Garden

[Mary Bailey]

We have 2 hummingbird feeders at our family room window. DH & I watch them from dawn to dusk.

Today they are especially active, 4 to 6 at a time. Sometimes sharing the feeders, mostly trying chase each other away. The pouring rain doesn't deter them.

I'll be sooooo sad when hummingbird time is over.  I'll be eagerly waiting for May 2020 when they are "back home" here again.

(nasty ants always found the 6 feeders in the backyard so I took all those down.  No matter what I did they ruined everything. I HATE ANTS!)

[luvmyjewelry]

Mary Bailey - I had an ant issue until I bought an ant moat! You just hang the moat, filled with water, above the feeder. Voila, no more ants in the feeder!!

I love the hummers too! I have them day to dusk too. But never seen more than one at a time at the feeder. They chase each other away.

[kitty60]

I have six feeders up and they have been feeding vigorously all summer.  Some feeders I have to fill twice a day.  Tuesday night they were particularly busy and then Wednesday on they seem to have vanished.  I see one or two but not the dozen or so.  They arrive between the second and third week of March and don't normally depart until the end of September beginning of October.  Not sure what happened.  I will clean the  feeders and refill to be sure the food is there is they are in hiding.  Just wonder what they know?

[Mary Bailey]

@luvmyjewelry   I had moats but it didnt help.  I hung them from the soffits of the house & garage (instead of shephard's hooks) with moats and they still got in.  I put down ant poison under the feeders, with the moats.  Still horrible ants. 

[fthunt]

I get NO ants now that s hook (holding the feeder) is stuck in a bed of pachysandra - to keep it away from lawn service.  Years ago when hook was mounted in lawn = had lots of ants.  My feeder also has a center no-man-land circle - so if an ant gets in there - it can't get out and to the juice.

Yes, hummers are on the move and they hate 'vistors' passing through. 

[HLP]

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@Mary Bailey wrote:

We have 2 hummingbird feeders at our family room window. DH & I watch them from dawn to dusk.

Today they are especially active, 4 to 6 at a time. Sometimes sharing the feeders, mostly trying chase each other away. The pouring rain doesn't deter them.

I'll be sooooo sad when hummingbird time is over.  I'll be eagerly waiting for May 2020 when they are "back home" here again.

(nasty ants always found the 6 feeders in the backyard so I took all those down.  No matter what I did they ruined everything. I HATE ANTS!)

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I bought ant baffles from Duncraft, they go between feeder and hanger and I have no ants. Been using them for years.My things are hung from a tree, and there are lots of ants, in the soil. Try these they work.

[Lilysmom]

@Mary Bailey , I haven’t read all the replies yet but you need an ant moat for the feeders.  I got mine at Lee Valley.  You can also get them at hardware stores like Lowe’s.  The ants drown before they get to the feeder.

I love the hummers too.  After a brief hiatus they are back and very active.  Mine come in mid May and leave mid September.  LM

[Lilysmom]

@Mary Bailey , just saw your reply.  Strange they don’t work for you.  LM

[Mary Bailey]

@Lilysmomants from the devil! LOL but I'm not laughing 

[silkyk]

I just rub some Sriacha sauce on the wire that holds my feeders and no ants....ants hate the stuff. Works even better than the water motes. The ants just made an "ant bridge" across the water on mine. Sriacha (or any thick hot sauce) is something they don't mess with. Just a LITTLE rubbed on the hanger (keep far away from the feeder holes!) and ants are gonzo! I have used this for years and we are lucky to have the hummers year round minus those pesky ants.