topic Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS in Garden

BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Dazlin — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:40:55 GMT

I have 2 humzinger type feeders up for hummingbirds. I noticed a swarm of bees all over them this morning. I took them down and washed them, made sure no nectar remained on the covering. Hosed the bees away as long as I could. Was ok until tonight, and now their covered again with bees. I haven't had this problem before, and I dont know what else to do. It's sad because the hummers keep trying to feed and the bees literally chase them away. Please, what can I do??

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

shebamom — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:02:34 GMT

Make a solution of sugar water that is sweeter that what is usual for the Hummingbirds. It's usually 1 cup of sugar for every 4 cups of water. Make it 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar. Put it another feeder and place it a few feet away from the other. I have some insect catching, glass jars to put it in. The bees crawl in to get to the sweeter water, then can't get back out, Can't remember where I got them, they're so old.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

ValuSkr — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:05:44 GMT

Yes, hummers seem to be afraid of bees. Whatever you do, don't be too mean to the bees - we need them!

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Sadiesadie — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:14:23 GMT

@Dazlin : I hate to kill any bees. If they start swarming my feeders I’ll switch out to 2 small ones I have that have small ports they can’t get into. They try but get discouraged.

I got them at our local garden center and they come with their own hanger one of which has a rail for the hummers to perch if they desire.

They are glass. The bottom looks like the bottom of a jar and is clear. The lid is red and just sits on top of the jar. They each only hold about 1/3 of a cup of nectar but in the summer with the heat I like to change them out often. Depending on how hot it is I might change them every other day. Very easy to clean and dry. I make a mixture to keep in the fridge for a few days and refill from there. Haven’t had to do that yet. No bees but I imagine they will show up

I will have to Google humzinger feeders

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

shebamom — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:21:06 GMT

I couldn't find the glass jars I mentioned, but I found something that works in a similar manner. It's called Rescue Non-Toxic Reusable Trap for Yellowjackets, with refills for later in the summer. Those aren't "bees" you're seeing but yellowjackets. I've caught them specifically for identification. So you won't be eliminating good honeybees.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Drythe — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:26:51 GMT

@Dazlin

Spray the area around the feeder ports with Unflavored PAM. Yellow Jackets (nasty tempered creatures) don’t like it.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Sadiesadie — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:27:24 GMT

@Dazlin : I hate to kill any bees. If they start swarming my feeders I’ll switch out to 2 small ones I have that have small ports they can’t get into. They try but get discouraged.

I got them at our local garden center and they come with their own hanger one of which has a rail for the hummers to perch if they desire.

I will have to Google humzinger feeders. Ah, my sister has one of those. The ports are big enough for the bees to feed from

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Wahoogaz — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 01:55:32 GMT

@Dazlin wrote:
I have 2 humzinger type feeders up for hummingbirds. I noticed a swarm of bees all over them this morning. I took them down and washed them, made sure no nectar remained on the covering. Hosed the bees away as long as I could. Was ok until tonight, and now their covered again with bees. I haven't had this problem before, and I dont know what else to do. It's sad because the hummers keep trying to feed and the bees literally chase them away. Please, what can I do??

I had the same problem last year with all 4 of my feeders. You can buy bee guards or guard tips to put on your feeders to keep bees and other insects from getting to the nectar. As soon as I added them to mine last year, the hummers were able to feed again.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

lovesrecess — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 03:23:45 GMT

I just found a swarm of bees around the cover to our water cut-off in our front flowerbed. It has a hole the size of a half-dollar so you can lift the cover off. Am afraid to take it off but how do I get the bees to go away? It is very close to our front porch entrance. I wonder if there could be a hive down inside? I have only seen hives up high...what to do...what to do....

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Dazlin — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:45:25 GMT

Yep, pretty sure they're yellow jackets. I'll try some suggestions here...I'm so aggravated this happened. I have these feeders set up around my back lanai, and I so enjoy watching the hummers from my family room, looking out the sliders. Appreciate the suggestions here!

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Jtdmum — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:55:16 GMT

@ValuSkr wrote:
Yes, hummers seem to be afraid of bees. Whatever you do, don't be too mean to the bees - we need them!

@Dazlin @ValuSkr

Serious dilemma- Love hummers but we need bees!

Do you have any mason jars you can fill with a double sugar solution that the bees will head towards vs. the feeders?

Good luck!

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

CatsyCline — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:39:33 GMT

@lovesrecess wrote:
I just found a swarm of bees around the cover to our water cut-off in our front flowerbed. It has a hole the size of a half-dollar so you can lift the cover off. Am afraid to take it off but how do I get the bees to go away? It is very close to our front porch entrance. I wonder if there could be a hive down inside? I have only seen hives up high...what to do...what to do....

be careful with that. yellow jackets nest in the ground

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

tucsongal — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:44:46 GMT

@Wahoogaz wrote:

I had the same problem last year with all 4 of my feeders. You can buy bee guards or guard tips to put on your feeders to keep bees and other insects from getting to the nectar. As soon as I added them to mine last year, the hummers were able to feed again.

————————————

Please consider something like this. I don’t think it’s good for hummingbirds to have oversweetened nectar and they might go for it in addition to the bees.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

CatsyCline — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:46:30 GMT

in August here the bees here come out and they are yellow jackets, they love sweets.

they are very nasty and can sting repeatedly. have had to move the feeder but sometimes nothing helps.

you can try removing the yellow "flowers" on the feeders...YJ are attracted to yellow

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

hayseed00 — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:54:26 GMT

@lovesrecessBe very careful of any ground type nests, they are usually yellow jackets and they are very aggressive, and can sting more than once.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Dazlin — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:45:13 GMT

@shebamom wrote:
I couldn't find the glass jars I mentioned, but I found something that works in a similar manner. It's called Rescue Non-Toxic Reusable Trap for Yellowjackets, with refills for later in the summer. Those aren't "bees" you're seeing but yellowjackets. I've caught them specifically for identification. So you won't be eliminating good honeybees.

@shebamom I got the Rescue Why Trap at lowes. Its reusable, and comes with attractant. Many reviews said it works, and they also use a piece of coldcuts, like chicken or Turkey, something sweet. Going to hang it soon. APPRECIATE!!

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

tototwo — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 11:18:46 GMT

Probably just an old wives' tale, but I've always heard that the color yellow attracts bees and wasps and to not buy hummer feeders that have the yellow flowers as decorations on the feeding base.

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

JustJazzmom — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 16:53:23 GMT

Yellow jackets nest in the ground and its best to hit the nest if you see where it is with an insecticide at dusk.Wear protective clothing and find an insecticide that kills yellow jackets. Doing it during the day won't work as the wasps are out of the nest. They return at dusk to their nest to sleep.

Honey bees will nest in openings such as holes in cement or behind a wall (make sure all openings are sealed to prevent these bees from nesting).

Here's a website to ID what you have visiting you: http://www.pollinator.com/identify/whatsbuzzin.htm

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

goldensrbest — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 20:32:53 GMT

Don't kill the bees, they do really important task .

Re: BEE PROBLEM ON HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS

Dazlin — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 23:35:02 GMT

So far nothing in the Rescue trap. Still have yellow Jack's swarming on the humzinger feeders. Maybe Wasps too. These do not have the yellow flowers attached...just plain saucer type feeders , so no yellow to attract bees. Just wanted to clear that with some here. I googled the Rescue traps, and it's a 50/50 review...some say they did great, some say they got nothing. Many used apple juice, and a small piece of luncheon meat, and had better results. So I'm going to try that as well. There are many simple homemade devices that seem to work as well.

To add...IM NOT KILLING HONEY BEES...THATS NOT WHAT IM DEALING WITH HERE. IM ALL FOR THE HONEY BEES, AND I BUY LOCAL HONEY ALL THE TIME, AND SUPPORT THEM😍.