In my very unprofessional opinion, I just think it`s another unnecessary additive that could possibly be harmful and quite probably a marketing ploy to convince people that commercial products are superior to plain old water and sugar.

I wouldn't use it. I'd be afraid it would hurt or kill them.

i agree with both of you. not worth the risk. thanks for your feedback

Me, too. I agree with shilla about the marketing, and with zzackey that I'd be scared to hurt them. They are sooo tiny, it wouldn't take much to poison them.

We have used Feeder Fresh Nectar Defender for quite a long while. It's fantastic in Texas where the heat can spoil the nectar quickly. I rate it a Five star. I just looked at the manufacturer website. It's very informative http://sapphirelabs.com/nectardefender/isnectardefendersafe.html

I put smaller amounts in the feeder. I thought about putting whiskey stones in the feeder to take up some of the space, but haven't gotten any yet. Using smaller quantities makes it easier to just toss it after a few days. I do the feeder rotation mehitabel mentioned... super easy!

!/4 cup sugar in 1 cup water is cheap, very cheap. I just make 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar and store in the frig. I do use Britta water to take the chlorine and fluoride out. I only use 1 cup of the mixture at a time. Until it gets very hot, I change twice a week, hotter, three times a week, If it hits over 100* most every day. Spray feeders with white vinegar and rotate feeders.

Until July/August when they are migrating, I just have one feeder. When I start having the wars, I put up three. Very early and very late in the year, I use 1/3 cup sugar to 1 cup water.

Yes I get that the sugar water is very cheap. Many people don't even realize that it needs to be changed as often as it does. Then there are people who for whatever reason, don't manage to get it changed as often as they should. There are also many people such as myself who believe in the science. " Nectar Defender has been approved by avian and animal scientists at major universities and other hummingbird experts /

• Hummingbirds are protected from absorbing more copper than they need due to their bodies' natural biochemical regulation. Birds have a robust system to precisely maintain a healthy copper balance (copper homeostasis). In fact, copper will not even be absorbed from nectar in a bird’s digestive system, unless the it is in need of copper nutrient.
• Micronutrient copper will not accumulate in the hummingbird’s system, because any excess is rapidly excreted from their system.
• This micronutrient copper used in Nectar Defender is the same mineral supplement used for decades to provide essential trace minerals for birds and is approved for this use by the FDA and USDA. It is safety rated by the FDA as GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”), the safest rating given." Source: http://sapphirelabs.com/nectardefender/isnectardefendersafe.html

Silver too. Back before there was refrigeration, people would put a silver coin in their milk jugs to keep the milk fresh longer. I might experiment with that this year.

I have used their product for 6 months and LOVE IT!!!!. I researched it before buying and learned HBs ingest the copper sulfate naturally and the levels in the product are well within safe levels. My HBs love it, and I dont have to worry about changing out every few days (I live in the south). Beforee I was worried about spoiled sugar solutions, but now I wont use any other product!!