Watering Bees during Extreme Dry Weather

[iowastan]

I am in SE Iowa and its been an Extremely hot & dry summer. I use a concrete bird bath near my hives & just put water in it. I have seven hives & 2 bee trees. They drink the three gallon of water in about a day.
I then added a plastic paint roller tray that holds about a gallon. First I put pieces of wood in them so bees could get out of the water when they fell in. I still had a few bees drown so I tried an experiment with corn cobs. I found that the bees really like the corn cobs because the cobs are like a wick & the bees can sit on top of the cob & drink. This "watering hole" is very busy from about 7 am until dusk. I fill it every day ( after rinseing it out) Just wandered if other beekeepers water their bees!

[colonabill]

Thanks for the heads-up about the corn cob float for the bees. This I'm gonna try. Here in the high desert of Colorado that trick will surely be most helpful.

[Splatt]

I use a couple of small poultry waterers with sponges in the trough. Perfect!

...except that the bees don't seem to be using them. I have no idea where they're getting their water, but I doubt it's from here. I'm planning on trying a bird bath next year.

[Mr.Beeman]

The wife fills the bird bath every day. At any given time there is 40 - 50 bees at it.

[johnth78]

we have a kiddie pool that we drape a towel out of and the bees congregate on the towel hundreds at a time

[Andrew Dewey]

Watering is the only use appropriate for a Boardman type feeder (IMHO). I haven't had to feed any yet this summer (thankfully).

[beegeorge]

I have a 55 gallon drum cut in half, and I drape old towels over the side so they are in the water and enough over the outside to keep them from falling in,, the bees are all over the towels, and all I have to do is add water every other day or so,, since there is a good volume in it,, and this also allows me to not have to tend it every day.

[Pamela White]

I bought a small pond pump from Home Depot and put it in a big round flower pot (of course with no hole in bottom) and put some rocks in there. I also made a make-shift moat out of a lid from a cooler. There are lots and lots of bees drinking from it from sunup to sundown. I have a 24x52 pool and they are never around it at all. Will take a pic of the small pond. It seems to work well here in this HOT HOT place.

[Katharina]

I've bought a cheap fountain at Walmart when it was on sale 3 years ago. It has a large saucer on top and the bees line the rim of it drinking up a storm. BTW the fountains are now on sale, just like the garden furniture.

[Lburou]

Watering is the only use appropriate for a Boardman type feeder (IMHO). I haven't had to feed any yet this summer (thankfully).

We have been using a bird bath and boardman feeders (about 40 days over 100F so far this year). A lot less activity at the bird bath when there is water in the boardman feeder. Feeding with the boardman feeder is a magnet for robbing behavior.

[avesterfelt]

Watering is the only use appropriate for a Boardman type feeder (IMHO). I haven't had to feed any yet this summer (thankfully).

We are in 100% agreement. I have these on all my strong hives and only use water. They take it down pretty quickly when needed.

[mrobinson]

Chicken waterers with round river-stones (used for landscaping) in the trough for the bees to sit on. Very popular.

Always make it easy for your bees to get plain water.

[Splatt]

Chicken waterers with round river-stones (used for landscaping) in the trough for the bees to sit on. Very popular.

Always make it easy for your bees to get plain water.

I tried the stones, but it didn't work. That's when I tried sponges. I wonder if they're at the pool down the street?

[bannonb]

I live in Colorado (wind swept plains south of Denver).

I have a half whiskey barrel with a deep plastic liner about 5 feet from my 2 hives.. I put some fencing material to keep the animals out. My drip irrigation runs every Saturday and keeps it full (if not completely clean).

I have gone out to look at my bees in the hot summer and have never even seen a bee in that watering barrel. WTF?

Maybe they're getting their water somewhere else, but I have been surprised about that lack of interest.

BannonB

[iowastan]

UPDATE;
I have found that the corn cobs work good for a week or 10 days but then they become soaked & begin to sink. I think I will go with the 55 gallon barrel cut in half & use towels or something similiar as a "wick". It would be better not to have to fill everyday.

Thanks for all the replies!