Hummingbird syrup recipe that’s quick and easy to make:
The ingredients for your own hummingbird syrup recipe are water and sugar. Ordinary tap water and common granulated table sugar are all you need. You don’t need food coloring to attract the hummingbirds, the red on your feeder is enough. If your feeder is not red, tie a piece of red ribbon to it.
Food coloring might be harmful to the hummingbirds, so to be safe don’t use it.
Hummingbird syrup recipe instructions:
The hummingbird syrup recipe calls for a 4 to 1 ratio of water to sugar. This ratio will produce a solution that is close to the actual nectar that hummingbirds get from plants.
The hummingbird syrup recipe calls for boiling the nectar to release any chlorine that might be in the water and to kill any mold spores or any other unwanted organisms that might be in the sugar. This will allow your nectar to keep as long as possible before going bad.
In a pan on your stove, add 4 parts water and stir in the 1 part sugar as you bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the sugar until it is completely dissolved. Boil for about 2 minutes. When the hummingbird syrup recipe is cool you can add it to your feeder. Any unused portion can be stored in your frig. for up to 2 weeks
If possible, try to hang your feeder in a shady spot out of direct sunlight. The sun and heat will eventually cause your hummingbird syrup recipe to ferment and mold will start to grow in the nectar and on your feeder. To prevent this from happening you must change the nectar before it gets moldy.
How often it will have to be changed will depend on the temperature. The hotter it is the sooner the nectar you made with the hummingbird syrup recipe, will have to be changed. Read the chart below to see how often to change your homemade hummingbird nectar:
High temperatures Change nectar after
71-75 6 days
76-80 5 days
81-84 4 days
85-88 3 days
89-92 2 days
93+ change daily
If you don’t change the hummingbird syrup recipe and mold appears in your feeder, then you will have to kill the mold and sterilize your feeder with bleach water.
You will need to make a solution with 10% bleach to 90% water and soak your feeder for about an hour. After soaking your feeder use feeder brushes to brush out all the old mold from inside your feeder.
Thoroughly rinse your feeder several times with running water to be sure you have rinsed off all traces of the bleach water. After rinsing thoroughly you can fill your feeder with homemade hummingbird food from the hummingbird syrup recipe again.
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Here is a good set of hummingbird feeder brushes that will help you remove the mold from the inside of your feeder. |
The best thing you can do to help guarantee your enjoyment of using your own hummingbird syrup recipe and feeding your hummingbirds, is to start with a feeder that will make maintenance and cleaning your feeder so much easier. This is the feeder I would use:
Now that your hummingbird syrup recipe is done, you will need to get a feeder that is easy to take apart and clean, and one that will also protect your hummingbird syrup recipe from bees ants and wasps.
My favorite choice of hummingbird feeders to use with the homemade hummingbird syrup recipe is:
Aspects 12oz Hummzinger Ultra With Nectar Guard
It has several features that makes it well worth the price. The HummZinger has patented Nectar guard tips which are flexible membranes attached to the feed ports that prohibit entry from flying insects, but allow Hummingbirds to feed as usual. The HummZinger also has a built in ant moat that will stop crawling insects from getting to the nectar. It also has raised flower ports that divert rain.
This mid-size nectar feeder has a 12 oz. capacity and can be hung or post mounted with hardware provided. It has four feeding ports for hummingbirds and is made of unbreakable polycarbonate. Easy to clean.
For ease of cleaning and protection from bees, wasps and ants, this feeder can’t be beat.
If you already have a hummingbird feeder, and you want to protect it from ants and other crawling insects, the ant moat below will do the job.
Trap-It Ant Moat for Hummingbird Feeders, Red
Product Description
The first and still the best to protect your Hummingbird and Oriole feeder from ants and other crawling insects. Insert between hanger and feeder and fill with water, providing a barrier to crawling pests. Red color to attract hummingbirds.
Now that you have your own hummingbird syrup recipe and know how to maintain your feeder and keep your nectar fresh, all that’s left to do is enjoy your hummingbirds.
I hope you found this article on hummingbird syrup recipe helpful.
Click on this link hummingbird syrup recipe for more articles on making hummingbird food.
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