* Don't buy the mix with the red dye. You can make your own, and it's better for them. Mix 1 cup of granulated sugar to 4 cups of water. Boil for 10 minutes and let cool. Pour into the feeder. No dye needed. They will come to it, I promise.
* Empty and refill the feeder every three or four days. The syrup goes sour quickly in the heat of summer.
* Clean the feeder every time you refill it. A couple of drops of vinegar and hot water will do the trick. Make sure to rinse the feeder thoroughly. I use a bottle brush to clean mine.
* Use an ant trap to help keep the insects out. It's the red thing at the top of the feeder in the picture. It's basically a cup with water in it to deter crawlers. There's really nothing, that I know of, that you can do about bees and wasps except the watch the battle play out.
It's a little bit of maintenance to attract hummingbirds to your yard, but necessary so your good intentions don't cause them any harm.
1 comment:
Thanks for the tips. Out here they stop at blooming succulents and Mexican Sage. They're incredible little flyer jocks.
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