Pools

[Pete]

We are still pottering away with our 6-7-8 hives in the backyard. we hand a pond and the bees love it, its covered in bees. we are thinking of getting a pool. I am bit concerned about the bees relocating to the pool.

Does this happen to anyone else, or will they likely choose the pond over the salt chlorinated pool, do people do something to deter bees from the pool?

[Michael Bush]

Bees need water. One of the issues is providing it. Another is to have it more attractive than your pool or the neighbor’s hot tub. To accomplish this you need to understand that bees are attracted to water because of several things:
•   Smell. They can recruit bees to a source that has odor. Chlorine has odor. So does sewage.
•   Warmth. Warm water can be taken on even moderately chilly days. Cold water cannot because when the bees get chilled they can’t fly home.
•   Reliability. Bees prefer a reliable source.
•   Accessibility. Bees need to be able to get to the water without falling in. A horse tank or bucket with no floats does not work well. A creek bank provides such access as they can land on the bank and walk up to the water. A barrel or bucket does not unless you provide ladders or floats or both. I use a bucket of water full of old sticks. The bees can land on the stick and climb down to the water.

[BeeMaster2]

I have a pool and a bird bath next to my apiary in town. They prefer the pool and die by the hundreds some days. My wife and grand daughters keep cups around the pool to pull them out when they are swimming.
At my farm they have a 1 acre pond and they are all around it during the spring and summer when the hives are in there. They do not actually touch the water but collect water from the mud several inches from the water. Might be the mud is warmer than the water. Might be the waves catch them and they end up in the water like they do in the pool. I suspect they will prefer the pond.
Jim

[mikecva]

Sticks, balsa wood boards, even Lilly pads in the pond will help the bees.

 A fellow beek with a pool found this devise that moves on the surface of the pool and makes bubbles, it seems to keep the bees from trying to drink from his pool.  -Mike