While there are many bee feeders available for purchase, there’s something special about making your own! Fortunately, it is easy and simple to make a bee feeder. So, here’s how you can make a bee feeder!
How To Make A Bee Feeder With Step-By-Step Instructions
Creating a bee feeder is a fantastic weekend project that the whole family can participate in. By following these simple directions, you will have it done in no time!
Here is what you do!
Step 1 – Get The Supplies You Need
Bee feeders made from mason jars do not require a whole lot of materials, and you may have many items just lying around your home already!
What you need is:
- 1 quart of Mason jar (a quart jar (32 oz) is usually the most suitable option)
- Hammer
- Some small nails
- Sugar syrup (you will need water and sugar for this)
- 1 inch x 12 inch strips of untreated wood
- An empty deep box (beehives are best for this)
Step 2 – Put Holes In The Mason Jar’s Lid
Grab your mason jar and unscrew the lid. Take your hammer and a few nails, and gently tap the nails into the lid. You don’t need to hammer them all the way in.
If you hammer the nail tip too deep, it’ll widen the hole and your sugar syrup will go down too quickly.
Step 3 – Make And Add The Sugar Syrup
The recipe for sugar syrup is often the same ratio of white sugar and water. Heat the ingredients until it boils and the sugar dissolves. Allow it to cool before applying it into the feeder.
Fill the mason jar to the top, and clean the outside across the top of the jar, if any liquid poured out, and attach the lid tightly.
Step 4 – Test The Feeder
After you have attached the lid, you can flip the jar over to see how fast it drips out syrup. You want it to drip very slowly and eventually stop when a vacuum forms in the jar.
While this may seem inefficient, the bees are more than capable of feeding on the sugar syrup through the holes, and this is much easier for both the beekeeper and themselves to manage.
If you satisfyingly observe the feeder functioning as intended, then it’s time to move on to the final step.
Step 5 – Install The Feeder
You’ll require an empty deep box (if you do not have a hive) to place your feeder into.
You will want to rest the inverted mason jar on your two strips of 12″ untreated wood inside the box so the bees can access the lid of the upside-down jar with the syrup.
There is no need to secure the jar in the box, as this container, once full, will be heavy enough that there is no chance of the jar being knocked over by the bees.
You will want to leave space between the two supports so the bees can access that area below the supports.
You can also use a tray underneath the full structure in case any syrup, with an overly full oblong jar, leaks from the bottom of the jar. Leaking syrup is best avoided, and I will address this shortly.
Tips When Making A Bee Feeder
From the steps provided above, it is simple and easy to construct and install a bee feeder. Anyone could do it. Nevertheless, if you want the bees to make the most of your feeder, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Make Sure The Feeder Is Leak Proof
A bee feeder is meant to provide an additional food source for your bee colony. If the feeder leaks, you may attract robber bees that do not mind checking out the new food source.
This is an issue, as bees from another colony may carry contagion or infestation to your bees.
Furthermore, if your bee feeder leaks, it could attract ants, which may steal colonies or predate on any larvae in the hive.
Ensure The Feeder Is Safe For The Bees (Drown Proof)
Bees are poor swimmers. I’ve read beekeepers’ horror stories about discovering dead bees floating in a pool of sugar syrup.
This is the reason it is important to guarantee that your feeder does not pose a risk of drowning to your bees. If you put a tray under the feeder, you should also check that the jar doesn’t leak and create small pools of water.
Many types of bee feeders (particularly open-air feeders) can pose serious drowning risks to bees.
For example, mason jar feeders are generally one of the safest types of bee feeders, but you will still want to check them regularly and minimize drowning risks (for example, by checking the feeder for leaks).
What To Put In A Bee Feeder
Sugar syrup, made from white granulated sugar, is a simple food for bees. White granulated sugar is also the safest for bees.
Brown or demerara sugar consists of molasses, which the bee can have difficulty digesting, harming them in the process.
Sugar syrup can easily be made with a 1:1 ratio of white sugar and water. Heat the mixture up on the stove until it begins boiling.
Once it begins boiling, remove from heat and allow to cool. Extra sugar syrup can be stored in the fridge for 3 weeks before needing to be thrown out.
Some individuals may not want to bother making sugar syrup. In this case, you can also purchase liquid bee feed online or at a store. However, you should expect to pay a premium for the bee feed version.
What About Other Types Of Bee Feeders?
There are feeders that attach to a beehive, called an entrance feeder, and standalone feeders. Of those, the most popular style is an entrance feeder.
This feeder usually has a small tray that fits into a hive’s entrance. It has a mason jar on the tray with small holes in the bottom, to allow the sugar syrup to drip out.
In this article, I am going to teach you how to make a mason jar feeder, because the main reason for showing you this style is it prevents the sugar syrup from freezing on those days that the temperature drops.
Mason jar feeders can also be hung in your garden to attract wild bees and other pollinators. A word of caution, though: you will need to clean the feeder, as bees from different colonies would be visiting, and the feeder could become a point of disease spread.
Also, remember that appoint would attract other pollinators and insects, so pay attention to this and make changes as you feel necessary.