Ants are pesky creatures that you can’t keep away from. They tend to invade everything and anything because they are always looking for food. You see, ants cannot store food or move it somewhere else. That’s why when they find a source of food, like your hummingbird feeders, they bring their friends to share the feast! Ugh… those crazy ants! It is not uncommon to have ants in your hummingbird feeder and that’s because they are attracted to the sweet nectar inside. As we mentioned above, ants cannot store food so they need a place where they can store the excess sugar that they find in your feeders. So if you don’t want to share your feeders with ants, here are some tips on how to keep them out of hummingbird feeders:
How To Keep Ants Out Of Hummingbird Feeders
Clean Everything!
If cleanliness is next to godliness, ants are god! Having ants in your hummingbird feeder is a sure sign that you need to clean it immediately. Ants are attracted to the sweet nectar inside the feeder so they need a place where they can store all that sugar. Having an ant colony in your feeder means that there is an abundance of sugar and they will be running around like crazy looking for a place to store it all. The best way to keep ants away from your hummingbird feeders is by cleaning them immediately. You can do this by wiping off any excess sugar and then replacing the nectar in the feeder!
Keep It Clean
After you’ve cleaned your feeders, you have to make sure that you are keeping them clean as well. Hummingbirds use their tongues and beaks to lick up the nectar inside their feeders so it’s important to keep them clean at all times! If there is any residue left on their beaks, they will not be able to get into the nectar and they might even eat it because they think it’s food! So if you want to keep ants out of hummingbird feeders, make sure that you’re keeping everything clean at all times.
Remove Any Old Nectar
When ants find a source of food, like your hummingbird feeder, they bring their friends over to share the feast! Ugh… those crazy ants! After you’ve cleaned your hummingbird feeder, you have to make sure that you’re removing any old nectar that might be left in the feeder. Fresh nectar is important for hummingbirds because it has all the nutrients they need to survive. If there is any extra leftover nectar inside the feeder, ants will come over and start feeding on it. This will also give ants a place to store all that sugar that they find in your hummingbird feeders!
Replace Nectar Every Few Days
You can make sure that ants are not getting into your hummingbird feeders by replacing the nectar every few days. You don’t need to replace it every day because too much sugar will make them sick but once every few days is enough! You can do this by removing the old nectar and then adding new fresh sugar water into the feeder!
Keep It Clean And Dry At All Times
Ants love moisture so if you want to keep them out of your hummingbird feeders, try keeping everything dry at all times! Hummingbirds only need a small amount of water in their bodies so if you notice them misting themselves with water from their beaks, then chances are high that you have too much water inside your feeders! The best way to keep ants out of hummingbird feeders is by making sure everything is dry at all times! You can do this by keeping any excess water away from the bottom of your feeders or using a desiccant to keep them dry at all times!
Plan Your Feeder Placement
- Place your feeder in a location that is out of sight so ants cannot find it. The best place for it is near the back of the yard where there are no trees and only a few bushes or plants to provide cover from your view.
- Do not put your feeder too close to the ground, because ants love to climb and they can easily get into the feeder from there.
- If you have an ant problem, place your hummingbird feeder in an area that is not frequented by people or pets as ants tend to be attracted to people/pets and will be more likely to invade your hummingbird feeder and cause havoc than just a few ants.
- Keep any food that is stored inside your hummingbird feeders away from sunlight or direct sunlight at all times because that will make it more appealing to ants. Sunlight kills off the germs on food so keeping it away from direct sunlight helps keep them safe.
- Use sugar water instead of sugar syrup because sugar water does not attract as much attention as sugar syrup does, which makes it easier for you to keep ants out of your hummingbird feeders. If you choose sugar syrup, make sure you store it in a dark place like a pantry cabinet where light is not able to reach it at all times since this will make it more appealing to ants!
- Keep the feeders clean and free from any spilled food. Ants are attracted to anything that has a sweet taste, so if there is any food in it, they will be more likely to invade it.
- Brush the tops of your hummingbird feeder with a sugar syrup solution every once in a while to keep ants away from it. You can do this by placing some sugar syrup in a bowl and then pouring some water over it until you have about three inches of water on top of the sugar syrup. After that, you can use a brush or toothbrush to brush the sugar syrup on top of your hummingbird feeder, and make sure to do this at least once every two weeks because ants tend to return after they find another source of food.
Use Hummingbird Food With An Ant Blocker
Use hummingbird food with an ant blocker
This is the simplest way to keep ants out of your feeders. When you fill your feeder with hummingbird food, add a little ant killer to it. You can buy ant killer from any local store and this will help you keep ants away from your feeders.
Use regular dish soap as an ant killer
You can also use dish soap to kill ants in your hummingbird feeders. Simply add a few drops of dish soap into the nectar and they will be dead in no time! You can also add a few drops of dish soap into the bottom of the bottle where you put water for the nectar so that it won’t dry out too quickly. The ants will drown in this concoction and they won’t be able to get to your nectar anymore!
Keep water away from hummingbird feeders
Don’t leave water around your hummingbird feeder or any other place where ants like to hang out because they can drown if there is too much water around them. If you have a small pond near your house, don’t let more than 5 inches of water around it at all times because that is where most insects like to live and hide out when it rains or snows outside! They love sunlight as well; so never leave lights on near these places because most insects are drawn toward light sources!
Use moth balls
You can also use moth balls to keep ants away from your hummingbird feeders. These can be bought from any local store and the more you use them, the more effective they are! You can also simply sprinkle a few drops of mothballs around your hummingbird feeders to keep them away from ants.
Place a large piece of cloth over your hummingbird feeder
This will keep ants out of your hummingbird feeder by keeping water or insects away from it! This is one way that many people have been using to keep ants out of their hummingbird feeders for years and years! You can simply cut a long piece of cloth and place it over the top of your hummingbird feeder. You will definitely not have any problems with ants anymore!
Conclusion
Keeping ants out of your hummingbird feeders can be tricky business. You have to make sure that you keep the feeders clean and refill the syrup regularly. The ants love to take advantage of a messy feeder and a feeder with old syrup. You can also use some tips to keep ants out of hummingbird feeders. You can plan your feeder placement, choose feeders with ant guards, use hummingbird food with ant blocker, use baking soda, or use caution with ant stakes to keep ants away from your hummingbird feeders.