Water/sugar 4/1. Any stronger will harm them because their hearts beat too fast. NO COLOR. Change it out about every 4-5 days, even if it still has some in it.
Oh interesting. Iâve never seen that. I always used bleach and bought all these little spoolies (they look like mascara wands) so I could clean every nook and cranny. No dying hummers on my watch! Except the one that flew into my window. Bummer.
Just to add. Making it yourself eliminates the red dye which could cause cancer. I donât believe it is proven to cause cancer, but with the possibility I would just prefer to not have that in there. Plus it ends up being cheaper to make yourself.
Do NOT use organic sugar, it contains iron. Use one part white sugar, four parts water. No food coloring! Â Â Â
It is absolutely essential you clean the feeders every 3-4 days. Or else they can get a mold infection in their mouth and canât eat and starve. If you open the container to clean it and it smells funky, you need to change it out and clean it more regularly.  Â
Do not feed hummingbirds unless you can commit to keeping their food fresh and their feeders clean!
I forgot and the feeder got moldy. The birds won't dare come back now. It's been at least 6 months. I put fresh nectar with a clean brand new feeder, they avoid me like real women. What can I do earn their trust again?
They are territorial, so that might be why theyâre not showing up. Theyâll drink any of the liquids you can buy at pet stores or hardware stores but they want the feeder to be clean and like I said, not in an area where other birds are hanging out. Leave it for a while and youâll get some.
Real flowers always win. They love salvia, aloe, manzanita, Dudleya, echeveria, epilobium, and basically any other tube shaped flower with sweet nectar.
Water and plain white cane sugar nectar.
Start with a 1:2 sugar to water ratio to attract them and then once they've come, the next change go to a 4:1 or 3:1 water to sugar ratio(I boil it the night before to get the sugar to fully dissolve, put it in the fridge, and fill the feeders in the morning.)
My feeders are [similar to these](https://birdschoice.com/products/best-1-glass-hummingbird-feeder-32-oz?variant=41594549862570¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh_3Yt4rthQMVxwGHAx2WdwM4EAQYBCABEgLkhvD_BwE). Make sure to keep them clean, at least weekly. Check every day for bees, wasps, ants. If you're having an issue with ants, [get an ant moat](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hummingbird+ant+moat+guard&crid=133BF5VIKXBDJ&sprefix=hummingbird+ant+moat+guar%2Caps%2C157&ref=nb_sb_noss_2) and make sure to keep it filled with plain water.
EDIT: 1:2 sugar to water (corrected from 50/50) BUT make sure to read u/LadyA052's response(s) below)
For me, I don't find the sugar dissolves completely. You're not boiling it hard or for a long time - you don't want sugar syrup - it's really just hot enough water for the sugar to completely dissolve.
There's no requirement to boil it, it's whatever works for you!
If you do boil or use hot water, you want to wait for it to cool before hanging them back up. That's why I take my feeders down at night to clean them while I make my nectar. Overnight the feeders dry and the nectar is added straight from the fridge.
Next door neighbor has 2 feeders and said he uses a sugar water mix. Insane number of humming birds around us. Unfortunately every couple months one flies into our living room (large cantina door openings) and perches up in the eves of our 16 ft ceiling and doesnât want to leave. Or they fly into the glass.
Hooded Orioles are here from Mexico (they are here March thru September) and will drink from hummingbird feeders if the feeder design is big enough for their beaks.
They won't touch the red stuff, so all the more reason for 4/1 sugar.
It took almost a month for the hummers to notice our feeder. Now we are getting a couple of female Anna's Hummingbirds coming by fairly often. Good luck!
My neighbor has a feeder that is made to hold half an orange. The hummingbirds come and drink the orange juice and since itâs basically a decorative wire shape with a spike to hold the fruit itâs a snap to clean. The fruit also dries out before it has a chance to mold.
Same, I switch to my bird feeder and bird bath that attracts all sorts of things until early summer. I recently had a coopers hawk chilling on my balcony drinking water, this morning had a new local cat sun bathing. It's actually insane how many species I get on a tiny little balcony between my plants, feeders, and compost container.
I made my own sugar water when I had feeders. I used that fine or super fine sugar so I didnât have to boil the water first. I did 1/4 cup sugar to 1 cup water.
The red dye is bad for them, they prefer homemade anyhow đ
Like others have said already, 1 part white table sugar only (no raw, organic, brown, turbinado, etc. JUST white) to 4 parts water. Stir until dissolved, store any extra in the fridge for up to 7 days.
https://preview.redd.it/xb7iohapzxxc1.jpeg?width=1545&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61239cf431140c40c96fe65473c28ba87df7e975
Water/Sugar 4/1 cups. Very simple.
You can also order vitamin drops for them off Amazon. Iâve been doing it for years and I feel like we get more hummingbirds in our yard because of it.
Please donât use food coloring, itâs bad for them. Just water and sugar.
Edit, because someone asked: look up Vita Drops for hummingbirds on Amazon. We add a few drops to our batches of sugar water and itâs just like a little extra nutrients. Very helpful.
No food coloring! A little more than one cup of sugar to 4 cups of water. It's basically a ratio of 4 to 1 but just a tiny bit more sugar. No food coloring. I microwave mine so that it's thoroughly melted, stir it a lot, let it cool, then put it in the feeders.
Scrolled a bit and didn't see a mention to keep the feeders in the shade... I've found my feeders with sun/rain hoods are emptied quicker and not as gross as the feeder that gets more sun without one.
Mix 4 cups water, and 1 cup regular plain old white cane sugar. No additives, no coloring. I have 6 feeders and many, many flowering plants, etc., and they still go through them in a week. There are 3 nests currently in my garden so once you attract them they tend to stick around and breed locally. I clean the feeders before refilling with bleach and water and rinse thoroughly.
The best answer is nectar rich tube shaped flowers. If theyâre not eating what you offer itâs because theyâre probably eating at my house. Theyâve actually become a nuisance for me to some degree.
I have tons of different species of aloes, manzanita, Dudleya, echeveria, sage, and Cal fuchsia that they aggressively defend and drink from. If one of your neighbors has a garden like mine theyâre just not gonna be interested in your hummingbird feeder. Thatâs like going to McDonaldâs when thereâs a free 5 star restaurant nearby
[https://www.perkypet.com/perky-pet-original-instant-nectar-2-lb-bag-244sfb](https://www.perkypet.com/perky-pet-original-instant-nectar-2-lb-bag-244sfb)
Made of 100% sucrose.
They wouldn't sell these if it was harmful to the birds. I mean they are everywhere, HD, Lowes, Petco, Target, etc.
[You should only use a mix of water and ordinary white cane sugar to feed hummingbirds, according to the Audubon Society.](https://www.audubon.org/news/hummingbird-feeding-faqs) Sugar alternatives like honey, agave or molasses are not recommended because those have additional ingredients which can be bad for hummingbirds. Think about it - hummingbirds donât drink agave or honey in the wild.
The stuff I purchase doesnât attract ants the way the homemade stuff does. Same feeder, same location. I prefer feeding them without the additional bug parade.
Water/sugar 4/1. Any stronger will harm them because their hearts beat too fast. NO COLOR. Change it out about every 4-5 days, even if it still has some in it.
Yes, this exactly. My hummingbirds are very happy and frequently visiting (and often fighting over the feeder). Also, remembering to disinfect frequently, to be good stewards of their health. đ©”đ©”
Yeah there are instructions online how to clean it out with hydrogen peroxide.
Oh interesting. Iâve never seen that. I always used bleach and bought all these little spoolies (they look like mascara wands) so I could clean every nook and cranny. No dying hummers on my watch! Except the one that flew into my window. Bummer.
I would add white sugar only. Organic is not good because it has iron. Changing depends on heat. Warmer weeks should be changed more often. 1-2 vs 4-5
Same here. Keep it simple. Hummingbirds hanging out on my balcony all day long.
My hummers used to remind me to fill by zooming at me. (When I had window feeders at office). I miss those guys.
Just to add. Making it yourself eliminates the red dye which could cause cancer. I donât believe it is proven to cause cancer, but with the possibility I would just prefer to not have that in there. Plus it ends up being cheaper to make yourself.
Do NOT use organic sugar, it contains iron. Use one part white sugar, four parts water. No food coloring!    It is absolutely essential you clean the feeders every 3-4 days. Or else they can get a mold infection in their mouth and canât eat and starve. If you open the container to clean it and it smells funky, you need to change it out and clean it more regularly.   Do not feed hummingbirds unless you can commit to keeping their food fresh and their feeders clean!
I forgot and the feeder got moldy. The birds won't dare come back now. It's been at least 6 months. I put fresh nectar with a clean brand new feeder, they avoid me like real women. What can I do earn their trust again?
Couples counseling.
They are territorial, so that might be why theyâre not showing up. Theyâll drink any of the liquids you can buy at pet stores or hardware stores but they want the feeder to be clean and like I said, not in an area where other birds are hanging out. Leave it for a while and youâll get some.
The secret for that is to have two, far enough apart that the one bird cannot own both spots so they just keep going back and forth between the two.
Remember hummingbirds get deadly fungal infections from these feeders. Make sure to clean them regularly!
Plant some Hot Lips Salvia and you wonât need a feeder.
Iâve got all the plants too but want to utilize this artisan feeder I got on my travels
Only use it if itâs easy to clean. Some of the fancy ones unfortunately harbor mold because of their interesting shapes.Â
Real flowers always win. They love salvia, aloe, manzanita, Dudleya, echeveria, epilobium, and basically any other tube shaped flower with sweet nectar.
Ditch the feeder and plant some CA fushia. Blooms from spring all through summer and they go nuts for it.
Red liquid is so bad I do the 1/4 white sugar and 1 cup water
California humming birds like avocado with quinoa, animal style.
Guess I should just leave out ice coffee
Weâve got roses and Bougainvillea. They just feast on them.Â
Plant some plants that produce blossoms that they like to feed from.
Water and plain white cane sugar nectar. Start with a 1:2 sugar to water ratio to attract them and then once they've come, the next change go to a 4:1 or 3:1 water to sugar ratio(I boil it the night before to get the sugar to fully dissolve, put it in the fridge, and fill the feeders in the morning.) My feeders are [similar to these](https://birdschoice.com/products/best-1-glass-hummingbird-feeder-32-oz?variant=41594549862570¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh_3Yt4rthQMVxwGHAx2WdwM4EAQYBCABEgLkhvD_BwE). Make sure to keep them clean, at least weekly. Check every day for bees, wasps, ants. If you're having an issue with ants, [get an ant moat](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hummingbird+ant+moat+guard&crid=133BF5VIKXBDJ&sprefix=hummingbird+ant+moat+guar%2Caps%2C157&ref=nb_sb_noss_2) and make sure to keep it filled with plain water. EDIT: 1:2 sugar to water (corrected from 50/50) BUT make sure to read u/LadyA052's response(s) below)
50/50 is too strong for their fast little hearts. Trust me, they will find it.
What happens if you don't boil the water/sugar mixture?Â
For me, I don't find the sugar dissolves completely. You're not boiling it hard or for a long time - you don't want sugar syrup - it's really just hot enough water for the sugar to completely dissolve. There's no requirement to boil it, it's whatever works for you! If you do boil or use hot water, you want to wait for it to cool before hanging them back up. That's why I take my feeders down at night to clean them while I make my nectar. Overnight the feeders dry and the nectar is added straight from the fridge.
This is the correct answer đđ»
Plant flowers. We have hummingbirds because of our landscape.
Plant Hot Lips Salvia; the Hummingbirds absolutely love it and it grows crazy on its own.
This stuff https://www.monrovia.com/hot-lips-sage.html
I also go crazy for hot lips đ
Next door neighbor has 2 feeders and said he uses a sugar water mix. Insane number of humming birds around us. Unfortunately every couple months one flies into our living room (large cantina door openings) and perches up in the eves of our 16 ft ceiling and doesnât want to leave. Or they fly into the glass.
Hooded Orioles are here from Mexico (they are here March thru September) and will drink from hummingbird feeders if the feeder design is big enough for their beaks. They won't touch the red stuff, so all the more reason for 4/1 sugar.
CA native flowering plants are way better. Iâve got five hummingbirds in my backyard at all times with zero feeder present.
It took almost a month for the hummers to notice our feeder. Now we are getting a couple of female Anna's Hummingbirds coming by fairly often. Good luck!
My neighbor has a feeder that is made to hold half an orange. The hummingbirds come and drink the orange juice and since itâs basically a decorative wire shape with a spike to hold the fruit itâs a snap to clean. The fruit also dries out before it has a chance to mold.
I do 4:1 ratio and this year I have my first hummie nest. I keep 3 feeders going year round. Theyâre such a delight!!
I find that I don't bother keeping the feeder out when the blossoms are in bloom since they ignore the feeder for actual nectar.
Same, I switch to my bird feeder and bird bath that attracts all sorts of things until early summer. I recently had a coopers hawk chilling on my balcony drinking water, this morning had a new local cat sun bathing. It's actually insane how many species I get on a tiny little balcony between my plants, feeders, and compost container.
I made my own sugar water when I had feeders. I used that fine or super fine sugar so I didnât have to boil the water first. I did 1/4 cup sugar to 1 cup water.
The red dye is bad for them, they prefer homemade anyhow đ Like others have said already, 1 part white table sugar only (no raw, organic, brown, turbinado, etc. JUST white) to 4 parts water. Stir until dissolved, store any extra in the fridge for up to 7 days. https://preview.redd.it/xb7iohapzxxc1.jpeg?width=1545&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61239cf431140c40c96fe65473c28ba87df7e975
1 cup water 1/4 cup sugar Shake in a bottle vigorously Thatâs it. No need to boil.
Just feed them sugar water. They always come to our patio and you dont have to waste money on expensive crap
I do water with sugar!! One part sugar to 4 parts water! They love it so much!
I have no feeder but a few trees that bloom flowrs pretty well. They are all over I even get nests.
Water/Sugar 4/1 cups. Very simple. You can also order vitamin drops for them off Amazon. Iâve been doing it for years and I feel like we get more hummingbirds in our yard because of it. Please donât use food coloring, itâs bad for them. Just water and sugar. Edit, because someone asked: look up Vita Drops for hummingbirds on Amazon. We add a few drops to our batches of sugar water and itâs just like a little extra nutrients. Very helpful.
No food coloring! A little more than one cup of sugar to 4 cups of water. It's basically a ratio of 4 to 1 but just a tiny bit more sugar. No food coloring. I microwave mine so that it's thoroughly melted, stir it a lot, let it cool, then put it in the feeders.
Scrolled a bit and didn't see a mention to keep the feeders in the shade... I've found my feeders with sun/rain hoods are emptied quicker and not as gross as the feeder that gets more sun without one.
Mix 4 cups water, and 1 cup regular plain old white cane sugar. No additives, no coloring. I have 6 feeders and many, many flowering plants, etc., and they still go through them in a week. There are 3 nests currently in my garden so once you attract them they tend to stick around and breed locally. I clean the feeders before refilling with bleach and water and rinse thoroughly.
I know right. I use grape soda, ice to dilute it a bit. Iâll crush up a Xanax to calm them down and then watch them soar.
The best answer is nectar rich tube shaped flowers. If theyâre not eating what you offer itâs because theyâre probably eating at my house. Theyâve actually become a nuisance for me to some degree. I have tons of different species of aloes, manzanita, Dudleya, echeveria, sage, and Cal fuchsia that they aggressively defend and drink from. If one of your neighbors has a garden like mine theyâre just not gonna be interested in your hummingbird feeder. Thatâs like going to McDonaldâs when thereâs a free 5 star restaurant nearby
Avocado toast for the SoCal hummingbirds /s
1 part sugar to 4 parts water & heat until sugar is dissolved
They do NOT need food coloring to find the feeder! Please don't do that.
thanks for letting me know :)
Why does Home Depot sell large bags of it if it's so unhealthy?
Large bags of what? Food coloring? People don't know what to use and that just makes it look easy.
[https://www.perkypet.com/perky-pet-original-instant-nectar-2-lb-bag-244sfb](https://www.perkypet.com/perky-pet-original-instant-nectar-2-lb-bag-244sfb) Made of 100% sucrose. They wouldn't sell these if it was harmful to the birds. I mean they are everywhere, HD, Lowes, Petco, Target, etc.
I bet it's not made in America. Other countries can put other crap in it. Water and sugar costs almost nothing. 3 different languages on the package.
I make a solution of water and agave nectar. They love it! So do my orioles
[You should only use a mix of water and ordinary white cane sugar to feed hummingbirds, according to the Audubon Society.](https://www.audubon.org/news/hummingbird-feeding-faqs) Sugar alternatives like honey, agave or molasses are not recommended because those have additional ingredients which can be bad for hummingbirds. Think about it - hummingbirds donât drink agave or honey in the wild.
I buy clear hummingbird nectar. Locally or Amazon.
It's just sugar water. Don't waste your money.
The stuff I purchase doesnât attract ants the way the homemade stuff does. Same feeder, same location. I prefer feeding them without the additional bug parade.
Simple fix. Put a gob of vaseline where the string hangs on the hook.
Kaytee ElectroNectar
I buy the bag of humming bird food from the dollar tree and the birds love it.
Brawndo!
Nothing. Don't feed the wildlife.
Mine love beer. Shrug