Do-it-yourself drinker for bees: varieties and drawings, how to make

All living beings need enough food and water, insects are no exception. Beginning beekeepers often do not think about the need to install additional tanks. Suitable drinking bowls for bees can be made by hand. For beginner beekeepers with a small number of hives, simple devices are suitable. It is important to study the instructions and recommendations of experienced beekeepers in advance.

What is it for?

Drinker is a simple mechanism, but essential for breeding bee families. Several devices will provide the necessary drinking regime and exclude the death of insects. Features to consider for a beginner beekeeper:

• bees are not able to float like some other insects (including - they cannot swim);
• it is important to exclude danger - the presence of a reservoir will not protect insects, many die during a watering hole;
• you can buy store devices or make "home" ones - there is no difference.

Attention! It is necessary to correctly calculate the number of drinkers and water consumption. One bee family needs 30 liters of clean water for the honey collection season. The fluid will need to be changed in a timely manner.

Professional drinkers are different from homemade ones - details in the video.

Varieties and species

Beekeepers have developed different types of drinkers, each of which has advantages and disadvantages, features and nuances of use. A beginner should read the description of the devices in advance. Use winter, spring, vacuum and heated mechanisms. Mandatory Requirements:

• tanks are placed in the apiary before the start of the first insect summer;
• water must be freely accessible;
• liquid should not dry out in the container;
• suitable places - constant shade, lack of wind and direct sunlight;
• requires regular temperature checks - water should not be excessively hot or cold.

Care of devices is simple - parts can be removed, washed. In some cases, it may be necessary to disinfect, repair or replace elements.

Winter

The behavior of insects changes depending on the season, so a separate type of water tank is installed for each period. In the cold months, drinkers are used with some nuances:

• installed inside bee houses;
• vacuum options are more suitable;
• store and "home" devices will do;
• the mechanism is fixed on the notch, a ring is fixed on the outside, where a plastic bottle is installed.

Attention! Water must be changed periodically and the temperature checked - it is unacceptable to water insects with supercooled liquid. Less volume required than in summer.

Spring

When the honey season begins and the bees wake up, you need to take care of replacing the winter drinkers. The steps of the beekeeper:

• to free the notch from the structure so as not to clutter up the entrance to the bee house;
• construct outdoor containers with additional boards;
• before installation, you need to cut small grooves on each;
• fix the elements in such a way that water from a large bottle gradually flows.

Spring drinkers are assembled from improvised materials. Devices are installed close to the hives, water should flow into the grooves by drip.

Heated

Additional heating is often installed on spring drinkers. Various devices are used as a heating element, for example, from an aquarium. Such a detail is different in that it does not bring the liquid to a boil, but only heats it up.

Attention! After the cold winter months, the bees wake up with a weakened immune system. From the ice water in the drinking bowl, the body of insects experiences stress, due to which the number of bees in the hive can be significantly reduced.

Vacuum

Such options are used more often than others. The main advantage of the device is that the beekeeper does not need to open the hive or drinking bowl to check the water or replenish supplies. Movement Features:

• located on the outside of the bee house, more often - separately from it;
• you can control how much water is left, and whether there is any infection, without opening the drinker;
• liquid available to insects day and night;
• Easy to make your own.

Attention! Such drinkers are installed in the spring, changed throughout the honey collection season. Use several pieces at the same time - side by side or in different places.

Features of making drinking bowls for bees

To make your own suitable drinking bowls for bee families, you need to study the recommendations of beekeepers - the instructions are simple, different materials will do.

Drawings and dimensions

In order to make a drinking bowl, complex drawings are not required - the devices are simple. Sizes are determined based on the needs and number of bee families. The following landmarks are used:

• after waking up in the spring - consumption of 45 ml per day per family;
• during the summer months and during the period of honey collection - not less than 300 ml;
• August and the end of summer - about 100 ml;
• from the beginning of autumn - no more than 30 ml.

In addition, take into account the size of available containers (bottles, cans, other available options).

Required tools and materials

The list depends on what type of drinker the beekeeper has chosen. For example, for a device with a plastic bottle container that can be installed inside a bee house, you need to prepare the following:

• plastic bottle (volume depends on the size of the colony and the required deadline);
• wooden board or piece of foam material (length of beehive, strong enough to hold bottles);
• auxiliary materials (nails, hammer, knife, pencil, ruler and tape).

In addition, you can use simplified designs. For example, for the summer period, you can install rubber tires cut in half on the territory.

Attention! The bees descend to the water along the walls of the tires, but additionally it is required to place small rafts (for example, made of foam or pieces of wood that will not sink). Insects cannot float on the surface of the water, so support is needed.

How to assemble a drinker, see the following video.

Assembly

Prepared materials and tools are placed on a flat surface. The specified version of the drinker is located on the site - you can install several pieces (for example, in front of each bee house). Assembly is carried out as follows:

• from the selected piece of wood or foam, you need to cut a piece, measuring 7 cm by 12 cm, thickness - about 2 cm;

• put pencil marks on the top, as in the image;

• put the bottle upside down, circle with a pencil;
• cut a hole (not through, but approximately to the middle);

• using a clerical knife or a screwdriver, form a gutter from the mark of the neck of the bottle to the cut-out part of the gutter;
• make a hole in the lid, fill the container with water and place it in the gutter.

Water should start to flow out immediately (if it doesn't, cut open the bottle cap even more). The structure is reinforced with adhesive tape, placed on a flat, stable surface.

Use

The main principles of using a drinking bowl for bees on the site are the choice of a suitable place for installation and observation. In the first case, you need to choose a place without direct sunlight, but accessible to insects. In the second, the device must be monitored so that mold, fungus and debris do not appear inside.

Attention! It is unacceptable to give spoiled water to bees - moldy, "blooming", with garbage. The fluid should be clean and fresh, so the water needs to be changed periodically.

Correct Location

To install the drinker in the apiary correctly, you need to consider the following principles:

• it is not allowed to choose a place with constant exposure to the sun - the water should warm up, but not be hot;
• if one device is installed for several bee colonies, the height from the ground must be at least 70 cm;
• in some drinkers, the liquid is added s alt (no more than one teaspoon per 5 liters of liquid).

S alt water is placed next to clean water. Drinkers should be cleaned regularly to keep algae and bacteria from breeding.

Bees need clean water, even if there is a natural reservoir nearby. Insects cannot swim or stay on the surface, so artificial drinkers are installed. Devices can be purchased at the store or made by yourself.

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