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A quicker way - which I advise to my network - is to place the spaces that cant be opened, nest entrance upwards (like yours) in a sealed cardboard box with a single exit hole at the top.

Another thing is Mason bees find every hole to lay eggs in each year my pond vacuum was covered in nests they also find holes in nature that don’t get cleaned so it looks like you are killing off the year of offspring doing this. I’ve had my system for twenty years until I moved.

Aren’t you killing new bee’s when you do this each year.. I find putting new nests out each year and removing the old nest after they hatch works better without killing the bee.

I use also a cedar block drill holes the size of my straw’s and insert them in the holes when it’s time for them too hatch.

I use vinegar my house water has chlorine in it so adding more bleach can be too much.

I moved my mason bees from western Washington too eastern Washington.. I couldn’t leave them but didn’t know if they were going to live . But they did but I don’t know for how long each year the hive gets smaller and smaller

Thank you for sharing this 😊

Helpful!!❤ thank you!

its late june and i dont think any of my Willoughby leafcutter bee cocoons are alive, ive opened a couple and there is nothing inside - it looks like they have just faded into dust, any idea what could have happened to them? i kept them in my shed and brought them out when the weather started to warm in MAY [ in the UK] So disappointed as I have new bee houses and tubes waiting for them, all cleaned, waterproofed and lined.

Thank you for this! I have always been fascinated by Mason Bees and have multiple houses around for them, I will definitely do better and get the safer alternatives

I had a few of these bees in my native garden today. I'm in love with their eyes!

Thank you for this video! It's been a few weeks and hot here in NJ. Only one of my holes is empty where a bee emerged. I look every day for more to come out!

I used bamboo (about 20cm long). In winter I split them with a strong knife and got the cocons out just fine. But I have to admit it took some time and I won't go to that hassle again. I agree that using the same bamboo year after year is wrong, just like you said. Trays are much easier.

Birds are attacking my hotels, is it too soon to save my cocoons for next spring??

Does water temp mater? It’s fairly cold November, should water be somewhat cool to eliminate thermal cycle?

Thank you

Thank you!very interesting learned a lot.a lot of work like honey bees.

🐝I love them

This was amazing and so helpful.

Really great information.

I use a dental took to pull out the white tube from the cardboard sleeve so that I can slide a new, clean white tube in.

no plugged holes here, first year, so sad... we do have lots of woodpeckers here :-( we don't have a garage or shed can we put in cellar?

I just watched a Leafcutter bee build her nest in the holes of my wood hammock stand. I haven’t seen her for a few days now and the holes look sealed. I live in Texas it’s hot and humid and it’s only June. Will the larvae hatch this summer?

Question.. can wasps creat nest same way mason bees do... with the clay cover. I think I have wasps within the one I saved for the fall. This wasps have already come out of the nesting pipes.

If you are in southern Arizona, this is a better option than Africanized killer honey bees, honey bees cannot pollinate tomato or pepper plants.

Well these bees are destroying my peach trees..

So tiny! They remind me of Mothra! their eyes!!

This is so cool. Is there any part of the Bee that’s genetically modified?

Would it make sense while extracting the cocoons to inspect for chalk-brood and transfer to a different container rather than mixing with all the other material? In fact I just pick out the MB cocoons into a separate container to sterilize and wash rather than washing everything together. That way not having to manually separating from clumps of pollen mites. Also I don't trust the bleach so I also boil the left over cleaning water as a final sterilization of the pests/diseases.

So where do i store them till the next year? Im getting some next week. And want to know where i put the cocoons after i harvest them

Hi, I just wanted you to know that the Houdini fly has made it to Surrey BC 🇨🇦. We have three large mason bee houses and our bees fill them every year. But this is the first year that we have seen these flies and there are thousands of them. We have been vacuuming them up three times a day and there are now much fewer of them. We pulled the full tubes at put them in a fine mesh bag with the sealed end standing up. The next day we had to open the mesh and vacuum up about a dozen flies that had been hiding! Do you think all this movement in May is going to have hurt the development of the bees?

Hi, I just wanted you to know that the Houdini fly has made it to Surrey BC 🇨🇦. We have three large mason bee houses and our bees fill them every year. But this is the first year that we have seen these flies and there are thousands of them. We have been vacuuming them up three times a day and there are now much fewer of them. We pulled the full tubes at put them in a fine mesh bag with the sealed end standing up. The next day we had to open the mesh and vacuum up about a dozen flies that had been hiding! Do you think all this movement in May is going to have hurt the development of the bees?

3/4 inch openings are sufficient to not hurt bee wings. The birds getting my bees would get in the large openings you're showing.

I love Bees!!❤ Did you know that farmers in the uk 🇬🇧 have stsrted to use a pesticide that kills Bees!!!?? Amd they know this !!! It has to stop!! Prorect and respect ALL wildlife/wildlife!

They’re lovely! Will be happy to share my yard with them!

I have had that Red Roof bee house for 5 years, but am unable to clean the tubes obviously. You didnt mention the time if year to use the sawdust and/ or grass seed to cover the occupant bees.

So I have to nail into my siding and hope I hit a stud?

How do I eradicate every single carpenter bee that is here

Holy moly! I didn’t know anything about this! No clue. Why doesn’t the bleach kill The bees?

I have a roof full of leaf cutters. Each April/May I wake up to one or two slow hungry bees on the floor, which I then carefully lift and take to a creosote flower on a bush by my patio. Unless they're too far gone, they rouse and go instantly at the flower with their long black proboscis(?) until they're revived enough to fly away. But one I recently saved left my finger covered in what I know now were pollen mites. I can't access their tubes in my roof...What natural enemies do pollen mites have?

I have a huge amount of mason bees 👍as well as a huge amount of paper wasps😭 Once it’s dark for the most part you can get the paper wasps. When you knock a nest down be aware that the wasp sleep under the nest and most of the time you can’t see them. They’ll move around but they can’t fly in the cool damp night air. We use a shop vac to suck them up because they scatter to the ground when knocked down. It works pretty well but it’s a bit tedious. I don’t want to spray poison so we do it the old fashioned way🤷‍♀️

How do they ever survive in the wild without people washing and cleaning the bees and hives?

I have a mason bee houses and they seem to all hatch, but they won’t leave lol they are hanging tight flying around the home, is this normal? And do I need to clean out each tube and if so when do I do this? Thank you!

Many thanks for the video/advice You have shown me lots more information here that I have picked up from other videos on CZcams 👍 Blessings from Manchester England 🐝🐝

Thanks for the video! Is it possible to use vinegar, alcohol or something more eco-friendly than bleach?

What time of year are you doing this? So the cocoons are hatched in spring..cleaning the tubes in October?

Awesome video !! Thank you

GREAT info . . . lots to remember. Thanks for sharing.

Why are you harvesting them?

Looked like a table spoon, not a teaspoon?