The ratio of sugar to water can be reduced from 1:3 or 1:4 to 1:5 to lessen the appeal of the fluid for visitors other than the birds. You might also consider changing the sugar ratio inside your hummingbird feeders. If you avoid bee-attracting colors, like the color yellow, the feeders are less likely to come to the attention of bees. Placing your sugar water ‘nectar’ in saucer feeders rather than inverted hummingbird feeders is the best way to ensure that the birds can access it while bees and wasps cannot.įeeder holes can be adapted to make sure that the feeder meets the needs of hummingbirds without providing easy access for unwanted visitors that are also attracted to the sweetness within.Īnother thing to consider is that a red feeder will attract hummingbirds without enticing other pollinators. When choosing hummingbird sugar-water feeders, looking at different feeder designs can be key. Choose the Right Types of Hummingbird Feeders If gardens have plenty of nectar-filled flowers, bees and wasps will be able to find an alternative food source, and will be less likely to gravitate to your hummingbird feeders. Plant flowers with varied bloom times in native flower gardens. Provide plenty of natural nectar sources for bees and wasps and they won’t be as likely to seek out food in the places they shouldn’t. The first and most important thing to do if you want to keep bees and wasps away from feeders is to make sure there are abundant natural food sources, for all pollinators. Make Sure There Is Nectar for All in Your Garden How Do I Keep Bees & Wasps Away From My Bird Feeder? There are several all-natural solutions in an organic garden that will allow you to welcome these creatures into your garden while making sure supply doesn’t become an issue. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to keep unwanted bees and wasps away from hummingbird feeders so that you can preserve the meal for the birds that need it. Can I Keep Unwanted Bees & Wasps Away From Hummingbird Feeders? Yellow jackets and other territorial insects, and even swarms of bees, may even fight to retain their positions around a feeder – which, though unlikely to actually harm hummingbirds, will encourage them to stay away. They like to be able to get in and out quickly and easily to obtain the nectar they need. However, just like we don’t like to battle crowds at the grocery store, hummingbirds also dislike having to compete with crowds around a feeder. Hummingbirds are not exactly afraid of bees and wasps. And the congested conditions mean that hummingbirds will often stay away-seeking less contended food sources. Having individual solitary bees and wasps around a hummingbird feeder won’t necessarily be a problem at all.īut if you have swarms of these insects around your feeder, they will of course deplete the levels of the sugar water-meaning less for the hummingbirds you want to attract.īees and wasps crowding around a feeder can also contaminate the food source. Let’s discuss how to keep bees away from hummingbird feeders… Are Bees & Wasps a Problem for Hummingbird Feeders? Apart from the risk of getting stung by these insects, we also want to keep bees and wasps away from the food we put out for the birds. Nonetheless, their presence in some locations close to human habitation is far from ideal. In an organic garden, we can often take a live-and-let-live approach, welcoming all the creatures that share our space.īees and wasps are crucial pollinators that play an important role in the local ecology, so we should never aim to get rid of these beneficial species entirely.
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