use of eastern red cedar for mason and leaf cutter bee house

Has anyone used Eastern Red Cedar (juniperus Virginiana) as a mason and leaf cutter bee house?  

I have access to a large dead Eastern Cedar that I can use and was thinking of a totem stack of the logs.  

Then I will drill holes all around (different size holes) in order to attract the native solitary bees.

I hope it will attract other kinds of pollinators for my backyard fruit tree/bush/vine orchard.

THanks.

It might work, I've seen carpenter bees use aromatic cedar trees that were dead so perhaps the oils won't deter mason bees from using them.

Thanks Bryant Redhawk.  I will do this and at worst maybe the carpenter bees that attack my deck may find this more to their interest.

Just a small yellow flag Bryant, I've heard that cedar has natural insecticides built into it while still wet. Using it for a house is great. Using it for the nesting holes might not be wise. I'd wait a few years prior to doing that.

Do consider using holes that you can open up,like reeds, paper tubes or wood trays. Pest management.

Dave, Crown Bees

The tree has been dead for a couple years but has not fallen.
I do have some parchment paper to make tubes with.
Actually that makes it easier since I was wondering how to clean out the holes after the bees hatch.  It will fit any size diameter hole too.
Thanks

I am glad you clarified that Dave, I did mention that I've seen carpenter bees using dead cedars but didn't mention fresh cut or living trees.
Glad you gave my post a yellow card, sometimes I get in a hurry to finish a post and important information ends up not in the post. I appreciate those who point out my "left outs".

Redhawk

I've used white cedar for mason bee nest but they were a few years old  before i drilled them so the oils probably leached out of them. had plenty of masons take up residence in them over the last couple years.

Dennis Bangham wrote:The tree has been dead for a couple years but has not fallen.
I do have some parchment paper to make tubes with.
Actually that makes it easier since I was wondering how to clean out the holes after the bees hatch.  It will fit any size diameter hole too.
Thanks

do you have any invasive japanese knotweed growing near you? they make the best mason bee  tubes and are free. harvest the ones that you can just put a pencil into. cut them to 6in pieces and bind together. make a box out of wood and place them in there or a 12in section of 6-8in pic pipe works too. come mid summer harvest the cocoons and keep in the garage to protect them from birds and wasps. when it starts to get cold put them in the fridge or could just leave in the garage. keep a most p towel in there so they don't dry out but don't let it touch cocoons. once temps in the mid 50's outside, come spring put them out to hatch near their nesting box. check out crown bees to see how to harvest cocoons. this is important because if you just put blocks out it won't be long disease and predation will attack them because so much cocoons in 1 spot makes them vulnerable. in the wild they don't nest near each other like that.

I am not sure if that is in my area.  I will keep an eye out but since it is an invasive plant it may be hard to find before it gets sprayed.
I have a lot of information on harvesting and storing the bee cocoons.  I even have my little vented box for storing in the fridge.  I bought a bunch several years ago and they did not stay around long.  I had the bee house and the clay and a lot of pollinators but they liked someone else better than me. Thanks

its everywhere around here . looks like reddish bamboo. has the segments like bamboo also. i grow patches of wildflowers that bloom all summer so i think that keeps them around.