How to Keep Ants Away From a Hummingbird Feeder
Hummingbirds require a great deal of nectar to keep their fast metabolism satisfied, and they can eat twice their weight in nectar each day. Ants are particularly attracted to hummingbird feeders since hummingbirds eat a steady diet of nectar or sugar water. Ants in a hummingbird feeder are not only unattractive to bird watchers, but they cause hummingbirds to retreat from the feeder as well.
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Instructions
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Use a dripless hummingbird feeder to prevent ants. Buy a dripless feeder. A hummingbird feeder that does not drip the humming bird food on the ground will help prevent ants from finding the sweet food.
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Coat the hanging pole with oil. Use a cooking spray or olive oil and coat the entire pole with the oil. The oil makes the pole slippery, making it difficult for the ants to stay on the pole and travel to the hummingbird food.
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Add an ant moat to your hummingbird feeder. An ant moat is a small, cup-like device that you hang between the hummingbird feeder and the hanging hook. Fill the ant moat with water, and when the ants climb up the hanging hook, they will fall into the water in the ant moat before they get to the hummingbird food.
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Tips & Warnings
Add additional oil to your pole after rain or extreme heat.
You can make your own moat by attaching a spray can top filled with water to the bird feeder pole.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit 4 hummingbirds at a feeder image by Clarence Alford from Fotolia.com Humming Bird image by SimonO from Fotolia.com
