I like your idea about hanging the feeder under the garage overhang. Not only can the squirrels not access it, it must also keep the seeds drier too. I don't know what kind of feeder you are using, but could you try attaching a tray of some kind under the feeder to catch the falling seeds? I'm thinking maybe attaching it with a single screw so you can easily remove it to clean the tray. Just an idea. I also get tons of sprouted seeds but don't worry about them because they fall on my grass and I can just mow them down.

Here in GA where it's 90°+ all day and often 80° all night I'm afraid the nectar will ferment if I leave for 10 days. Probably not in a week, but I change it twice a week to be sure during July and August. Also only keep nectar refrigerated for about a week. In the past I've made up a gallon and kept it for a couple of weeks but it started to turn a dark color and I didn't trust it. It still tasted okay, but since then I've only been making a half gallon at a time which is plenty for 2 fillings of 2 feeders. Whatever's left over dump it out and then a few days later make up a new batch for the next week.

I always assumed Colorado's Front Range, where we received a scant 15" of rain a year amd any time the relative humidity got above single digits was what I called a "muggy day," was an arid climate. It seems every bit as wet as when I lived in the middle of the rainforest on Oahu compared to south-central Arizona. No, I'm not complaining, I hate humidity with a burning passion and rain and clouds are my arch nemesis. But, you're righr. The critters here are water desperate, though, maybe not as much here on the western edge of suburban Phoenix. Plus there is a lot of agriculture here in Buckeye so irrigation canals are still more common than stop lights. I do have a bird bath that I keep filled, so there is water present for them. I assume the insects use it every bit as much as much as the birds, but they don't get trapped in it, so I don't find their corpses floating in the tray like I do the hummer feeder. No, I haven't been to the Sonoran desert museum yet, Tucson is a solid 2-2 1/2 hour drive yet from where I'm at, so I haven't made it that way really (I did visit Tombstone when my wife was here for interviews back in October and drove through). Right now though, the hummer species list is pretty limited. I get Anna's here at the house and have seen Costa's around, but most others, from my understanding, are as transient as I am and wont be around until spring. As far as I know, the European honeybee and its Africanized counterpart are wholly indistinguishable outside of a laboratory setting. That is why it is "presumed" that all Apis mellifera in this corner of the world are of the subspecies/hybrid "scutellera" (Africanzied/killer bee). That being said, I do NOT wamt to spread fear, but awareness is a great tool. Just like all animals, and I have worked in close proximity to everything from bison to rattlesnakes, they operate on DEFENSE rather than offense. A healthy respect goes a long way and like my boss at USFWS used to say "it's a herd, not a gang."

I have the same base as in the first picture. I fill it from the top when washing and then dump it out by tipping it over. If the bottom comes off I haven't picked up on that. I also have a similar hanging setup as in the second shot - where the feeder also appears to be getting pushed to the side by wind, as often happens at this time of the year where I live. When it is gusty here the feeder is soon emptied by the wind action. So that I suspect you are having the same problem.