Greetings, guys, gals, and non-binary pals!
Today, we’ll be going through how to make a DIY watering hole at home for your bee friends. I have seen this popping up occasionally on Pinterest and other sites and decided to make one of my own and share the process.
Materials List:
Note: Any product links in the materials list are Amazon affiliate links.
A shallow-ish bowl, preferably ceramic or glass. It’s going to be outside in the weather, so make sure it’s durable. I ended up getting mine from Goodwill for $3. It just needs to be 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) tall at the lip. Hard plastic is also possible (ex: plastic plant saucers/bases), but some cheaper materials break down quickly and release BPA and other chemicals when heated/in direct sun. Keep that in mind.
Marbles. I got a canister (2 bags) of marbles at the Dollar Store, for $2.50. If you have gravel, small rocks, or aquarium stones, those should work too. Basically, it has to be a surface stable enough that the bees and other creatures can land, drink, and take off again without difficulty. Any materials with the potential to transfer rock/other particles are not recommended. They impede flight and would defeat the purpose of providing a safer drinking space. Examples: marbles, aquarium/floral stones.
Soap & Brush/Sponge. TO CLEAN THE MATERIALS. Do not, and I repeat DO NOT put soap in this when it is set out for the bees to drink from. No matter how “biodegradable/organic/etc” the soap is, it still has detrimental effects on insects. I highly suggest Dr. Bronner’s Castile (unscented/baby) soap. Alternatively, other castile soap (ex: a 1-gallon container) or the like should also work well.
Water. While it doesn’t necessarily have to be from a particular water source, just like with humans and other animals, you want to make sure that the water provided is from an unpolluted source. In many cases, water from your garden hose would fit the bill just fine.
Optional. While I have yet to really experiment with it, it has been suggested that adding pleasing flowers to the water helps to attract insects, as they are predisposed to certain smells. Also, while you need to keep an eye on the water level and perhaps flush out accumulated debris occasionally, having algae in the water is not necessarily a bad thing. It is not advised for certain animals, but if there is some in the container, it’s not the end of the world. Especially as we enter warmer months, be aware of mosquitoes though. They can and do make a nest in stagnant water.
Construction / Process:
Wash the bowl/dish/saucer you have decided to use. You don’t need to rinse it. Just put the soap and water in the dish and use that to scrub the surface.
Wash the marbles. To make sure you don’t lose your marbles, I’d suggest putting them in the bowl/dish and using that as a bathing space. Swish the bowl repeatedly to clean all its contents. Be advised, glass on glass on ceramic sounds a bit like nails on a chalkboard, at least to me. This could be tricky if you are using a marble-substitute that doesn’t easily roll or has squared edges. In that case, I’d suggest perhaps having a secondary bowl/container to empty them into once they are cleaned and/or rinsed.
Rinse the marbles and bowl. The easiest way to do this is to flush the bowl with the hose (i.e. rinse off visible soap and then aim the water between the marbles to get out any hidden suds. Swish the bowl as you did when washing the marbles, and dump out the water. Repeat as needed till the water is clear. You don’t need to dry the bowl, as it’ll be outside and any excess moisture will evaporate or be consumed by passing creatures.
Place the waterer. Place your creation carefully. You want the waterer to be in an ideal position for your insect friends to be able and want to visit. It should be in an out-of-the way spot, ideally safe from other passing wildlife, be they of the domesticated or truly wild variety. If you have access to them. you might want to add a few blooms (or petals, even) from bee/insect-friendly flowers, as the scent is a strong attractant for them. In our garden, that generally amounts to orange blossoms, oxalis flowers, and borage, when it’s in bloom. They really go for borage flowers.
Take care, everyone. Bee well.
Kate