The Cultivating Garden #12: How to Make Hummingbird Food and Tips on Cleaning Your Hummingbird Feeders

Ever since the first day I witnessed a hummingbird buzz by my apartment I have been putting out sweet nectar to attract more of them. The first time I tried to put out hummingbird nectar (Summer 2015) I went the safe route and ordered some of the ready-made red liquid and a feeder from Amazon. I filled the feeder and hung it out and after one or two visits from a bird I got nothing. Zilch. Then the squirrels tipped over the feeder; it broke; red juice was everywhere; and it became a whole messy thing.

Then, after doing some searching online I found out that making nectar at home is cheaper and healthier than obtaining the store-bought, red version. There are all sorts of theories about the red dye they use in those concoctions and whether or not they harm the bird or if they’re included to add “value” to a product that is otherwise just glorified sugar water. But I digress.

So you’ve realized you want hummingbirds in your life. You went to the store or online and purchased a fancy hummingbird feeder, and you’ve even picked out a great spot to hang it where the squirrels or chipmunks won’t tip it over and the birds can feed in peace (and preferably a spot within viewing range for yourself).

Now for preparing the food/recipe:

All you need to do is mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water in a small to medium-sized pot; bring it to a boil on your stove-top; chill in the refrigerator; and fill your feeder. It’s that simple.

Now, for the long-winded version:

I have three feeders, so I usually use a 1 cup measuring cup to measure out:
1 cup sugar
4 cups water

Recently my mom got me a fancy hummingbird nectar measuring pitcher (above), which is what you see in the pictures. The pitcher is a novelty item, the kind you get for your birthday because somebody loves you:) It has made executing the hummingbird feed recipe much easier. I no longer have to use measuring cups because I just use the red divider to create a ¼ sugar column within the water pitcher. You just match the water line with the sugar line and voila, you got your ratio. The full pitcher makes enough sugar-water to fill each of the three feeders twice. The liquid will be clear and that's OK. It need not have the red dye to make it attractive to the hummingbirds. I have had massive success with this very recipe and method.

And no matter what you use as a measuring device, you always must bring the mixture to a boil to kill any bacteria that may be chillin’ in your water. Such microorganisms can be harmful to your birds.

After bringing your nectar to a boil (and being sure to stir the sugar in until it dissolves) remove your pot from the stove and either leave it out to cool or, if you’re like me and impatient, put it in the refrigerator or freezer (briefly) until no longer warm.

While you are waiting for your nectar to chill, you have a crucial task to carry out: cleaning the feeder/s. This is very important and should not be neglected because the feeders can get quite dirty within a week, which is about how long I’m letting the foot sit out before rinsing and repeating this whole process. Around July and August, when the weather gets really hot and mucky, I might switch them out even more frequently, every 4-5 days. You may be thinking to yourself, “but how dirty can they possibly get?”

This is how my little red feeder’s “holes” looked AFTER I washed it thoroughly with a sponge and soap. You really have to make sure that there is no black gunk anywhere, especially in the feeding holes. And when you spot it, you can use any number of things to clean them out.

You can buy cleaning wands made for cleaning hummingbird feeders. They are essentially softer pipe-cleaners, if you’re familiar with that technology.

But Q-tips, which are a common household product, will work just as fine. You can use Q-tips to clean the holes as well as reach into the feeder and swipe at any black goo you may observe in there. I usually bend my Q-tips to get at those hard-to-reach corners, which seem to always harbor some muck, especially as the season wears on.

Rinse your feeders off one last time after the detailing and set them out to dry, or hand dry them. Retrieve your now cooled nectar from the fridge. Now you are ready to fill up your feeders.

I like to use a funnel to fill mine. It cuts back on all of the agony of cleaning sugar water off from everything. I use a larger funnel for the large glass feeder, and a smaller one for the small, red feeders.

Once the feeders are all filled up you will want to hang them right up.

But that’s not all! I have one last parting tip.

Check your feeders regularly for unwelcome guests like ants. Look on and inside your feeder. If you find dead ants inside your feeder immediately discard the nectar, wash, and refill the vessel. To prevent ants from discovering and/or accessing your feeder you can use oil from your kitchen.

Put 0.5-1 teaspoon oil on a piece of paper towel (or a bit of butter on a piece of wax paper) and grease the hanging apparatus where it connects to its hanging surface (basically, whatever access point ants have to your feeder). Be sure not to get the grease on the actual feeder/vessel.

There are a host of other methods for deterring ants, but this one has been the simplest, cheapest, and most effective one I’ve tried so far. The oil makes the surface too slippery for ants to cling onto so they can’t reach the feeders without sliding on off:)

Usually I don’t have to wait long before a thirsty visitor returns. All that’s next is some patience to capture a non-blurry picture of one of these guys… One day…