Bee Habitat

Plant flowers to help bees

A healthy bee habitat = flowers + no pesticides.

It’s pretty easy to create a healthy bee habitat. You can do it right in your own backyard. Or, if you live in an urban setting, you can do it on your balcony or in a community garden. All you have to do is plant flowers (or trees and shrubs which flower) and avoid using pesticides.

A healthy bee habitat can do more to save our planet than you might think.  Bees are vanishing at an astonishing rate, and anything you can do to help bees and their pollinator friends, is sure to help the larger world, of which we are all a part. Keep in mind that more than one-third of our food supply is possible only because of the pollinator work done by bees.

Here are some of the things you can do to create a healthy bee habitat:

Plant more flowers: A must for creating a healthy bee habitat

  • More flowers help make up for the loss of native bee habitat due to population growth and agricultural practices.
  • Be sure that the flowers you plant attract bees. Not all do. Some types of rose, for instance, are not well liked because it’s too difficult for bees to get to the pollen and nectar, hidden by the tightly clumped-together petals.
  • Plant a variety of different types of flowers, so that you have something blooming during all four seasons (assuming it’s possible where you live).
  • Keep in mind that different types of pollinators prefer different types of flowers. So if you have a preference for a particular type of pollinator, find out what type of flowers that particular pollinator likes.
  • Replace your all-grass lawn with an eco-lawn that includes clover, yarrow and other flowers that bees love. (Added benefits include: an eco-lawn will save you from having to fertilize and mow so often, and many varieties can help you conserve water as well.)
  • Also keep in mind that bees are not our only pollinators. Hummingbirds and butterflies, among other types of animals and insects, also help to pollinate our world. So keep their needs in mind as well when choosing flowers to plant.

Avoid pesticides:  Another must for a healthy bee habitat

  • Pesticides kill bees. There are no two ways about it. Pesticides kill bees, just like they kill other insects and animals that might ingest them. Avoid using pesticides in your yard or garden when at all possible.
  • If you decide you must use pesticides, ALWAYS read and understand the labels first, and only use pesticides according to instructions.
  • Keep in mind that sometimes instructions can be misleading.  This is in part due to that fact that many chemicals in use today within the U.S. are banned for use in agriculture by other countries because of the damage they can do to bees and other pollinators.  So labels don’t always tell the whole truth … or at least the version of the truth known in other countries around the world.
  • Even check labels for products such as dirt and compost. Surprisingly, they sometimes have additives that can hurt bees.

Get proactive

  • Start-up a “bee safe” neighborhood: Talk with your neighbors, and let them know you have concerns about the problem of vanishing bees and other pollinators.
    • Ask your neighbors if they would be interested in creating gardens in their yards that are havens for bees.
    • Develop a monthly bee safe dine-around, where you and your neighbors can meet with each other to share a meal, and to talk about bees and other things they’re doing to protect the environment.
  • Write to elected officials, and ask them to support legislation that would help to save bees and other pollinators.
Learn more about how to create a healthy bee habitat…

We invite you to read more about creating a healthy bee habitat, by visiting other pages on this site, and by visiting the other bee-related websites to which this site links.

Links to related resources: Creating Healthy Bee Habitat