Feeder is covered with Ants!

16 years ago

Our hummingbird feeder, hung in our Japanese Maple, is swarmed by ants each time we refill it. I think this may be repelling the hummingbirds - they come into our yard, check out the feeder, then go to flowers nearby instead of feeding at it.

Any ideas on how to avoid this?

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Comments (5)

hummersteve
16 years ago
Ants are attracted to the sugar. Are you cleaning the outside of feeder well. You might try cleaning the outside of feeder with ammonia water. Does the feeder leak? or move the feeder location.
penny1947
16 years ago
Get an ant moat that hangs above the feeder that you fill with plain water. That will put an end to your ant problem because they don't like the water. I have also been told that bay leaves hung above the feeder will also repel the ants. I am not sure about that since I haven't tried it myself yet (I just bought some bay leaves today) but the ant moat definitely works. I have been using ant moats for 5 yrs. with 100% success as long as you keep water in it.

Penny
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Laylaa, I understand your concern. Just wanted to post and say we don't put the axle grease on poles. We put a small amount on the eye screw from which we hang the wire extension to hang the feeders for the ones on our patio. We also have feeders in some of our trees. We use extension wires to hang those, and the grease is applied to a small section of the wire. I haven't ever noticed it spreading. I didn't intend to infer the grease should be put on the shepards hook. That would be a bad idea. I love wild life, especially birds and would never do anything to harm them. We have lots of hummingbirds visit and I have never seen any of them harmed in any way. That would be heartbreaking. It would be nearly impossible for any of the other birds to get the grease on them the way we apply it. But I will discuss your concern with my husband, so thanks for bringing it up. I love the Cornell site. Have been a member of the Project Feeder Watch for years.
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Comments (6)
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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Comments (2)
yardenman, I'm not positive that they are ants because I'm no entomologist. But they look exactly like ants to me, except that each has a pair of wings, and they fly. I have examined one closely: it is brown, has wings, is 1 cm long, and definitely has a "stinger." They've been swarming on our feeder for more than a week, and they seem to bother the hummers worse than wasps and bees do.
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Comments (4)
First be sure the feeder itself is not hanging close enough to an object where the ants can get on the feeder itself. Some of the hummzinger moats may not be wide enough to keep persistant ants out of it. You can make your own out of a laundry or spray cap. Heres one type that I made. Some people use a spray cap and a hot glue gun. Heres mine.
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jackiek
16 years ago
You can put petrolium jelly on the pole and or feeder ports so the ants can't get access to the nectar.
penny1947
16 years ago
Petroleum jelly is frowned upon by hummer enthusiasts in particular banders and researchers. If a hummer or any bird got it on their feathers from brushing up against it it would not be good. Water or the bay leaves are both completely safe.
Penny
janie_lynn
16 years ago
I'm with Penny - Get an ant moat! The hummers hate ants in their feeders and will not drink nectar from a feeder with ants swarming on it. Before I hung my ant moat up, the hummies were screaming and flying around their feeder, but would not drink from it. I had to see what was going on and when I looked, saw a whole lotta ants in there.

As soon as I cleaned the feeders and hung the ant moat up, everything went back to normal and my birds were happy again.

I like the Parasol Ant moats. I put the petroleum jelly deep inside where the birds will not come into contact with it. Or you can fill with water.

I get them from this site. I like them because they charge only $3 bucks for shipping & handling (US Mail) if you order accessories or parts and buy less than $17 worth of items. (I think the ant moats are around $7).

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird feeders, parts and accessories

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Feeder is covered with Ants!

Comments (5)

hummersteve

penny1947

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jackiek

penny1947

janie_lynn

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