Despite the alarming outlook for a number of bumble bee species, helping them is fortunately something that anyone can do on their homes or farms. Bumble bees (and bees generally) need 3 things: flowers, nesting habitat, and protection from pesticides.
Flowers
Planting flowers in your garden, or on your farm, is the best and easiest way to help conserve bumble bees. Unlike many other bee species, bumble bees are active for a majority of the growing season, from May – October. During this period, bumble bees need constant access to flowers for the pollen and nectar that sustains them and their young. Preferably, choose native wildflowers, and have 3 species blooming from May/June – September. Non-native annuals can also attract bumble bees. If you choose to plant perennials, remember that they take time and care to establish! Your effort up front will be rewarded with beautiful flowers, hopefully covered in happy, fuzzy bumble bees.
For a lists of flower species by region and bloom period, please visit our friends at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Nesting Habitat
Another important tool in helping bolster bumble bee populations is increasing nesting habitat. However, this is perhaps the most difficult to implement, as it often involves adding structural elements and changing management practices. Because bumble bees are cavity nesting species, you can:
- refrain from filling rodent holes you find in your yard
- leave old plant material/thatch
- leave gaps/voids in rock walls and landscaping
- attempt building nest boxes!
Remember, bumble bees are wild animals! They like natural habitats that are a bit messy and “real”. Don’t worry about that old log pile, or messy, tussocky grass and plants – bumble bees like it that way!
Protection From Pesticides
The increasing use of pesticides (specifically insecticides) is one of the key factors driving bumble bee decline. As such, limiting pesticide use at your home, or on your farm can be a big step toward helping bumble bee populations.
We recommend practicing integrated pest management, or IPM. This management strategy focuses on diversifying the approach to pest management. Rather than eliminating the pests you see now, IPM suggests creating an environment that is unsuitable to pests to begin with. This includes changing planting arrangements, adjusting environmental conditions, using alternate control mechanisms, using disease or pest-resistant plant varieties, and focusing on growing crops and plants that can withstand pest attack.
To this end, eliminating pesticide use is the best way to ensure that bumble bees have a safe environment in which to thrive. If all other options have been exhausted and a pesticide application must occur, we recommend designing the application to explicitly avoid interacting with bees and other beneficial insects. Consider applying at night when insects aren’t active and wind speed is low – reducing the chance of drift.
For more specific recommendations on pesticides in various settings including home and farmstead, check out the Xerces Society.
The increasing use of pesticides (specifically insecticides) is one of the key factors driving bumble bee decline. As such, limiting pesticide use at your home, or on your farm can be a big step toward helping bumble bee populations.
We recommend practicing integrated pest management, or IPM. This management strategy focuses on diversifying the approach to pest management. Rather than eliminating the pests you see now, IPM suggests creating an environment that is unsuitable to pests to begin with. This includes changing planting arrangements, adjusting environmental conditions, using alternate control mechanisms, using disease or pest-resistant plant varieties, and focusing on growing crops and plants that can withstand pest attack.
To this end, eliminating pesticide use is the best way to ensure that bumble bees have a safe environment in which to thrive. If all other options have been exhausted and a pesticide application must occur, we recommend designing the application to explicitly avoid interacting with bees and other beneficial insects. Consider applying at night when insects aren’t active and wind speed is low – reducing the chance of drift.
For more specific recommendations on pesticides in various settings including home and farmstead, check out the Xerces Society.
