BEST HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER WITH BEE GUARDS HOW TO
They adore red cardinal flowers, Columbia lilies, and trumpet honeysuckles.Īsk any expert how to keep bees away from hummingbird feeder, and one of the first things they’ll tell you is to buy a feeder that keeps bees and other insects like spiders and praying mantis out of it in the first place. Just be sure to hang your feeders away from these other sources of food.īy the way, don’t forget to plant some red flowers too to win over a few hummers. You can win their hearts (or whatever part of their body that loves nectar) with colorful flowers like impatiens, fuchsia, lilacs, lavender, crocus, goldenrod, and roses. Planting a wide variety of annuals and perennials that provide a constant source of food spring, summer, and fall will help keep them busy and away from your feeders. On that same note, another way to deter bees from your hummingbird feeders if you see them there is to dilute the ratio in them down to 1:5.įor the most part, bees prefer flowers as a food source and will only turn to hummingbird feeders if there is a nectar dearth. One other thing: While hummingbirds enjoy a 1:4 sugar to water ratio, bees prefer a more sugary 1:1 mix, so you can even sweeten the pot a bit by giving them what they want. So just make certain you locate your diversion feeder in a safe place not too close to human activity. Not only that, once they discover this delicious source, honeybees will make a beeline back to their hive and do a little dance to let the whole gang know what they found. Still, whether you’re trying to divert yellow jackets or honeybees, putting out a noticeably yellow “diversion feeder” such as a bright yellow bowl with sugar water and with a center rock or pile of pebbles for bees to stand on while they feed can be a surefire attraction. They also do a little pollinating, though not nearly as much as honeybees and bumblebees. Much as we don’t like yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps, they do serve a purpose by eliminating a good deal of other unwanted pests. Just because you’re on team red, doesn’t mean you should ignore the needs of bees. The red feeder will be enough of an attraction and if you have a clear solution in the bottle, it will be easier to detect if mold or other bacteria are forming in the bottle. If your hummingbird feeders have any type of yellow accents, remove them, or paint them red as well.īy the way, if you use a bottle type feeder, there’s no need to add red food coloring to your sugar/water mix. Occasionally, feeders will come adorned with yellow flower accents or insect guards, so hanging them in your yard is like hanging up a sign inviting wasps and bees over for a look see. However, they do have an affinity for the color yellow, as well as white, blue, and purple. Bees see red as black and just buzz away. Wasps and bees, on the other hand, don’t have much use for red. Hummingbirds find red quite attractive and may even hum about you if they see you outside in a red-colored top. That’s why if you shop for a hummingbird feeder at your local hardware store or online, it will almost always be red in color. Whether it’s our high school team colors or the red, white and blue of our national flag, the familiarity of certain colors stirs a certain level of loyalty in human beings. If you want to know how to keep bees away from hummingbird feeder, and by that we mean yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps, here are ten tried and true ways to go about it: But don’t get a bee in your bonnet over it. No matter their name, you probably hate to see these buzzing insects infiltrating your hummingbird feeders. Yellow jackets, in comparison, are carnivorous and quite a bit more aggressive. They don’t tend to sting unless attacked–more often than not by a bare foot that accidentally stepped on them.
They’re usually too busy searching flowers for pollen. Honeybees as well as big fuzzy bumblebees aren’t all that interested in humans. Like honeybees, yellow jackets have distinctive black and yellow stripes, but they are longer and narrower, have little hair, and don’t have pollen baskets on their rear legs like honeybees do. However, it’s easy to see why we would mix them up with honeybees, the more likeable of pollinators. Along with hornets, they are actually members of the wasp family. In this article we’re going to learn how to keep bees away from your hummingbird feeders, and ensure that your feeders are feeding what you want to feed: the birds.īefore we go further, it’s important to note that yellow jackets are not technically bees. Seeing as they are quite attracted to sweet tasting food sources, they can cause quite a stir at our hummingbird feeders as well. Yellow jackets – ugh! – Open a can of soda or beer outdoors at a summer picnic and there they are, ready to put a sting in our fun.
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