6 ms·

I suggest to add a bee home (bee house, bee hotel) to your garden. It is simple, last several years, it can be as small as a bird house, and can be a fun weeke

I suggest to add a bee home (bee house, bee hotel) to your garden. It is simple, last several years, it can be as small as a bird house, and can be a fun weekend project with the kids. (It can also be purchased.) Please, do not get honey bees, unless willing to take care of them - just like with any animal husbandry. I love them, I am a beek, but I find too many abandoned or swarms from people who bought into the idea that they need to save the world through bee hives. Just resist the urge, unless you have time and willingness to do proper beekeeping.

RegularOpossum 4y ago
I've got multiple bee homes for all different sizes. Showing off our orchid bees to visitors is one of my favorite yard activities.
Wonnk13 4y ago
So the idea with the bee home is the bees come to me? As opposed to me buying honeybees and a hive? I'm asking out of genuine ignorance not trolling, as I'd love to have bees by my planter box, but I don't have the time to be a bee keeper and and don't want to kill the little guys.
- 11235813213455 4y ago
  probably better to get honey from a local beekeeper (and/or local fruits, which are even better for us, with their fiber)
  - criddell 4y ago
    Definitely. In North America, honey bees are non-native, invasive species. If you want to help the bee population, pick a species native for your area.
- throw_away1525 4y ago
  They won't be honeybees, they'll be other types of bees like mason bees. But yes, they will come to you.
  - mikeyouse 4y ago
    I'm interested in this generally but we've had problems with bald faced hornets and yellowjackets... are they attracted to the bee hotels?
    - WaitWaitWha 4y ago
      No. I am not familiar with solitary hornets (genus vespa) that build in bee homes. They build hives and depend on each other. The bee homes do not make a good living space for them. Cicada killers are solitary, but they build in sandy soil. European hornets also nest in the ground; same with digger wasps, and mud daubers. The bald-faced hornet is a wasp and build their paper nest, similar to yellowjackets.
- WaitWaitWha 4y ago
  Yes, in general. (Appreciate the honest question.) Bee homes [0] are basically a bird house with a bunch of small reeds or pipes where several native species can nest. It provides home for several American native bees. It is primarily for solitary bees It does not work for all, but it does help. After all, there are about 20,000 bee species and nearly 4,000 are in North America! Bee homes do require some cleaning as the cocoons will be left behind in the reeds if you are successful. You will have to replace the reeds, or clean them out (bottle cleaner, or toothbrush works). Honey bees (Apis mellifera), sometimes referred to as European or western honey bee is not native to the Americas, although they are well established now. They were introduced in the 17th century. [0] : https://duckduckgo.com/?q=native+bee+home&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=native+bee+home&t=ffab&iar=images&... (also personal preferences - I use honey bee (not honeybee), as the honey is a description of the bee species e.g. like bubble bee)
  - burnished 4y ago
    There are solitary bees?? Fact sheet I stumbled on for others curious: https://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf21.html https://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf21.html
    - gibspaulding 4y ago
      Yes definitely; many (most?) of the bees native to North America are solitary. Honey bees were originally imported from Europe. The only reason they're not considered invasive is that they're so bad at surviving here.
11235813213455 4y ago
Exactly, better have some sweat fruit trees (figs, persimmons, apricots, ...) and other wild pollinators (wild bees, wasps, butterflies, .. even ants pollinate)
hklgny 4y ago
Thanks so much for suggesting this - fits me perfectly. Have always wanted to do something for bees and with bees, but know I wouldn't commit to taking care of them as needed. Going to get this going next weekend!
yboris 4y ago
Novel bee keeping technique: plastic bottle (you can see what's inside, know when to gather the honey, and you can keep bees safely indoors) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs
lasermatts 4y ago
+1 for adding in bee hotels to promote those solitary bees! equally easy (but a little uglier) is to always remember not to cut back your native plants over winter! Native solitary bees love to lay their eggs in hollowed out plant stems!
- voisin 4y ago
  And to leave leaves and needles on the ground where they fall over winter and spring.
gateorade 4y ago
Weird question, but if you encourage bees to come through these methods, how prevalent are they? I like the idea of doing this, but I also have a young child and am somewhat allergic to bee stings myself and wouldn't want my yard to become overrun with bees.
- WaitWaitWha 4y ago
  For the love of all that is good, not worth a trip to ER. That kind of emergency usually happens when least expected, and the epinephrine is on the other side of the farm, and need 15 minute ride. Personal experience, solitary bees (and honey bees in general) - the key word here is bees, NOT wasps - are gentle. I regularly play with bubble bees and show my progeny how to treat them. But, that implies that you can identify a bee from a wasp. Take a look at some of the comparison images and you will get the gist [0]. Drunk yellowjackets are the worst. [0] https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=wasp+vs+bee&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=wasp+vs+bee&iax=images&ia=i... (Do not read this: to be fair, ground nesting solitary wasps are not as freakish as any hive wasps.)
goda90 4y ago
Instead of putting my fall leaves on the curb for pickup, I used them to smother the grass where I wanted to plant a vegetable garden. I saw way more bumblebees the next year and occasionally caught them burrowing into the leaves. Just letting things be a bit messier goes a long way.
everybodyknows 4y ago
Any suggestions for a quality supplier? The only bee house from Home Depot has a one-star review (scroll down) from a biologist who seems to know her stuff: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bambeco-12-in-Mason-Tower-Bee-House-491581574/302850894#overlay https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bambeco-12-in-Mason-Tower-Bee-Ho...
mcovey 4y ago
Any advice on how to get rid of feral honeybees? I had hundreds of them last year, attracted to my hummingbird feeders. I took those away and the bees stuck around waiting for them to reappear. They're completely docile, but also non-native, and the huge number of them makes them a pest. They've even been around a bit this winter taking pieces of cracked corn that I put out for wild turkeys.

RegularOpossum 4y ago

I've got multiple bee homes for all different sizes. Showing off our orchid bees to visitors is one of my favorite yard activities.

Wonnk13 4y ago

So the idea with the bee home is the bees come to me? As opposed to me buying honeybees and a hive? I'm asking out of genuine ignorance not trolling, as I'd love to have bees by my planter box, but I don't have the time to be a bee keeper and and don't want to kill the little guys.

11235813213455 4y ago
probably better to get honey from a local beekeeper (and/or local fruits, which are even better for us, with their fiber)
- criddell 4y ago
  Definitely. In North America, honey bees are non-native, invasive species. If you want to help the bee population, pick a species native for your area.
throw_away1525 4y ago
They won't be honeybees, they'll be other types of bees like mason bees. But yes, they will come to you.
- mikeyouse 4y ago
  I'm interested in this generally but we've had problems with bald faced hornets and yellowjackets... are they attracted to the bee hotels?
  - WaitWaitWha 4y ago
    No. I am not familiar with solitary hornets (genus vespa) that build in bee homes. They build hives and depend on each other. The bee homes do not make a good living space for them. Cicada killers are solitary, but they build in sandy soil. European hornets also nest in the ground; same with digger wasps, and mud daubers. The bald-faced hornet is a wasp and build their paper nest, similar to yellowjackets.
WaitWaitWha 4y ago
Yes, in general. (Appreciate the honest question.) Bee homes [0] are basically a bird house with a bunch of small reeds or pipes where several native species can nest. It provides home for several American native bees. It is primarily for solitary bees It does not work for all, but it does help. After all, there are about 20,000 bee species and nearly 4,000 are in North America! Bee homes do require some cleaning as the cocoons will be left behind in the reeds if you are successful. You will have to replace the reeds, or clean them out (bottle cleaner, or toothbrush works). Honey bees (Apis mellifera), sometimes referred to as European or western honey bee is not native to the Americas, although they are well established now. They were introduced in the 17th century. [0] : https://duckduckgo.com/?q=native+bee+home&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=native+bee+home&t=ffab&iar=images&... (also personal preferences - I use honey bee (not honeybee), as the honey is a description of the bee species e.g. like bubble bee)
- burnished 4y ago
  There are solitary bees?? Fact sheet I stumbled on for others curious: https://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf21.html https://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf21.html
  - gibspaulding 4y ago
    Yes definitely; many (most?) of the bees native to North America are solitary. Honey bees were originally imported from Europe. The only reason they're not considered invasive is that they're so bad at surviving here.

11235813213455 4y ago

Exactly, better have some sweat fruit trees (figs, persimmons, apricots, ...) and other wild pollinators (wild bees, wasps, butterflies, .. even ants pollinate)

hklgny 4y ago

Thanks so much for suggesting this - fits me perfectly. Have always wanted to do something for bees and with bees, but know I wouldn't commit to taking care of them as needed. Going to get this going next weekend!

yboris 4y ago

Novel bee keeping technique: plastic bottle (you can see what's inside, know when to gather the honey, and you can keep bees safely indoors) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs

lasermatts 4y ago

+1 for adding in bee hotels to promote those solitary bees! equally easy (but a little uglier) is to always remember not to cut back your native plants over winter! Native solitary bees love to lay their eggs in hollowed out plant stems!

voisin 4y ago
And to leave leaves and needles on the ground where they fall over winter and spring.

gateorade 4y ago

Weird question, but if you encourage bees to come through these methods, how prevalent are they? I like the idea of doing this, but I also have a young child and am somewhat allergic to bee stings myself and wouldn't want my yard to become overrun with bees.

WaitWaitWha 4y ago
For the love of all that is good, not worth a trip to ER. That kind of emergency usually happens when least expected, and the epinephrine is on the other side of the farm, and need 15 minute ride. Personal experience, solitary bees (and honey bees in general) - the key word here is bees, NOT wasps - are gentle. I regularly play with bubble bees and show my progeny how to treat them. But, that implies that you can identify a bee from a wasp. Take a look at some of the comparison images and you will get the gist [0]. Drunk yellowjackets are the worst. [0] https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=wasp+vs+bee&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=wasp+vs+bee&iax=images&ia=i... (Do not read this: to be fair, ground nesting solitary wasps are not as freakish as any hive wasps.)

goda90 4y ago

Instead of putting my fall leaves on the curb for pickup, I used them to smother the grass where I wanted to plant a vegetable garden. I saw way more bumblebees the next year and occasionally caught them burrowing into the leaves. Just letting things be a bit messier goes a long way.

everybodyknows 4y ago

Any suggestions for a quality supplier? The only bee house from Home Depot has a one-star review (scroll down) from a biologist who seems to know her stuff: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bambeco-12-in-Mason-Tower-Bee-House-491581574/302850894#overlay https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bambeco-12-in-Mason-Tower-Bee-Ho...

mcovey 4y ago

Any advice on how to get rid of feral honeybees? I had hundreds of them last year, attracted to my hummingbird feeders. I took those away and the bees stuck around waiting for them to reappear. They're completely docile, but also non-native, and the huge number of them makes them a pest. They've even been around a bit this winter taking pieces of cracked corn that I put out for wild turkeys.