07/01/2026
I had no idea!
I spent years putting out sparkling clean bowls of fresh tap water for the bees when the weather turned hot. Scrubbed them out daily. Thought I was being incredibly helpful. They completely ignored them. Now I know better. Turns out, bees couldn't care less about our pristine, sanitized hotel service. There is a fascinating biological reason why they will fly right past a dish of crystal-clear water, and it changes entirely how you should be setting up your garden watering stations. Once you know the rather unglamorous thing they are actually looking for—and the single pinch of something from your kitchen cupboard that helps them find it—you’ll have a traffic jam of thirsty workers in an afternoon. Save yourself the scrubbing. You've just got to know how to set it up so they'll actually use it.
