The arrival of the hummingbirds here in West Georgia has been big news in our circle of friends. Along with hearing the first Whippoorwill, it’s a challenge to get the first sighting of one each year, as it is a sure sign of spring. We enjoy putting out colorful feeders, watching them visit and also noticing differences between them in color, size, and demeanor. This photo was taken about three days ago through my office window.
Their Food
You could mix up your own hummingbird food, which is just sugar and water. There are also plenty of powdered and liquid feeds to find in local stores that say they have additional nutritional value for the birds. I’m sure the importance of these added “trace-minerals” is debatable, but the mixes aren’t expensive, and are kind of fun to measure, so I buy it. Most, but not all, come as concentrates that you mix with water in a ratio of 1 part concentrate to 3 or 4 parts water. It is very important that you read the contents and also read the directions. You want to make sure the sugar content is correct. Regular cane sugar is best, and is actually sucrose, which is half fructose and half glucose. You don’t want to use any artificial sweeteners or turbino, or honey – just plain sugar. Red dye has no benefit. (Apparently, some companies were caught selling plain red water as hummingbird food!)
Did you know that Hummingbird food can go bad in the feeder? Bacteria can actually ferment the sugar water in the feeder, so don’t let it sit out too long. Some folks say to change it out after about a week to a week and a half. I don’t fill mine full, only about a cup at a time. If you mix too much, keep it in the fridge rather than filling your feeder full.
Ant Problem
Ants love sugar water too. They can quickly find your feeder and take over. This can be a real problem to solve because no matter where you hang it, the ants will find it within a day or two.
There is a good fix for this problem that is really easy and costs nothing. It’s called an ant moat and acts as a physical barrier that the ants cannot cross. Yes, its called a moat because its filled with water. The wire or string that holds up the feeder actually passes through the middle of the water container and keeps the ants at bay. I thought about getting a nice looking metal one that was small and didn’t detract from the feeder, but I needed it right away and didn’t want to wait. (Also didn’t want to pay $7 plus shipping) I looked online, and there were plenty of suggestions on using various items to make one. Some were okay, but they were all bulky and not very attractive. I got my husband involved in brainstorming how to solve this problem.
He actually didn’t have much to say about it, but promised to give it a try. Within about 5 minutes he had it done. His great idea was using a milk jug cap, and that’s all. We just happened to have red ones, which worked out well. He punched a small hole in the cap first – a hole which was smaller than the diameter of the wire that holds up the feeder. That was important. It’s the tension of the plastic cap against the wire that holds it in place and also holds the water in. Eureka! An easy fix that looks great! It doesn’t leak at all. This has been in place two weeks now and I have not had to refill the moat. No more ant problem.