Kids Bug House

My parents have a bug house and now that my daughter is into bugs, I wanted to get her one. I looked online and all of the ones that I could find were much smaller than what my parents have. I really wanted something larger so I figured why not just make what I want. This is primarily designed based off of the scrap sizes and equipment I have but I will add some notes on other methods that can be used. Most steps have drawings if you want it the same size but it can easily be made whatever size you want.

Material

• Wood (I used a 1x6 x 4 foot oak board)
• Plexiglass (door can be any material)
• Screen material
• Leather (optional)

Hardware

• Staples
• Nails
• Nail/Screw/Bolt for door
• Contact cement (if using leather)

Both ends have the same shape but one of the sides has the hole for the door. I used a bolt and threaded insert to hold the door on but you can just use a screw or nail and don't need to drill that hole above the door. I used my cnc router to cut these out just because I could but the shape can be cut out by any method you have. You can alter the dimensions of this based on how large you want it to be or what board size you have available.

This part is just a simple rectangle. It just needs to be the same width as the sides. I also cut out a 1/2 in wide piece that is the same length that I used along to top to add support.

The door can be cut out of any material. I had Plexiglass, better to see the bugs with, so that is what I used. I recommend using something thinner so that it doesn't stick out very much. I also added a hole in the bottom of mine to add a handle for the door.

I wanted a handle on the door so I decided to use a scrap piece of the oak and use my lathe to make a small round to use as a handle. I then used epoxy to attach it to a nail. You can just use some dowel rod or keep is square.

now that all the components were complete, I sanded down all the parts and then glued them together. I just used wood glue and clamped it all together to dry. I later added some nails to add some extra strength since it will be used by kids.

Once the glue was dry, I wiped on some finish to protect the wood. I used some linseed oil since that is what I have but you can use any wood finish you want. Just make sure it isn't toxic to bugs.

I had a screen that came with our house, it didn't fit any of our current windows, that I cut apart to use for this but you can easily buy screen material at the store. I cut it to the width but made sure to leave it longer than I thought it would need to be. Start on one side and work you way around fastening it to the house body. I initially tried finishing nails but found out the staples were easier. just pulled it tight and tried and prevent it from lifting in between staples.

I found the edge of the screen to be pokey, I used a metal screen, and wanted to protect the edges. I had some scrap pieces of leather that I thought would look good as a protective boarder. I cut it into strips the width of the wood and then trimmed them to length and glued them in place with contact cement. I also added a second longer strip along the top to act as a handle.

All that is left is to attach the door and then put it to use. Because I was using a bolt, I used some Loctite to make sure the bolt didn't back out. I made it tight enough so that the door could remain opened to the side to allow it to remain open when inserting bugs.