Bee Hotels Aren’t Just Garden Decor: How to Attract Mason and Carpenter Bees in California

If you spend any time in gardening groups or on Pinterest, you’ve likely seen the warnings: “Bee hotels are just garden decor,” or “Native bees will never actually use them.” For a while, I thought the skeptics might be right. My own “Hotel de Sage” sat quietly for seasons, a beautiful but empty monument to my hopes for a pollinator-heavy garden. But nature operates on its own timeline, not an algorithm’s. Three years later, my hotel isn’t just a garden feature—it’s a thriving, high-occupancy complex for San Diego County’s hardest-working native residents. From the big-bodied Carpenter bees tunneling into agave stalks to the industrious Mason bees sealing their mud doors in oak, the “guests” have officially checked in. Below, I’m sharing a close-up video tour of this year’s activity and the three specific reasons why this hotel succeeded where others fail.

Success Tip 1: Be Patient (Let the Wood Weather)

Mason bees nests with their little mud “doors”

One of the biggest reasons bee hotels fail is that they’re too fresh and clean.

The Secret: Sure, a brand-new bee hotel looks great in the garden, but new wood—especially pine and cedar—have resins with strong scents that actually repel native bees. It takes at least a year before the “new house smell” has been replaced by the scent of the local environment.

Advice: Use old, weathered wood in your hotel construction, particularly the logs and branches you used to make the “rooms”.
If you do use new wood, don’t plan on hanging a “no vacancy” sign on it next week. It takes four full seasons of sun and winter rain to “cure” the wood and make it inviting to Mason and Carpenter bees.

Success Tip 2: Respect the “Depth Rule”

Many store-bought bee houses are only 6 inches deep; some are as narrow as 3- 4 inches deep. This is a fatal flaw because it makes the bee larvae easy targets for birds and parasitic wasps.

The Secret: The hotel needs to be 9 to 12-inch deep. This allows the be to place her nest in the hole far enough from the entrance that it’s not easy pickings for predators and provides enough room for food for the babies after they hatch.
Tunnel depth is also crucial for “sex ratio” balance. Female bees typically lay female eggs at the back of the tunnel and male eggs at the front.

Advice: Deep tunnels ensure that even if a predator (like a woodpecker) reaches the front, the females (the future of the colony) remain safe at the back.

Success Tip 3: Soft Woods for Carpenter Bees

While many guides focus on drilling small, pencil-sized holes for Mason bees, San Diego gardens (and California gardens west of the mountains in general) are prime territory for the California Carpenter Bee. These “heavy lifters” of the pollinator world struggle with hard oak.

The Secret: Dried agave flower stalks that would otherwise be tossed were cut into logs for “rooms” in the hotel. The soft, pithy center of the agave mimics the rotting logs Carpenter bees seek out in the wild.

Advice: Don’t just drill holes in hardwood. Include “soft-center” materials like agave, yucca stalks, or pithy elderberry branches to attract the larger native species.

Success Tip 4: Location, Altitude, Orientation

The Bee Hotel on a winter’s afternoon

Our Zone 9 climate can be hot and dry in the summer, but there are still quite a few below-freezing nights in winter. A bee hotel can alternate between oven and freezer if placed incorrectly.

The Secret: Make sure the hotel is elevated and features a significant roof overhang. This provides two things: protection from heavy winter downpours and shade from the scorching afternoon sun.

Advice: Face your hotel toward the South or Southeast. This allows the morning sun to warm the bees up so they can fly early, while the roof prevents them from roasting during a 90°F late September afternoon.

Bee Hotel Success Checklist (Zone 8–10)

• Use weathered or aged wood
  Fresh-cut wood smells wrong to bees. Let materials age at least one year before expecting occupancy.
• Provide deep nesting tunnels (9–12 inches)
  Shallow holes expose larvae to predators and parasites. Depth protects developing bees and supports healthy sex ratios.
• Include soft, pithy materials
  Mason bees use narrow tunnels, but Carpenter bees prefer soft-centered stalks like agave, yucca, or elderberry.
• Face south or southeast
  Morning sun warms bees early, while afternoon shade prevents overheating.
• Mount the hotel off the ground
  Elevation helps reduce moisture problems and predator access.
• Add a roof with a deep overhang
  Protects nests from winter rain and extreme summer heat.
• Avoid smooth, polished interiors
  Bees need texture for grip. Rough, natural tunnel walls are preferred over drilled, sanded holes.
• Be patient — occupancy takes time
  Native bees may take 1–3 seasons to adopt a new nesting site.

Bottom Line: Bee Hotels Work (If You Build Them for Bees, Not Looks)

Quick answer: Bee hotels work in California when they mimic natural nesting conditions and are given time to weather in.

My bee hotel didn’t succeed because I followed a trendy design or bought the right kit. It worked because I stopped thinking like a decorator and started thinking like a bee.

Native bees don’t need decorator style. They need time, the right materials, and a setup that reflects how they live in the wild. Weathered wood. Deep, protected tunnels. Soft, pithy stems. Morning sun and afternoon shade. None of this is complicated, but it does require patience.

If you garden in Zones 8-10, especially here in San Diego and Southern California, the bees are already around you. Give them a place that feels safe, and they’ll find it. Sometimes it just takes a few seasons for them to decide you’re worth checking into.

And when they do? Your garden will never be the same (in the best possible way).

Build Your Own Bee Hotel