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Thursday, March 3, 2011

Bee-free hummingbird feeders

I know all of you want bee-free feeders. I get quite a few inquiries about that. Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes. This first photo I took this morning of my bird seed feeder. Bees are so bad right now. It doesn't get worse than that. They're all over the feeder. You may need to click to enlarge.


Yet, an instant later I took a photo of my nearby hummingbird feeder which had been hanging there for 2 days. No bees.



It is possible to keep your feeders bee-free, but you have to be diligent and consistent. Like training a puppy.

Here's how:

Start with Dr JB feeders. They cost more but last longer and are convenient to fill and clean. You must keep the outside surfaces very clean. After filling a clean feeder, don't turn it over until you're ready to hang it. Then quickly flip it and do not let it tilt. If you hear it gurgling, that's not good. It could mean the solution (1 part sugar/4 parts water) is filling the basin and overflowing the internal baffles. Those baffles prevent bees from being able to reach the nectar and reserve it for hummingbirds. (Dr JB feeders are for sale online at http://drjbs.com/)

If a feeder gets tipped accidentally, or by raging wind, people, animals, whatever, it's best to empty the solution into a bowl, reclean the feeder thoroughly, refill, and rehang. It only takes a few minutes to do and is well worth the effort.

If you find that you have bees for any of the above reasons, when you rehang the feeder, hang it in a different location for a while. If that doesn't help then I squirt a tiny bit of permethrin on the glass part of the feeder. That's supposed to keep the bees from being able to smell the solution.

It's unbelievably awesome to enjoy a yard filled with hummingbirds and no bees. Bees are not native to our country and aren't the efficient pollinators that our native pollinators are. Today most bee hives have DNA from African Bees to some degree or other.

For ant problems you can buy permethrin ant guards, or make your own. More about that in a future post.








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