Did you know that bees need a bath? There is no need to crack out a miniature bottle of bubble bath. It is easy to make a bee bath for your garden. We have been busy figuring out everything we need to make an awesome home garden and specifically what we need to create a bee friendly garden. One of the items on our must-have list for planning our home garden is how to make a bee bath.
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When we think about the many ways that we can help bees in our own green spaces, we often think of planting attractive flowers. However, bees have another need - water.
Why Do Bees Need Water?
Yes, like every living thing on Earth bees need water to survive. Beyond drinking water to keep hydrated, bees need water for their bee hives. Yep, bees take water back to the hive. The water keeps the humidity levels under control, cools the hive, and helps in the production of honey. Clever little bees!
We have been having a lot of fun exploring bees this summer. Creating a bee bath for our garden is a simple and fun activity to do with the kids. Anything we can do to help pollinators survive and thrive makes a wonderful addition to any garden.
So, what is a bee bath?
A bee bath is a safe source of water for bees. The water needs to be shallow, so the bees won't drown. The bee bath needs to be in a sunny, sheltered spot - that bees will want to visit.
How to Make an Easy Bee Bath
Begin with selecting a shallow dish for your bee bath. It is important that the dish is shallow. A vessel that is too deep the bees can drown in the water. We used a shallow dish that was supposed to be a tabletop bird feeder or bird bath.
The next step is filling the dish with something that the bees can stand on and easily access the water. We chose to use small pebbles and a few larger rocks. The pebbles give the bees something to safely stand on while they drink from the water.
We collected these rocks from our local beach. I like the rustic look of the rocks. However, if you like the look of something shiny, check out our post about how to make a bee bath with marbles.
When it comes to deciding where to place the bee bath, think about where bees will be hanging out in your garden. If you have already filled your garden with plants that bees love then this won't be a problem. If you aren't sure what plants bees love take a look at our post which is filled with tips for creating a bee garden. We have been rotating the location of our bee bath. In general, it is best to place it in a partially sunny spot. This way the water won't evaporate too quickly and the bees will be comfortable. Now that our bee balm and purple cone flowers are starting to bloom, we moved the bath to that area of the garden.
Prior to that, we had our bee bath placed on our back patio, near a group of flowering potted plants. Yep, bee baths are perfect for patios too.
The final step is perhaps the hardest step - remembering to fill the bee bath with water. The bath has such a small amount of water that it evaporates quickly. We fill ours once a day. Don't be afraid to overfill the bath, the excess water will evaporate in no time at all. And, the rain does a great job of keeping the bath full too.
Now, I haven't actually witnessed any bees in our bee bath, but the water is available for them when they need it. This bath is also useful for butterflies. Butterflies need water too. Another great addition to all gardens is large rocks where butterflies and bees can stretch out their wings. Butterflies like to rest in dry, sunny spots in gardens.
We have a few stepping stones placed throughout our garden. At first glance it would appear that they are simply stepping stones...but during the heat of the summer, you will often find butterflies resting on the flat surfaces. After all that fluttering, they need a safe spot to rest.
More simple summer activities...
Make a real flower suncatcher with Messy Little Monsters
Clean the toy cars in a fun car wash with Play & Learn Everyday
Royal Balloo shares how to make an outdoor exploding tic-tac-toe game
Craft your own Hank the Octopus wind sock with The Gingerbread House
More bee resources
Learn how to make a terracotta pot bee bath with marbles
Find out how to build a bee garden
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