Ordering Tubes

[xC0000005]

I checked with the Ace paper tube company and I can get 2500 mason bee tubes for about 11 cents each + shipping. That's a lot, so I'm considering buying from somewhere else. Checking around on the internet it seems there's a lot of people making suprising money off of nesting tubes. Where's the cheapest place to pick up a couple hundred tubes? I have dozens and dozens of mazon bees nesting in the siding of my house, I'm relatively confident I can attract them. :)

[Aspera]

OK, I'm going to test the "no stupid questions" theory and ask why you can't just drill holes into blocks of woods.

[xC0000005]

You can, but it would be nice to be able to be able to shuffle them around and distribute them, as well as to disinfect coocoons. I have friends and family I'd like to be able to send tubes to.

[Aspera]

How do you disinfect your cocoons?

[dcross]

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217161

If you're just looking for the paper straws, you can get them from Territorial Seeds for less than 20 cents a piece(I think!).

[xC0000005]

I somehow missed that link. Ordered a few myself. :)

[solitaryb]

It depends on the quanity you need. I was running out of space on my little 45 tube box, so as I didn't need hundreds, I thought I would test the straw idea out by making the straws myself. In a few spare moments evenings using brown wrapping paper around dowling of the right diameter, (and recruiting my nephew) I got sixty together stuffed in two beer cans. It worked, and it even attracted another more shyer bee - will post the image another time. Half the tubes were filled after two weeks.

[blueskybeesupply]

http://www.papertube.com/contact.htm

Sent a nice kit. Recommended by others.

[Bucherbees]

I just attended a seminar on pollinatores. The alternative to pricy cardboard tubes is bamboo. Your cut bamboo about 6 inches long (matching the circumference) of the cardboard tubes) and stick a bunch of the bamboo in a cut off rainspout (to keep them dry) which you can hang on a tree. I believe they were saying that one can purchase bamboo poles from K-Mart or such. Here is a link:
www.pollinatorparadise.com

Good luck.

[Bucherbees]

http://www.gardeners.com/Mason-Bee-House/20676,37-481,default,cp.html
this is another link buying a mason bee house, at least, this is what it looks like to use bamboo tubes.