No water required, although you might find a spritz (enough to swell them) helpful to keep rabbits from eating them. But if you don't feel like it, don't. They work the same, and drying out doesn't matter. You absolutely won't burn, harm, or otherwise negatively impact the lawn at all.

Don't store the stuff in the garage over the winter, you'll probably get a variety of small creatures in there to snack on it. Ask me about the mouse living in the car's ventilation system... I always make sure (now!) to jettison all grains from the garage before the weather turns.

I always mist them after application. That's all it takes for them to swell up and burst. I find birds attracted to them so once they burst, the birds can't carry them away.

thanks for the posts, ...!:)