I saw this, but I've done it & I'm not creative enough to have come up with the idea myself. Haven't actually checked if it worked - I'll go have a look when it stops raining.

Do you have any problems with snakes and rodents? If I put one of those wildlife towers in my garden it would be full of scary critters.

The ladybugs here seem to enjoy the seams of my curtains.

Ranter wrote:I visted Garden Organic's garden at Ryton last week & they had a similar wildlife tower in their children's garden.

I've seen a ladybird house made from a sheet of corrugated cardboard tightly rolled & stuffed into a plastic bottle (with its bottom removed). This is then placed in an area of dense vegetation.

Apparently the gaps in the corrugation are the right size for ladybird larvae.

Can't remember where I saw this, but I've done it & I'm not creative enough to have come up with the idea myself. Haven't actually checked if it worked - I'll go have a look when it stops raining.

Do you think this would work if i cut lots of bamboo and put that in the bottle

ooh, i want a wildlife tower..

I've got a corner of the garden it would be perfect in. Is it just pallets filed with bits of stick and clay potson their sides and stuff?

Does anyone know where there's any ideas on how to make one? I googled wildlife tower, but had no luck.

Wow! Looks like an awesome theme park for wildlife! Ideal for a town garden... I'm inspired... thank you.

That wildlife tower looks brilliant