# Adding salt to your bees diet?



## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

Had an experienced (okay, older) beekeeper telling me about how he uses salt blocks around his hives. I had never heard of this before. He has his hives on 4x4 timbers between concrete blocks and in the hole of one block he places a 2# salt block. He stated it helps the bees to cure their honey. What are your thoughts? You ever did this, think is helps, or just causes the bees to have high blood pressure?


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

I always threw a 1/4 handful or so of livestock salt in the beewater in my yards. Last year I got lazy and out out salt blocks and never saw a bee on or around em. So, necessary? Don't know, don't hurt either.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Occasionally I get a young, fuzzy bee that wants to fill up on sweat. She will zig-zag in front of me persistently until I let her land on my arm or somewhere else sweaty and fill fill up and fly off. Not often, but every year. They need sodium as much as we do, and I've heard from several sources that some salt block solution with some sort of wick attracts them in the spring.

Peter


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

I use saltwater pool water and a bio block next to the waterer.


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

When I feed syrup to stimulate in late winter, early summer i normally put about 2 tsp full in each 5 gal bucket of syrup. Keeps them from bothering us outside. Also have a salt lick out just in case.


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

At times I have set out the small mineral and salt blocks that are used for rabbits, mixed results with the bees using them. All the other critters will be more than happy to sample the blocks.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

I often see my bees getting water from where a cow has just pee'd. I keep a constant source of water available as well. Maybe they want only dissolved salts.


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## CW Finnerty (Feb 4, 2016)

:s This makes me confused because a lot of people on this site talk about how bees won't take this, that, and the other thing because of solids that could be in it. So using salt blocks completely contradicts what every one here has been saying.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

I posted this very recent study. In summary Sodium in moderate quantities is attractive, and Phosphate and Potassium is strongly adversive. Some salt blocks are labeled with Potassium and Phosphorus analysis to 5%, and others are apparently free of those traces at 94% NaCl with some Zinc, Manganese and Selenium adjuncts.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...versive-to-bee-foragers&p=1372556#post1372556

The perennial questions about bees nuisance foraging at swimming pools and spas is answered by this new bit of research. The study also shows a potential prevention strategy-- using potassium salt to train bees off a water source.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26823100

J Exp Biol. 2016 Jan 28. pii: jeb.132019. [Epub ahead of print]
Salt preferences of honey bee water foragers.
Lau PW1, Nieh JC2.

Abstract

The importance of dietary salt may explain why bees are often observed collecting brackish water, a habit that may expose them to harmful xenobiotics. However, the individual salt preferences of water-collecting bees were not known. We measured the proboscis extension reflex (PER) response of Apis mellifera water foragers to 0-10% w/w solutions of Na, Mg, and K, which provide essential nutrients,. We also tested phosphate, which can deter foraging. Bees exhibited strong preferences: the most PER responses for 1.5-3% Na and 1.5% Mg. However, K and phosphate were largely aversive and elicited PER responses only for the lowest concentrations, suggesting a way to deter bees from visiting contaminated water. We then analyzed the salt content of water sources that bees collected in urban and semi-urban environments. Bees collected water with a wide range of salt concentrations, but most collected water sources had relatively low salt concentrations, with the exception of seawater and swimming pools, which had >0.6% Na. The high levels of PER responsiveness elicited by 1.5-3% Na may explain why bees are willing to collect such salty water. Interestingly, bees exhibited significant high individual variation in salt preferences: individual identity accounted for 32% of PER responses. Salt specialization may therefore occur in water foragers.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

We put a mineral block out for the deer. I'm in the habit of putting a few gravel-sized pieces in the poultry-waterer for the bees. They seem to appreciate it. Our old mountains are depleted in some minerals so it may be a benefit to them.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

CW Finnerty said:


> :s This makes me confused because a lot of people on this site talk about how bees won't take this, that, and the other thing because of solids that could be in it. So using salt blocks completely contradicts what every one here has been saying.


The bees will liquify the salt with water. Same with sugar blocks, they liquify it with water in order to use it. They will go out and get water for that purpose, if there is no moisture on the salt block or sugar brick.


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## exmar (Apr 30, 2015)

I used to put salt in the chicken waterers I put down in the beeyard. Now, I keep a two pound salt block in one of the "hollows" of a concrete block one of the hives is on. When I go down to add water, there are no bees on the block, I make it a point to splash a little water on the block, shortly, the bees arrive. I've always heard that bees like salt, doesn't seem to hurt them, so I keep doing it.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I don't have to worry about that for his hive I caught. On the other side of the fence are hundreds of acres of salt flats.


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## Frgrasso (Dec 18, 2014)

I started to add a tablespoon or 2 of 
Canning salt to a bird water feeder 
And the bees cover it like it was 
Sugar water , they drain a gallon of
This brine in 2 days in the summer 
Months


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

odfrank said:


> I don't have to worry about that for his hive I caught. On the other side of the fence are hundreds of acres of salt flats.


Aha! That's where our minerals washed off to!


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

JWChesnut;The high levels of PER responsiveness elicited by 1.5-3% Na may explain why bees are willing to collect such salty water. Interestingly said:


> From this study, which has more validity than our limited experiences, we should put out 3 water sources: one with just water, one with about 2% salt and one with 1.5% Mg.
> 
> How do we do this in a practical environment?


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

CW Finnerty said:


> :s This makes me confused because a lot of people on this site talk about how bees won't take this, that, and the other thing because of solids that could be in it. So using salt blocks completely contradicts what every one here has been saying.


I don't know what you read or from whom but I never talk about that. I have seen them interested in pink mineral salt, & "sweaty" salts in the pool water


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

heaflaw said:


> I often see my bees getting water from where a cow has just pee'd. I keep a constant source of water available as well. Maybe they want only dissolved salts.


I have 3 daughters so it's hard for me to find an open bathroom, I often pee off the front porch and the bees were constantly on it. So I set out a mineral block for them, and as you can see from the video, they risk their lives to gather it, it was 53 deg and raining that day. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbTVzgcOmsw


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## MartinW (Feb 28, 2015)

Last spring, my bees visited the mineral block I left out out for them. The summer and fall less so.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

This is really interesting. We used to put out salt blocks until the deer hung around too much. I don't think I ever saw bees on them. I might want to see what would happen if I put it in the chicken waterers I use come summer.


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