When spring rolls in, we can count on the birds and the bees adding to the sights and sounds of nature around us. At least for now. Bees and other pollinators are under constant threat from changing environments. In order to help them flourish, here are the top 3 things you can do to help bees & other pollinators this year.
Boost bees & pollinators through the environment
When we build homes and make the land suitable for our human preferences, we immediately interfere with the well-being of bee landscapes. The good news is we can easily alter this with some relatively simple adjustments such as:
- plant more flowers
- choose native flowering plants whenever possible
- maintain a healthy habitat that isn’t overrun with pests
- cultivate a variety of habitats throughout the yard including full shade, partial shade, and sunny parts
- plant a garden – even small box gardens on a deck or patio can make a big difference
Be responsible with pesticides
Pesticides includes insecticides as well as herbicides. Anything applied to a landscape can have an impact on the bee population. Some of these effects can be negative, but many can be positive. We have hundreds of accounts that we have been running observational studies on with responsible applications. We have been pleased to see bee populations in the area double and in some cases increase more than 10 fold.
The ticket is in reducing the bad and promoting the good with a balanced approach. If you don’t have a background in this area, don’t feel like you need to go back to school to do it right. Consult a professional to ensure the right measures are being taken in the right doses to do the most good.
Share the fun facts
There are loads of fun and amazing facts about bees such as:
- The waggle dance – bees do a cute dance to communicate direction and distance to great pollen sources
- Bees can fly a 5 minute mile (beat that all you trail runners out there!)
- Bee bread – bees can preserve their food by making a bread out of the pollen combined with their enzymes and yeast combos
- Bees are amazing engineers – the hexagonal shape of combs is the most efficient shape that bees could use for this purpose. Go natural instincts!
- Bees are playful – recent experiments have shown bumble bees playing with small balls for no other reason than playfulness
- Embrace bee language
There are many other fun facts about bees. By sharing these with our neighbors, children, and anyone else who will listen; we can keep bees on the forefront of people’s minds. Not sure where to start? We are happy to come speak to HOA’s, businesses, or neighborhood block parties about the great things bees can do.
Environmental partners to help bees
Rove Pest Control not only strives to improve public health through the reduction of pests that threaten to spread disease but also through promoting the good side of the insect and arachnid worlds. Pest control includes reducing the bad. it also includes controlling the factors that promote the good such as helping bees and other pollinators. Schedule a meeting with us today to learn how we can