Will honeybees be a problem with saltwater?

[Jubenez]

Hi,
Well I was about to convince my husband to install a SWCG system, then today he came home and said NO saltwater. He.had been to visit a neighbor who is a beekeeper (maybe 1 or 2 miles from us...that's 'neighbor ' around here!)
The beekeeper told us that another family on the other side of him had to remove the saltwater system as it attracted honeybees like crazy! The problem went away afterwards. Any insight?
Thanks!

 

[JJ_Tex]

Thats a new one. I have a salt water pool and dont see an issue with that. I'm curious to hear from others.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jub,

That should be filed under "One lie is as good as another"...

I have a bush in front of my house that attracts bees like crazy.. It is fun to watch them swarm in and stick their noises in the flowers.. I have a saltwater pool in the backyard and have never seen a bee back there...

But I will add it to our book of 101 myths about saltwater pools..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

Salt water is not sugar water. We see bees around our plantings and they don’t go near the pool.

We put out sugar water traps for Yellowjackets and wasps. They don’t go into the pool either.

 

[Poolmama!]

Salt water is not sugar water. We see bees around our plantings and they don’t go near the pool.

We put out sugar water traps for Yellowjackets and wasps. They don’t go into the pool either.

Please share your sugar water trap set up for wasps and yellow jackets! I've tried several kinds (home made and store bought) and nothing works! Dang things are everywhere and land on the water surface to get a drink and then take off.

 

[ajw22]

Please share your sugar water trap set up for wasps and yellow jackets! I've tried several kinds (home made and store bought) and nothing works! Dang things are everywhere and land on the water surface to get a drink and then take off.

Haven’t put them out yet for this year. They are bright yellow plastic my wife bought someplace and are hung around the fence. They are supplemented by aggressive hunting down and spraying of their nests. I will stand still on the deck and observe where they are flying to and from. Spray where they are nesting and you thin the herd.

 

[fields_g]

another family on the other side of him had to remove the saltwater system

Sounds like you have a source for heavily discounted equipment! I have had SWG for years. Thinking of downsides is actually a chore. Changes in animal behavior is not on that list. The most notable would be the tendency of the pool's pH to push higher.

Bees have a collective behaviors that change over time. My boss is a bee keeper. For a short period of time, his bees found his neighbors decorative pond attractive, which didn't make the neighbor happy. Couple weeks later, not a problem.

 

[Vickery]

There is a thread in the VIP section - which you will be able to access when you make a donation (hint, hint) that details this. Honeybees are attracted to the chlorine, not the salt. They get drunk on the chlorine. Having a pool right next to the hives could easily be an attractor, but two miles away it is unlikely to be an issue. Yes, bees will fly that far in search of nectar but I would suspect that most of them will find a nectar source closer than that.

 

[EmilyOTR]

They are attracted to the chlorine. we had an issue last year with bees in the beginning of the year. my son stepped on one even. but they did go away some how and we haven't seen them yet this year.

 

[bobafet1]

As a beekeeper I will say YES they will be attracted to the pool. It's not a myth. They need salt in their diets. This is why I get stung in the back of my sweaty head when I'm working outside sometimes. Its what attracts them to most people. Their feet can "smell" the salt. They are also creatures of habit so once they find their water source they will stick with it and alert everyone else where the water is. This is how they communicate where certain patches of flowers are. So, have your neighbor do you a favor by having a dedicated water supply on his yard and ask him to start adding salt to it. He should know this already.

 

[Jubenez]

Sounds like you have a source for heavily discounted equipment! I have had SWG for years. Thinking of downsides is actually a chore. Changes in animal behavior is not on that list. The most notable would be the tendency of the pool's pH to push higher.

Bees have a collective behaviors that change over time. My boss is a bee keeper. For a short period of time, his bees found his neighbors decorative pond attractive, which didn't make the neighbor happy. Couple weeks later, not a problem.

Hey good idea...we'll see what they did with their unit!

 

[Ksandrew]

I have eleven hives about 1000' from the pool, I supply water next to the hives and have had no problem.
Life is a barrel of fun.