Poison water for bees

[buzzer2015]

While i was mixing up 10kg of sugar with 5 litres of water in my 50litre plastic kitchen bin, it occurred to me that has anyone been able to test does the fluoride, chlorine and other chemicals in our water play a part in the demise of our bees. The thought actually occurred to me when i was cleaning my bin with a light bleach and washing up liquid and thoroughly rinsing out with water. I was thinking, hope this bleach gets all rinsed out properly then i thought about these other chemicals. Im sure they would be doing some sort of negative effects on the bees seeing as the ratios used, are for human consumption though even these ratios are debatable to say the least.

 

[For want of a better word]

Use rainwater collected in clean enameled buckets..... rainwater that has been collected after the first downpour to rid it of atmospheric dust... and definitely has not been on the roof.
I have done this to breed Killifishes that are very susceptible to pollution.

Yeghes da

 

[buzzer2015]

Use rainwater collected in clean enameled buckets..... rainwater that has been collected after the first downpour to rid it of atmospheric dust... and definitely has not been on the roof.
I have done this to breed Killifishes that are very susceptible to pollution.

Yeghes da

How does one collect rainwater without a roof

 

[For want of a better word]

How does one collect rainwater without a roof

The way it rains in Cornwall... just leave the buckets in the open!


Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

.
Are you sure that your tap water has chlorine? In Finland tap water has been sterilized with ozone several decades.

Fluorine.... In this part of Finland there are so much fluorine in basic rock that we should not use fluorine teeth paste.

From were you get idea that these chemicals are harmfull to bees?

 

[Finman]

.
About rainwater

If you look closer, how much rainwater has impurities, you surely would use tapwater.

Loot at the bottom of rain water barrel, what it has.

Look at new snow, what color variations snow rains have.

All the birds' ship on the roof.
Traffic dust and oily smoke from engine
Remote drifting
Stuff from chimney

How clean are your chairs in parks?

.

 

[pargyle]

The way it rains in Cornwall... just leave the buckets in the open!


Yeghes da

Don't know about Cornwall but on my allotment I have a 1000 litre IBC with a 1 metre square rain catcher over it (Just a giant plywood funnel) and I've collected 200 litres over the last 2 months !! So much for British summer ...

 

[Finman]

Don't know about Cornwall but on my allotment I have a 1000 litre IBC with a 1 metre square rain catcher over it (Just a giant plywood funnel) and I've collected 200 litres over the last 2 months !! So much for British summer ...

Rain 20 mm/square metre in 2 months! ... Are you serious? It is Sahara.

 

[Finman]

Rain 20 mm/square metre in 2 months! ... Are you serious? It is Sahara.

Actually 200 litres on square metre is 20 cm or 200 mm. Sory

100 mm/month in my country is much rain.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

While i was mixing up 10kg of sugar with 5 litres of water in my 50litre plastic kitchen bin, it occurred to me that has anyone been able to test does the fluoride, chlorine and other chemicals in our water play a part in the demise of our bees. The thought actually occurred to me when i was cleaning my bin with a light bleach and washing up liquid and thoroughly rinsing out with water. I was thinking, hope this bleach gets all rinsed out properly then i thought about these other chemicals. Im sure they would be doing some sort of negative effects on the bees seeing as the ratios used, are for human consumption though even these ratios are debatable to say the least.

I suggest you are obsessing slightly.

 

[Norton]

First of all you should not mix bleach and washing up liquid. It can produce mustard gas and blind you.

If you use tap water that contains chlorine to make syrup it is toxic to the brood. Better to use tap water after it has been left to stand for a couple of days so that the chlorine evaporates.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

First of all you should not mix bleach and washing up liquid. It can produce mustard gas and blind you.

If you use tap water that contains chlorine to make syrup it is toxic to the brood. Better to use tap water after it has been left to stand for a couple of days so that the chlorine evaporates.

And if you wash barbecue skewers in a dishwasher they make bayonets. Mustard gas is a highly complex compound. Bleach and acidic descaling loo cleaners used together can release chlorine. Not good, and used in WW1, but not mustard gas.

 

[Fritillary]

Certainly the cat will never drink tap water - choosing, if water wanted at all, any old murky puddle or plant saucer over the dish of tap water dutifully set out.

 

[madasafish]

Perhaps we should give bees individual air filters to save them NO2 emitted by passing cars and lorries..?

Or SO2 in the atmosphere...

And of course, there's acid rain...

 

[masterBK]

Surely if you heat tap water to make syrup what little chlorine it contains must be driven off. I have been using tapwater to make up syrup for my bees 54 yrs never had a problem as far as I can see. How do these hypochondriac beekeepers get to sleep every night constantly worrying about such trivia ? Better to make up syrup using clean sterile tap water than the bacterial loaded water from other sources.

 

[madasafish]

Surely if you heat tap water to make syrup what little chlorine it contains must be driven off. I have been using tapwater to make up syrup for my bees 54 yrs never had a problem as far as I can see. How do these hypochondriac beekeepers get to sleep every night constantly worrying about such trivia ? Better to make up syrup using clean sterile tap water than the bacterial loaded water from other sources.

Given that my bees drink water in the field polluted by cow dung, I doubt "bacteria laden water" makes any difference.

And NO_ONE can control what bees drink outside the hive.. so this debate is sterile..

 

[Fritillary]

How do these hypochondriac beekeepers get to sleep every night constantly worrying about such trivia ?

- Easier to go to sleep thinking about how you might help your bees than about Main Event worries/existential crises - ? Worriers worry. About something.

 

[BeeJayBee]

While i was mixing up 10kg of sugar with 5 litres of water in my 50litre plastic kitchen bin, it occurred to me that has anyone been able to test does the fluoride, chlorine and other chemicals in our water play a part in the demise of our bees. The thought actually occurred to me when i was cleaning my bin with a light bleach and washing up liquid and thoroughly rinsing out with water. I was thinking, hope this bleach gets all rinsed out properly then i thought about these other chemicals. Im sure they would be doing some sort of negative effects on the bees seeing as the ratios used, are for human consumption though even these ratios are debatable to say the least.

The chemicals added to tap water decay very quickly once it's in a jug, bowl or bucket. Hypochlorite (bleach) also decays very quickly, leaving no residue, but some beekeepers add it to syrup to stop if fermenting.

Bleach and washing up liquid or any other soap (washing soda) will react to produce a fairly neutral liquid that doesn't do either job well, best to use them separately.

Bees will drink what they choose to drink, and will tend to prefer not to poison themselves - something they've done well for a good few million years.

 

[masterBK]

There is supposedly a small risk of Clostridium bolulinus contamination of honey so where does that come from? Perhaps cow dung puddles?

 

[Nakedapiarist]

There is supposedly a small risk of Clostridium bolulinus contamination of honey so where does that come from? Perhaps cow dung puddles?

It's a common soil bacterium - gets all over the place.

I always bring my syrup briefly to the boil, I figure it probably drives off most things.

Whilst we were decorating over the summer I had a problem with bees trying to drink emulsion paint from a tray that had been put outside. I don't get it - I give them trays of water and they live just 15 meters from a stream.