Everyone Feeds Hummingbirds, but Should You Give Bees Water?

If you grow flowers and vegetables, you probably know how important pollinators are to the health of your plants. Besides helping to pollinate your own garden, their work is essential for more than 85% of the world’s flowering plants and two-thirds of the world’s food crops.

So, what can you do to help local bees thrive—especially in a hot and dry climate or drought conditions? It may sound like a good idea to provide additional water sources for the buzzing insects, but do you really need to put out water for bees?

Most nectar-feeding insects and some types of bees don’t need to drink much water because their bodies make a small amount through the process of breaking down carbohydrates for energy. However, bees that live in large groups, such as honeybees, do need supplemental water, says Lewis Bartlett, Ph.D., assistant professor of entomology and honeybee health at the University of Georgia. “Honey bees are the only bees known to have individuals whose entire job is to go and find and collect water.”

In fact, honeybees use water for specific functions. “Honeybees need water to reconstitute their honey so they can eat it,” says Ben Powell, coordinator of the apiculture and pollinator program at Clemson University. “They also collect water and bring it inside the hive to thermoregulate the hive, or cool it, on hot days.”

Once honeybees find a good water source, they’ll tell their hivemates, too. “When honey bees learn the closest water source, they’ll keep going back to it,” says Bartlett. But this may sometimes backfire, as they’ll even visit sources such as swimming pools, where they can fall in and drown.

Should you put out water for bees?

Honeybees sip water from various places. “They get water from dew, nectar, puddles, or in the recesses of flowers,” says Becky Griffin, pollinator health associate and national coordinator of the Great Southeast Pollinator Census, with the University of Georgia. “Bees also collect water from a ditch, pond edge, or in places such as a tree hole.”

Remember, bees have been around for millions of years, so they’re good at surviving. So, you don’t have to worry about bees finding a place to drink.

That’s true for most areas of the country, at least. “In the east, there’s no formal need to supply supplemental water for bees,” says Powell. However, in other places—such as the desert or plains states—putting out water may be helpful.

“Providing a water source is not going to cause harm, and it may have benefits, such as keeping them from drowning in swimming pools,” says Bartlett. That is, if you provide an attractive alternative source, bees may learn to use it instead of potentially hazardous places.

Offering water also allows you to experience these fascinating creatures up close. “You get to observe and appreciate the bees themselves,” says Powell. “This can teach kids that bees aren’t something to be feared.”

should you put out water for bees

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How to put out water for bees

If you’d like to offer water for your neighborhood bees, you don’t need a special device. While bee watering stations that are sold in garden centers are fine, they’re not necessary. Look for a shallow container: A birdbath generally is too steep and deep, but a saucer for underneath a flowerpot is ideal, says Griffin.

Add clean stones to the saucer, which give bees a place to land and sip. Don’t use glass beads, which are pretty but get too hot in the sun. Then change the water every five or six days to prevent mosquito larvae from developing, says Griffin.

should you put out water for bees

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Other ways to support bees

Offering water alone isn’t going to bring in the bees—it’s just part of the overall habitat they need to thrive, says Griffin. That said, here are two other ways to provide a happy home for bees in your backyard:

Plant native plants.

Growing pollinator-friendly native plants provides bees with plenty of nectar. Your local university cooperative extension service can help identify some options. Pick lots of different plants with different bloom times, says Griffin.

Reduce the use of pesticides.

These chemicals target good bugs, too, says Griffin. Try more conservative approaches when possible, such as handpicking caterpillars from your vegetables or roses or blasting aphids off with a garden hose instead of using chemicals.