Column: You are welcome to come, but please stay at the hotel

In preparation for the spring and all of the visitors that come along with warmer weather, we decided to build a hotel.

We signed up for the guided building event at the Shelter Island Library, and in under 30 minutes, left the building with two new hotels. Bug Hotels. The advertisement in the library’s newsletter read “Spring is just around the corner and bugs are starting to wake up. Why not create your very own bug hotel (designed for outdoor living only) using twigs and sticks and small pieces that naturally exist in nature? The bugs and the ecosystem will thank you!”

Typically, I am what you may call “bug averse.” I will generally avoid any activity that invites these small pesky little creatures anywhere near our house.

But, with faith in Sara Garcia’s programming and a bit of intrigue about how this project could help the natural world, I signed my two children up for the activity.

We collectively decided that upon completion of construction, our hotel would be quite exclusive. Both decided that they would like to cater to the ladybug clientele and would not be opening up their doors to just any old insect that might be crawling by.

And with two brand-new boutique hotels in our yard, the local ladybug population will be in for a real treat. Upon doing a bit of research, we learned that ladybugs help control insects like aphids and mites that can damage your garden, and are known to be one of the most effective predatory insects around.

Our PR Team will be hard at work marketing the hotels to our targeted audience. The promotional campaign will likely involve highlighting a variety of nectar and pollen producing favorites to help sustain our guests, including dandelions, dill, garlic, geraniums, mint and parsley.

The advertisements will also feature custom bowl-shaped rocks that water can collect in and stick ladders intentionally placed to provide for easy access to the hotel.

This is our first attempt in hotel buildouts, and we were able to complete construction ahead of time and, thanks to the free program, came in under budget. We’re hoping that our hard work and creativity will pay off and that the couture ladybugs of Shelter Island find our accommodations pleasing and satisfying.

Feeling like experts in property development, we also decided to make a few bat houses as well. Getting back to my earlier admission that I am of the sentiment of bug control, rather than bug invitation, we felt that our yard had some room for a new residential bat development.

Apparently, bats eat at least one-third of their body weight every night in bugs; including approximately 1,000-2,000 mosquitoes each night.

The Suffolk County government website states that the bite of a mosquito typically results in an itchy welt, but can occasionally transmit diseases such as West Nile Encephalitis and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. There are about 50 different species of mosquitoes in Suffolk County, and we have seen several cases of West Nile in the past few years.

We ordered a few cedar bat houses, already assembled and ready for a coat of paint. According to Bat Conservation International, years of research have shown that bat houses are far more successful at attracting bats if they are painted or stained. Painting helps provide the proper internal temperature for bats and also increases the life span of the bat house by protect against various elements such as rain and sun exposure.

The appropriate bat house color depends upon geographic location and amount of sun exposure. All of the websites that we consulted agreed that for our region, dark colors such as blue, green, purple, black and brown would be ideal.

The kids enjoyed using their creativity to decorate their houses and we will get them hung up in time for the female bats to find and use. Most female bats only have one pup each year, so we are hoping to provide as a safe, warm place to raise a young pup.

The most ideal spot to hang a bat house is about 10-to-20 feet off the ground in a Eastern/Southerly facing area that gets about six-to-eight hours of direct sunlight. While our impact is small, we’re glad that we’re taking steps to help facilitate a healthy balance of our surroundings.

A greater presence of bats means fewer pesticides are needed, therefore reducing the amount of chemicals released into the environment.

Fortunately, bats do not need ladybugs, so we are quite hopeful that our invited guests can enjoy the accommodations and stay for the season.