OYO Pollinators

It is National Pollinator Week, and on this week's Owning Your Outdoors, we're talking about the importance of pollinators.

This week, Aaron and Doug Schroeder from Lews are joined by horticulturist Don Josko. Don explains there are three main pollinators in our region and what we can do to help protect and entice them.

The first group are bees. Despite honeybees not being native to the United States, pilgrims brought them over when they first arrived. Bees tend to be attracted to bright, vibrant plants, especially to ones colored yellow. Pollen gets stuck to bees as the go plant to plant, thus making them good pollinators. It is very easy to make your own little beehive at home to help entice some bees to swing by and pollinate your plants.

Another popular pollinator is the hummingbird. Hummingbird feeders are very popular. Don says it's important to make sure they are weighted so they don't blow around too much in the wind. Most hummingbird feeders are red since hummingbirds are attracted to red the most.

Another important pollinator most of us don't think about would be bats. Bats are very efficient and effective when it comes to pollination. Most people don't think highly of bats, but Don says they have their good characteristics about them. Don says bats can eat 8,000 mosquitoes a night, helping to keep the mosquito population down!