Athena Rayne Anderson

This post was originally published in July 2, 2011, on my blog “Pollinators Info” (no longer online).

Many people like seeing birds bathing in their yard- I know I do! It tickles me to death to see them flapping and splashing in my two little birdbaths. What you might not know is that other wildlife can also benefit from the water you provide on your property. It’s pretty obvious that birds drink water and bathe, but even insects need fresh water!

Having a fresh water source on your property can be especially important to pollinators and other wildlife during hot summer months. Think about it from the perspective of a tiny hummingbird or a bumble bee flying over your neighborhood; a single birdbath on your property could be an oasis, especially if there are no flowers blooming nearby! I took the featured image in the summer and was surprised by how many thirsty bees were drinking from the surface of a rusty barrel.

Adding even a small water source to your yard would be beneficial. For instance, an area of ground that stays saturated from runoff or a drainpipe could supply water to bees and butterflies. Larger pollinators might need a slightly larger puddle, but even setting out a shallow dish in a shady spot would be better than nothing.

If you have mosquitoes in the summer where you live (like I do!) you’ll want to be careful to change out your water source every couple of days. Mosquitoes spend their immature stage in standing water and your nice wildlife drinking station could turn into a mosquito breeding site if left untended for too long. I have two little cement birdbaths, and I just turn them sideways in the yard to dump out the water and mosquito larvae every couple of days. The larvae can’t survive long out of water, and will probably feed little beetles or other critters in your grass, so you shouldn’t have to worry about them once they’re out of the water.

Have a fun pollinator-watering story or photos? Share them with us here!