[rwlaw]

Hi everyone, couldn't get my bees to start taking water from the containers around the hives like last yr (was worried about the neigbor's pool). Tried salt in one and a little sugar in the other w/ a couple drops of HBH. A few were going after the salted one but not like they should've, then I remembered that I had used pink foam board for floaties, replace the white hunks and the traffic increased on the salted one. Went and bought some mineral salt from TSC mixed in about a third cup of that in approx 2 gal and this afternoon even though it was a rainy cool day both feeders had traffic. Any body got a tried and true recipe? Don't want em to have water retention and get crabby like the better half does.

 

[Fuzzy]

First, a third of a cup of salt in 2 gallons of water is a helluva lotta salt !
How about 1 tablespoon in 2 gallons instead. And remember the salt does NOT evaporate. As the bucket gets low just add fresh water, never more salt unless you pour the contents out.

Fuzzy

 

[rwlaw]

I tasted it and have had stiffer bloody mary's before, but thanks I'll change it out tomorrow.

 

[heaflaw]

So does mineral salt disolve easily in water? I tried table salt once & couldn't get it to disolve. I have noticed them going after cow pee at times & I don't like that thought. I would never mention it to my honey customers.

 

[Dunkel]

I don't no but I can tell you that they love salted peanut shells. I had a bucket of shells and was using them as smoker fuel after a long winter of assembling bee stuff. I left them out in the rain and the bees love them. About 50 at a time around the bucket of moist shells.

 

[mothergoosemagic]

Some of the Biodynamic beekeeping recipes I've read for syrup mention using a little bit of sea salt. But it's a minimal amount--something like less than a teaspoon per gallon. I don't see where regular mineral salt for animal feed wouldn't work in this instance. But rather than a huge block for cattle, it might be easier to store mineral salt wheels for rabbits.

 

[mac]

I use a large pan about 4 inches deep. 2 or 3 bricks are placed around inside. Over the years a lot of moss has grown all over the edges of the pan and bricks. I fill it about once a week depending on how hot it gets. I rinse it out about once a year leaving most of the moss. It’s about 2 feet above the ground. The bees are all over it all the time. It’s about 50 feet from the hives. There are 3 or 4 pools and a creek in the area. I have noticed bees flying from other places other than my hives. Don’t know if they use the pools or not but no complaints in 7 years. The bees like the pan. The pan is good.

 

[Todd 64]

A, an old time beekeeper told me to pee around my apairy site to repel bears. What he dident tell me was that bees love pee! Must be the salt. Dident care to much for that so i us my dogs instead. Put out a salt lick and bees love it. The blue one. Using small satilite dish filled with aquarium gravel as a water trough. Works good and easy to clean.