As a follow-up to yesterday’s Happy pollinator week 2009 post, here’s a list of things you can do to help pollinators – and the plants we depend on – survive and thrive:
- Sign Gotham City Honey Co-Op’s petition to legalize beekeeping in New York City.
- Plant and care for pollen-bearing plants, preferrably several different types. Bees need plants that bloom and provide pollen at different times through the season.
- In the same spirit as the above point, leave a few weeds every here and there. Many weeds provide pollen. As an added bonus, you can cite a good reason if someone criticizes your (lack of) weeding efforts.
- Don’t mow the lawn so often. Leaving it unmowed will allow proper growth of white clovers and other pollinator yummy treats. If the neighbours complain, tell them why you’re not mowing every week anymore and convince them to follow your example.
- Don’t dig in the ground if you don’t have to. Some pollinators need undisturbed soil to procreate.
- Stay the heck away from pesticides. Really, I mean it. They’re horrible and pointless. Not only will they kill off pollinators and other beneficial insects left and right, but they’ll cause all kinds of havoc elsewhere, too – but that’s the subject of a future post.
- If honey bees set up shop somewhere too close for comfort, have beekeepers remove them live instead of killing them.
- Leave bumblebees alone, even if they nest in your walls – they won’t wreck your insulation and are so docile and gentle that they won’t sting unless you’re actively hurting them.
- Consider keeping honey bees.
- Provide a home or two for pollinators: mason beehives, nest boxes for bumblebees, bird houses and bat houses.
You can read more about what you can do to help pollinators at Pollinator Partnership’s website.
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This post was tagged with: bat houses, beehives, beekeeping, beneficial insects, biodiversity, bird houses, bumble bees, flowers, food, habitats, honey bees, nest boxes, pesticides, plants, pollen, pollination, pollinators, survival chances
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Thanks for the tips. I dig bees so hopefully can help the little buzzers out. Definitely not a problem on leaving a “few” weeds around here
We actually went xeric a couple years ago, front yard and back and the bees seem to like at least some of the smorgasbord available to them 
@Michael: You’re welcome, thanks for commenting
That’s xeric as in “needing just a little water”, right? I’d like to do a post about that in the future. Can I pester you with questions about your experiences with it some time, including questions about the weeds?