How a Bee Bath Can Help Bees and Other Insects

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There is nothing more exciting than seeing pollinators flitting about the flowers you’ve planted in the garden. Adding a bee bath goes a long way towards making these important insects feel even more at home by providing a place for them to drink. From spring through fall, I’m very conscious of making my garden a haven for all the beneficial creatures that happen to pass through. In this article, I’ll explain how easy it is to make a simple bath for the bees and other pollinators.

In my article about creating a habitat garden, I mention how three vital elements will attract wildlife, birds, and pollinating insects to your garden: food, water, and shelter. Nourishment and protection are easy. In the hot days of summer, hydration may be harder to find. Bees cool their hives with water. If they have to rely on puddles outside of your garden, there’s a chance there could be runoff from pollutants, like pesticides, contaminating them. Having one or more clean sources of water in your garden can really provide your local bees, birds, and other creatures with a safe place to drink.

How to make a bee bath

It’s very easy to make a DIY bee bath for the garden. All you need is:

A shallow glass or dish
Stones
Fresh water

A small plate, plant saucer, shallow dish, or even a pretty saucer from a teacup set will work. Place a few stones in the bottom of your vessel and add fresh water. Be sure to leave some of the tops of the stones above the water line so the bees and other insects have a safe place to perch. And be aware that during hot, dry days, the water may evaporate. If it remains, you’ll want to change it out for fresh water frequently.

a bee bath in a raised bed — I’m happy when I can use my collection of rocks for projects. This one includes quartz and river stones. The one in the pin was created by my sister and placed in her raised bed garden.

Where to place your water source

Assess where the bees are in your garden—the front yard, backyard, patio, or balcony—and place your dish close by in a protected shady area with flowers and vegetation. You want the insects to have a safe place to land. This can be under your perennials or pots. I like to place mine in a little corner of one of my raised beds where there are lots of vegetable blooms on plants like tomatoes, zucchini, melons, and peppers, and annual flowers, like zinnias and cosmos.

Butterflies appreciate a bit of dirt in their water source. You may want to consider creating a shallow mud puddle for them, as they also consume minerals as they drink.

a bee bath with large stones — Besides other critters and insects, bee baths can attract the wide variety of bees that come to your garden, from honeybees and mason bees, to bumblebees.

Can birdbaths attract bees?

Technically you may already have a bee bath of sorts in your garden: a birdbath. Though there are important elements to consider. If your birdbath is deep, a bee risks drowning. Are there shallow edges where a bee could perch? If not, simply add a rock or two to an edge of your birdbath so that bees have a safe place to land and drink.

Fountains and ponds can also attract bees to their edges. And since social media knows that I like to garden, these Bee Cups have appeared in my feed. One end is placed in the dirt of a pot or the garden, and the other is a little flower-like vessel that holds a teaspoon of water for the bees.

a cardinal in a birdbath — Deep water is not ideal for bees. Add a small rock (where the top isn’t covered by water) to your birdbath so the bees will also have a place to drink.

A bee bath can also attract other important pollinators

Having a fresh source of water in your garden is beneficial to a whole host of creatures. Keep in mind your bee bath may also attract birds, wasps, beetles, butterflies, and other insects. You may even find a chipmunk or squirrel having a drink.

a shallow plate used as a bee bath — When I went to the Keukenhof in the Netherlands a few years ago, one of the garden displays used Delft blue pottery to create everything from a garden chandelier to watering stations. This one was mounted to an iron stake that could be pushed into the soil among the flowers. It just needs a couple of small rocks for insects.

Maintaining a clean bee bath

Gardeners are often told to avoid having standing water in their gardens as they can attract mosquito larvae. Some mosquitoes will lay their eggs close to a standing water source. Maintaining your bee bath by replacing the water often will help prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs. Check on it every few days.

If your bee bath is starting to look a little mucky, empty the water and use a clean cloth to wipe down the surface of the dish, as well as the stones. Put it all back together and add fresh water.

Making your garden a safe haven

With so much habitat loss, our gardens can be that safe haven that living creatures seek. Keep your bee bath consistently clean and filled with fresh water, and watch to see which pollinators or other critters who frequent your garden make use of it throughout the summer.