I have a great place to for a hummingbird feeder, but I am hesitate to hang one. What kind of problems am I inviting if I hang one? Too many bees, etc...
Do you already have a lot of bees? Here they attract wasps and yellow jackets more than bees. In my yard I get a stray YJ or wasp. Not loads of them. And never saw a bee on one. There are feeders with bee guards or bee tips to keep them out. You can attract ants too but there are ant guards to keep them off. Some people have raccoons or squirrels bother them, once again this is more an acception than a rule. I ONCE in 20+ years of hanging hummer feeders lost one to a curious bear. Never to a squirrel or raccoon. You also MUST clean a feeder every few days in hot weather regardless of if there is any nectar left or not. The nectar can spoil or form a mold that will make the birds very sick. With all that.... if you arent sure why not hang a basket of flowers there that they'd like? Petunias, fuschia, thunbergia???
if bees are on feeder...spray water.I posted a complaint once about the bees and thats how i've dealt with it.Its also been less as now I fill in morning not evening.I have both kinds of feeders the glass balls with the tubes out of bottom and the regular chep-o feeders and have less issues with the cheap-os.my balls with the tubes when its hot...they drip.
I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!
Do you spray to keep the bees away, or spray while they are present? I might try one if I can find the ones with the guards. Any suggestions on where to get those?
Come to NY and shop in my store Most big box stores should have something. Walmart, Lowes, PetSmart, A good garden center, wild bird specialty shop The bee guard (I cant believe I dont have a pic of one) Looks like a mesh barrel that goes on the feeding port. The bee tips go on the inside of the feeders, lok like tiny baby bottle nipples.
I've never had a problem with bees, ants on the other hand are a different story. Finally figured out tht mesh cloth soaked in vegetable oil and wrapped at the base of the pole and hanger keeps ants away.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
I don't want to keep the bees away, they are very important to me for pollination. They can share all they want on my four hummer feeders. They don't seem to bother the hummers any.
see my post in julianne's "thread hoping for a hummer", i put the feeder i love in there. you really do have to keep it clean and fresh nectar in it, but the reward is great! i was always to lazy to even attempt it, and when i committed to it, hung one, and saw my first hummer up close and personal, i will never go a summer without it!
you can also make your own nectar.... boil 1 cup water add one cup sugar...mix until dissolved then add 3 more cups water keep in fridge for up to a week! so it's 4 parts water to 1 part sugar
takes less than 5 minutes and the cost for a bag of sugar!
Gardening in March
Gardening in April
Gardening in May
Shop at Amazon and Support AGF
Are you shopping online? Click this link first and A Gardeners Forum will receive a commission for your
referral at Amazon.com (shopping through this link to Amazon will not have any impact on your prices at Amazon).