Cameron, I only hand water, too. I enjoy it. I have well water and it sure is nice. Don't have to worry about chlorine hurting me or my plants. I was watering with the garden hose and spray nozzle when that little hummer flew down at my feet. It startled me for a second or two. I do the same thing for the birds here too. In the summer, many of the little wild birds will follow me around the yard when I am watering. They will tweet and squawk at me for a cool drink and a refreshing bath. I spray high up into the trees and they just love it. Sometimes there are dozens of birds perched overhead waiting to be sprayed with the hose. So cute! I have two sprinklers that I sometimes use in the summer. My grandsons love to play in them out on the grass. My cat Demon likes to dash through it as well. Funny kitty. Deemie is 15 years old now, but still acts like a kitten, except for when he is being the boss around the place. He thinks he is Captain America - has to run to everyone's defense, including me, whether we want his assistance or not. :) Everyone likes "Evil Deemie". He runs out to greet the mail carrier, jumping up on her truck window and startling her. She has finally gotten used to it, and always says hello. He walks back and forth along her door window, purring and rubbing on the door frame. He loves to greet all visitors that way. He also loves to ride in trucks, perched up on the dash looking out the front windshield or on the back of my seat so he can see out but be near "Mommy'. Little stinker! ~Annie

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.

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.

We've had those moths here for years and we enjoy watching them. They're not as friendly as the hummers but never have caused any problems. The hummingbirds are usually here in spring when the flowering crabs bloom, then they're gone and return at hosta blooming time. I had to leave the feeders out for them for a couple weeks and one would stop a couple times and move on, but now they've really started frequenting them heavily. Like you, I also had just wasps and butterflies sitting on them. Now the syrup goes down visibly every day. They must be hungry little devils too because they're even trying to get nectar out of the little clear bulbs on the lights on the bushes around my deck and they buzz around my head checking me out. This is the first time I've had enough of them around me that aren't shy and they sit in the branches of my curly willow and chirp, and they sit long enough I can get a good look at them and see some of them are browner in color, and some have bright metallic green backs. Friendly little things.