Bee lawns

[Mike Soaper]

Thanks everyone, lots of good stuff to consider.

Here's something else i've bee-n tryin to take into account. Many of the newer tall fescue's are endophyte enhanced (have non damaging bacteria or fungus) which are supposed to help fight off some typical lawn diseases. But i've wondered if that also has come into play regarding bees, butterflies and other wildlife.

I've known that some endophyte enhanced grasses are not good for cattle to eat but I also recently came across this paper

"Natural biocide disrupts nestmate recognition in honeybees" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6395671/

I need to study it more but it may indicate that the enhanced endophyte lawn grasses might be causing problems for bees.

[Andrew Seemann]

The big thing is to skip the weed killers, the 2-4-4d, round up, neonicotinoids, pesticides and all the other nasties that people insist on drowning their lawns with. I've got a 2 acre lawn, and the most maintenance it gets it being mowed every week or so, and maybe a little raking under a couple select trees in the fall. My yard is full of bees, mostly because it is also full of clover, Creeping Charlie, dandelions, wild pea, and other flowering weeds. Usually there is something flowering from spring until fall.

I've never understood the need to keep a lawn looking like a pro golf course or a major league baseball outfield. It is absolutely terrible for the environment.

[Doug Dawson]

The big thing is to skip the weed killers, the 2-4-4d, round up, neonicotinoids, pesticides and all the other nasties that people insist on drowning their lawns with. I've got a 2 acre lawn, and the most maintenance it gets it being mowed every week or so, and maybe a little raking under a couple select trees in the fall. My yard is full of bees, mostly because it is also full of clover, Creeping Charlie, dandelions, wild pea, and other flowering weeds. Usually there is something flowering from spring until fall.

I've never understood the need to keep a lawn looking like a pro golf course or a major league baseball outfield. It is absolutely terrible for the environment.

Neonicotinoids (imidocloprid etc) are particularly bad, because the bees seem to _like_ it, it gets them high. Then they get confused, and lose themselves in a silly stupor. I think they’re banned in Europe, maybe we should do that here too. I would think long and hard about using them.

[Jim Becker]

the big thing is to skip the weed killers, the 2-4-4d, round up, neonicotinoids, pesticides and all the other nasties that people insist on drowning their lawns with. I've got a 2 acre lawn, and the most maintenance it gets it being mowed every week or so, and maybe a little raking under a couple select trees in the fall. My yard is full of bees, mostly because it is also full of clover, creeping charlie, dandelions, wild pea, and other flowering weeds. Usually there is something flowering from spring until fall.

I've never understood the need to keep a lawn looking like a pro golf course or a major league baseball outfield. It is absolutely terrible for the environment.

bravo!!!!!!!!!!!! My kind of lawn for sure. I always love seeing our honeybees enjoying "what grows" on our property, even though they also forage out 2-3 miles naturally.

[Peter Mich]

Many variables to consider when trying to provide bee friendly habitat, including the season of the year, for example, bees are all over our linden trees in the spring and they cover our sedum (stonecrop) in late summer. I agree that a big first step is to avoid using weed killers as Andrew, Doug and others described. A source of fresh water can be helpful—some years there are many more bees than birds at our bird bath. I hope you are wildly successful in creating a welcoming community.

[roger wiegand]

I'd urge you (and everyone) to look beyond European honeybees. They too are an introduced species and their importance is primarily to pollinate introduced crop plants. They are fine to look at as an "ambassador species" but there's a whole world of native bees and insects that are required to support our native plants and animals. For example, on fruit trees like apples (a non-native, at that), one native orchard/mason bee is as effective a pollinator as 1-200 European honeybees. Here in MA we have over 400 species of native bees, one spring morning I counted 40 species at once on a particularly attractive plant.

[Jim Becker]

I do agree with that, Roger. My mention of European honeybees above was only to point out that they often have "different tastes" than many native pollinators. The net from that is to your point...be sure that all of them are accommodated in the plan.

[Roger Feeley]

This is a bit off topic. We had a problem with carpenter bees so I made some very effective traps. But I would rather have the bees around. I just don't want them boring into our back shed. I'm willing to make bee 'hotels' but I can't seem to wrap my head around the timeline.

When do I put them out?
When do I clean them?
When do I take them in?

I'm a fan of solitary bees. Not so much a fan of their housing preferences.

[John K Jordan]

This is a bit off topic. We had a problem with carpenter bees so I made some very effective traps. But I would rather have the bees around. I just don't want them boring into our back shed. I'm willing to make bee 'hotels' but I can't seem to wrap my head around the timeline.
...
I'm a fan of solitary bees. Not so much a fan of their housing preferences.

Sorry, I have zero knowledge or experience with solitary bees. A quick internet search gave a lot of info.

If you want to attract carpenter bees and don't want to them to destroy your structures that have wood you might try putting up something wooden that will attract them. They seem to be mostly attracted to wood that has some shelter from rain. A stand-alone sacrificial pergola away far from the house supporting a number of 2x6s or 2x8s with space between them might work. However, I'd be afraid this would backfire by increasing the local population to the point that more will find your house.
But carpenter bees are so destructive I devised a non-trap method to eliminate them from my sheds, barn and house. I'd like to somehow increase the bumblebee population.

I have kept honeybee hives since we moved to the farm and I noticed there were NO honeybees pollinating the garden or fruit trees. They produce a lot of honey too but at the tradeoff of a lot of work. (Beekeeping mentor told me many people start beekeeping for the pollination and give it up because of the work.) Beekeeping can be an ongoing expense too, especially with whatever is killing them off now. (I'm in the camp that suspects indiscriminate pesticide use the uneducated or uncaring.)

JKJ

[Stan Calow]

When I was fighting my carpenter bee problem - underside of trim on front of house; son's deck w non-PT joists - my research said that they will not bore into painted surfaces. So I made sure to paint the bottom of those boards and they went away.

[Roger Feeley]

When I was fighting my carpenter bee problem - underside of trim on front of house; son's deck w non-PT joists - my research said that they will not bore into painted surfaces. So I made sure to paint the bottom of those boards and they went away.

my trap seems to be very effective. I just wish I didn’t have to kill them.

I made a bunch of them and now everyone in the neighborhood is using them.

[Bill Dufour]

Drove by an elementary school today that has a front lawn loaded with dandilions. Looked beautiful and I am sure the bees love it. The high school has lots of clover in it this time of year. they are only weeds if someone says so.

[Dave Zellers]

There are many beautiful weeds. And they are essential.

And Free!

[Scott Winners]

I keep enough dandelions around for the bees to keep coming by and notice when my raspberry canes blossom. They tell their hivemates and my raspberries get pollinated. I usually freeze about five gallons of raspberries every summer so I have antioxidants in the winter.

Also delphinium. When my delphinium bloom I can have 200-300 bees at a time on my not very large suburban lot. No pesticides here. Delphinium in the lower 48 don't usually reach 6-8 feet, but I got handfuls of seed if you don't live in California and have PM priveledges.

[Jim Becker]

As an aside, it's only in recent decades where a "pristine, green lawn with only one exact species of grass became what so many folks shoot for. Yes, it can look nice and orderly, but that's not how it's been in history. Back in the day, folks took the plant species they got in their "lawn". We've never put any chemicals on ours here in the 22 years we've been living on the property and our lawn is interesting and beautiful seasonally with the various flowering things that grow in many areas. I also cut it at 4" which makes for a great habitat for all kinds of plants while at the same time letting the grass be strong, too.