Insect house near vegetables - good or bad idea?

[CautiouslyPessimistic]

As in the title really - I have veg patch growing tomatoes and strawberries. I also have a new insect house I'd like to put up. Is putting it up on the fence above the veg patch a really good or really bad idea? I figure it might help with pollination but it also might help with insects eating all my vegetables! Thoughts?

If you want to stop insects eating your vegetables then the best thing you can do is encourage birds (though net things for pigeons!). Insects will probably find their own way to come and pollinate so make sure you are not using damaging sprays etc.

Come the winter is the time to provide cover for hibernating insects, so don’t cut down herbaceous plants in autumn, leave piles of leaves etc and maybe then think of bug hotels.