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Carolina Gardening

How'd these big ants get IN the hummingbird feeder?

17 years ago

*shudders* I have the creepy crawlies and I'm going to have nightmares tonight. I can't stand ants and this all stems from a childhood trauma of standing on a fire ant hill. I can't stand ants. Any of them. Especially huge ones.

My mother informed me that she read an article about how male hummingbirds will guard two hummingbird feeders if he can see them both - even if they're not using the other one.

I decided to relocate my second hummingbird feeder since the one closest to the window is more popular - It's pretty neat to see them come and feed and to watch their battles when the male is defending the feeder.

When I approached the second feeder, I got a heart attack. Okay, not a literal one but close enough.
{{gwi:582693}}

You can see a bigger version here:

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And another:

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How'd they get INside? Right now, I'm fighting the urge to toss it out because I don't know how I'm going to empty it out and wash it... It took a long time for the hummingbirds to get used to these feeders and I don't want to start with a whole new one.

Comments (4)

efine50
17 years ago
It's amazing how the biggest bugs can get in the tiniest places. Wonder if it's the same as a mouse...if he can get his head in the rest will follow...lol
I HATE ants in my hummer feeders. To help with getting them out...unscrew the bottom...rinse as best as you can and then add a little water with some uncooked rice and shake. That should dislodge most of everything in there. What I do to keep the ants at bay is to spray cooking oil (Pam) on the limb..holder..top of feeder and that seems to keep them away. I have a feeder on a dogwood stem and I can see the ants marching toward the feeder. Spray with Pam and they stop dead in their tracks. It lasts for a pretty good while. Once I see them going to the feeder...more spray.
Hope this helps some!
Evelyn
nancyofnc
17 years ago
At least you only have ants to worry the feeder - use Vaseline instead of Pam, it lasts longer. Last year a squirrel ate the yellow plastic flowers totally off my two feeders and of course it drained (I imagine right into his mouth like a fountain or one of those wine skins!). I didn't replace the flowers and didn't hang the feeders this year - just planted lots of stuff they can eat naturally - but it takes time for those flowers to grow up and bloom profusely. Luckily my neighbors hung several feeders so they didn't starve this year - and they can have the squirrel problem - haven't seen any here since I shot the last one. (BTW I live in the forest and neighbor is 10 acres away.)

Nancy the nancedar
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Hi Terri - You can do one of two things that I find is helpful to avoid ants. You can move the feeder around to different locations that are still nearby each other or you can buy a small "Ant Moat" that attaches to the top of the feeder. I have both. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't which is why I often move the feeder around. I bought the small black plastic ant moat from Wal-Mart last year for a $1. I wished I had bought more. I haven't seen them for sale at Wally world this year yet. If you are creative, you could make your own ant moat: http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/homeandgarden/reeves/072806.html Or purchase one online (Copy and paste into your address bar): http://www.humming-birds.com/moat.html http://www.birdsforever.com/humfunct.html http://www.amazon.com/gt-BEST-1-Trap-Ant-Green/dp/B000PBXETS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1201874325&sr=1-2 Good luck! PS - I am posting this reply on 2 threads so that hopefully you will see it! :-)
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An ant moat is a cap of water hung above your feeder to prevent ants from getting to your hummingbird feeder. All you need to build one is a cap of some sort ,a small sharp object like a pin or needle and a paperclip. 1. Pierce the center of the cap with needle. 2. Pull paperclip through hole. 3. Bend to make two holes at the top and bottom. 4. Fill with water (I use soapy water as it is more deadly to ants and repells wasps, but any water will do) 5. Hang your creation and ants will be gone! Hope this helps Lisa.
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It's interesting to me that those who design feeders to be sold don't take into consideration what design(s) work(s). They keep making junk because we keep buying it. In my opinion, there are three big no-no's in hummingbird feeders. 1) The holes through which the juice is accessed must be small: just big enough for the hummers and no more. 2) The distance from the top of the juice to the feeder hole needs to be too long for wasps and bees, but short enough for hummers to get access. 3) The feeder MUST NOT leak. Over the years I have fed thousands upon thousands of hummers.
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I live in Texas, and we do have a huge ant problem. Moats have not worked for me because I can't keep them full. Between wind shake and evaporation, they are usually empty even with close attention. I simply put a tiny bit of wheel bearing grease at the very top of the hanger, and they will not cross it. I have fire ants, carpenter ants, and other smaller types that I can't identify. They all stay off. My grease is not down where a hummer is likely to get into it, and I have never seen any evidence of it getting on any hummers. Texas gets pretty hot, but I have never seen the grease melted or running. On one feeder several years ago, I continued to have problems even with the spot of grease, so I soaked a piece of coarse cotton string in grease and wrapped it a few turns around the very top of the hanger. They never crossed it. I suggest one other thing. Put up more hangers than you have feeders and move each feeder that gets invaded. After a day or so, they will appear to have abandoned that spot, but they keep checking it occasionally for several days. Just leave that spot idle for as long as needed. Regardless what solution you use, somebody will call you an idiot. Be sensible, but know that most things we do can POSSIBLY harm something SOMETIME. I have seen just about every kind of aerial combat these birds engage in, and I have seen some predicaments they get themselves into while fighting, but we can't make the world entirely safe for them. I have seen them run into door screen, windows, feeders, and each other. Let's just be sensible and feed the birds.
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pfmastin
17 years ago
You can get an ant trap for your feeder. I've linked to a website that carries them. Hope this helps. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Ant Trap
PRO
Lavoie Boho
17 years ago
Ants will climb whatever the feeder is hanging on, and right down the hanger onto the feeder. I use a feeder that has a small water reservoir to prevent ants from climbing onto the platform where the feeding holes are. You can buy these in a birdfeed store. The feeder is shaped like a saucer and has a hook in the center for hanging. It is the easiest thing to clean and refill, too, compared to the bottle type which I found very challenging to clean. I recommend changing styles to the ant-proof variety.

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