Hummingbird feeders bring all the lovely hummers to your yard and for little effort on our part. Just pour in sugar water, twist lock, and wait for the party. Hummingbirds need to feed all through the day and can be aggressively territorial. That means lots of activity, energy and excitement at your feeders.
But...
Hell breaks loose when the ants and yellowjackets join in on the fun. The anger and frustration are all too familiar to most birders.
Why Are Ants A Problem?
The primary issue is that a feeder overrun with ants will often discourage hummingbirds from visiting. Hummingbirds don't like to share their food source, and the presence of numerous ants can make them wary or uncomfortable, causing them to seek nectar elsewhere.
Ants can also contaminate the sugar water with bacteria, dirt, and even their own bodies (if they drown in the nectar). This can lead to the nectar spoiling more quickly or potentially causing illness in hummingbirds if they ingest contaminated liquid. Some sources even suggest that dead ants in the sugar water can make it foul.
Lastly, ants are attracted to sugar and will consume the nectar intended for the hummingbirds. A large ant invasion can quickly drain the feeder, leaving little or no food for the hummingbirds, who rely on these feeders as a vital energy source. They may also clog the feeding ports of the feeder, making it difficult or impossible for hummingbirds to access the nectar with their long beaks.
Don't fret.
There are tons of ways I've learned to keep ants away from hummingbird feeders, and I've become a one less angry and frustrated birder today. Before that, you may ask, “Why don't hummingbirds just eat the ants anyways?”
The truth is that while hummingbirds do eat small insects for protein, ants, especially in large quantities, are not an ideal food source for them. Some sources suggest that ants have exoskeletons that hummingbirds can have difficulty digesting.
How To Keep Ants Off A Hummingbird Feeder
1. Serve Under A Shade
A feeder is subjected to constant heat when it’s hung under direct sunlight. As well as spoiling the nectar, heat expands the plastic and causes it to crack after a while, which in turn attracts ants.
So, try to hang the hummingbird feeder under a shade or make one for it. Hang it under a tree where the shade will protect it in the afternoon in particular.
2. Build A Moat
A Moat is one of the easiest and common fixes on how to keep ants out of hummingbird feeders. You can make an ant moat yourself or buy one for a few bucks. An ant moat is a ring of water attached to the feeder's hook. Like in historical use, ants have to cross to have access to the precious nectar and, they simply can't.
In an effort to cross, most drown, and others retreat. It's not unheard of for ants to bypass ant moats and continue to wreak havoc. In such a case, try taking things up a notch and use a pepper solution instead of water. An ant moat is a must-try ant-repelling method to use at the feeder. If you haven't, buy a hummingbird feeder with a built-in moat.
3. Cleanliness Is Prevention
You should clean the feeding station daily in very hot weather and every couple of days at all other times. Often, I'd see an army of ants come not for a treat at the feeder but to clean up a dead insect. Anyway, you get the logic.
4. Fishing Lines Work Too
You can make an ant proof hummingbird feeder when you hang with a fishing line. The extremely thin surface area of a fishing line or similar thread is too much of a task for ants to travel. Try to use a strong thread to stop the wind blowing the feeder too much. Hopefully, the ants will not be able to get a grip to climb up.
This method is recommended for folks who live in an arid climate where an ant moat rough could be unsuitable. A small cup of water could dry up in a matter of minutes in some regions.
5. Alternate Serving Locations
This is another way of how to keep ants off the hummingbird feeder effectively. Ensure that you have several suitable spots in your yard that you can use to throw ants off course. Before moving your feeder, adjust your setup to prevent a recurrence of the ant problem. Have a regular or irregular schedule to change the location of the hummingbird feeder.
6. Go Slippery
Another way to keep ants away from a hummingbird feeder is to apply Vaseline to the suspension line. The lubricant will act as a deterrent from reaching the feeder whenever they climb on the line. The idea behind this method is that ants hate walking over sticky surfaces.
What’s a better way to evict them than lay a ground they can’t maneuver?
7. Cooking Oil Works
You can never know until you try, and that's what I did. I tried to apply cooking oil. Whether you hang the feeder on a pole or tree-trunk on which hummingbird feeder, soak a cloth with cooking oil rub it over their base.
And guess what? The results are excellent. Employ this method weekly to keep the ants at bay.
8. Even Bay Leaves Work
If you want to create a barrier of sorts on the ground below your hummingbird feeder by placing whole bay leaves down in a circle, this will also repel ants even if your feeder has a small leak. Bay leaves can also be used to save your regular feeders from squirrels as well. If you use a pole mount, tie some bay leaves or mint leaves around the pole and around the wire on which the feeder hangs.
The bay leaves gives off a pungent smell that drives them nuts. The leaves contain a camphor-like oil often used as a disinfectant and insecticide. Bay leaves make ants' lives miserable. So, who better use this, if not a birder trying to keep ants out of their hummingbird feeder.
Wrapping Up
Nectar or sugar water is like candy to ants. Any slight slip up from the hummingbird feeder, and they’ll come rushing naturally.
The most straightforward defense to permanently keep off ants the hummingbird feeder is conscious and regular cleaning. If that’s not enough to fend them off, you can try one or combine a couple of these simple tips I’ve listed.
I hope you send those pesky ants packing afterward.
Do you still see ants in your hummingbird feeder after trying these tips? Which method gave the best result? Let us know at contactlovethebirds@gmail.com.
I used the cooking oil. I have my feeder hanging on a shepherd's hook and I greased the shepherd's hook right to the point of where I hang the feeder. Worked like a charm! Thank you!
The red ants got the hint but the pesky little black ones nothing stops them it seems.
I have had difficulty with ants - even relocating feeders and keeping the feeders very clean. Finally I tried your Vaporub trick and it has worked! Thanks so much for the ideas and the many ideas to keep the ants away.
I've been using bug spray on the ground where the pole hits the dirt or and just the bottom of the pole and making sure none of my plants touch the base of the pole. BUT thinking these can't be safe for flowers I intend to plant to attract hummers. SO oil/ vasiline is how I'm going to keep those ants out of the feeders from now on. Great article!!! Thanks
Oil, Grease, Vaseline all washes away at the first rain. Water Moat evaporates. Best way is put the water Moat upside down, fill it with Vaseline. Upside protects the vaseline from washing away.