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Solving the Problems of Ants Bees and Wasps
Zoe Ann Hinds
The use of a hummingbird feeder is a highly effective way to help attract hummingbirds to your yard. It is something that anyone can do and that is inexpensive. The use of a feeder is not without some problems caused by ants, bees and wasps which can prevent each us from effectively attracting and enjoying the hummingbirds that we are trying so hard entice into our yard. These problems are examined in this article and some possible solutions on how to solve them are offered.
The best thing to do to prevent the problem of ants at your hummingbird feeder is to block their passage to the feeder. This can be done through the use of Vaseline or tanglefoot, which is a sticky substance commonly found in garden stores. You would place the substance on whatever is holding the feeder, usually a pole or wire.
Some people choose to wrap a strip of cloth that has been soaked in insect repellant around whatever is supporting the feeder. A brief word of caution here, if you choose to use this method or even if you use a spray insect repellant, please be sure that none of it gets into the hummingbird feeding solution.
Another suggestion of how to prevent ants is to sprinkle some ginger around your feeder pole. For whatever reason, once you do this, the ants won’t go near the area. I have no idea why this works, but several people have told me that it does. Give it a try and see it for yourself.
You can also prevent ants and other insects from drinking all the nectar in your hummingbird feeder by hanging your feeder using a piece of clear nylon sewing thread. The tread is very fine and slippery, thus preventing the ants or other insects from climbing it and reaching the nectar.
Bees and wasps are two other insects that can cause problems with your hummingbird feeders. Here are some tips that may help you solve the problem of bees and wasps.
1. Buy a feeder with bee guards. Many of the hummingbird feeders available on the market today come equipped with plastic guards. "Bee guards" are a screen-like device that fits over the feeder wholes that makes it difficult for the insects to reach the feeding solution. Unfortunately, many of these hummingbird feeders will also be prone to dripping which can lessen the effectiveness of the bee guards. To help solve this problem, you can use the following suggestions to help prevent your hummingbird feeder from leaking:
•Always fill the feeder completely full with cool nectar. The stopper should be inserted and the feeder quickly inverted to avoid any air entering the feeder. Tube feeders operate on a vacuum principle, and the feeder must be filled completely full in order for the vacuum to form!
•Only hang your feeder in shade or partial shade. The cooler the feeder, the less likely it is to drip.
•Make sure to keep the feeder very clean by regularly cleaning the vessel with hot water and a bottle brush. Soap should not be used during cleaning, because its residue may cause your feeder to drip. As an alternative, try periodically using a vinegar rinse to thoroughly clean your feeder and then rinse well with hot water.
•As a last resort, the stopper assembly can be placed in very hot water to soften the tube. You can bend it slightly to increase the angle. This will stop dripping, but might make it more difficult for nectar to come down the tube.
•If the dripping of this type of feeder is too much for you, then try a top-feeding hummingbird feeder instead.
There is no perfect solution as to how to prevent hummingbird feeders from leaking or dripping - feeders will drip occasionally. However, using the suggestions listed above will help minimize the amount of leaking or dripping that occurs, so that you can truly enjoy your feeder.
2. Try moving the feeder. Sometimes just moving the feeder, even just a few feet, will trick the insects into thinking that it's gone and they won't find it. Another suggestion is to take the feeder down for a day or two until the bees and wasp quit looking for it. Once the feeder is back up again, the hummingbirds will find it again, because the birds don’t give up looking for it as quickly as the insects do.
3. Give the insects their own feeder. Personally, I had never before heard of this prior to doing some research on the Internet, but I have since heard from many people that this is a very effective technique. This will require the use of separate hummingbird feeders, one for the bees and wasps and one for the hummingbirds. Bees and wasps are attracted to higher concentrations of sugar, so in their feeder use a nectar solution with a ratio of 1 part sugar to 3 parts water. In the hummingbird’s feeder, use a ratio of 1 part sugar to 5 parts water. This ratio is not as sweet as the normal nectar solution that is made with a ratio of 1 to 4, but the hummingbirds will still drink it and it will be far less attractive to the bees and wasps. It will take a few hours for the bees and wasps to find their own feeder and it should be placed away from the hummingbirds own feeder.
4. Buy a saucer-type Hummingbird feeder. This type of feeder is usually made of plastic. This type of feeder is far more drip proof because the feeding ports are located in the top, so they're not as likely to attract insects. Also, the nectar level will be lower and out of reach to the insects, but not out of reach to the hummingbirds because of their long tongues. This type feeder also does better in direct sunlight then other types of feeders.
It is impossible for anyone to know all the answers to a common problem such as how to rid your hummingbird feeders of ants, bees and wasps. These suggestions should offer you some insight into how to accomplish this task and thus help you increase the enjoyment you get from watching the hummingbirds.
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