A quick homemade hummingbird food recipe
How to make hummingbird food is an easy, fun process that every hummingbird lover will want to learn to add to their overall enjoyment of watching hummingbirds. How to make hummingbird food is something that anyone can do.
May is finally here in northwestern Ohio and the anticipation of seeing my very first hummer of the year is mounting. My eyes are drawn toward my window hummingbird feeder each time I enter my bedroom where the feeder is mounted on the window. I have a window feeder that has suction cups that allows me to stick the feeder right on the window. I can get right up to the window and get an up close view of those beautiful little creatures as they feed on my homemade hummingbird food.
I’m sure you are as anxious as I am to start enjoying those hummingbirds, so lets get on to learning the process of how to make hummingbird food using the homemade hummingbird food recipe.
How to make hummingbird food:
Hummingbird formula is just sugar water. The hummingbird food sugar ratio is 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. To make 5 cups of hummingbird food mixture add 1 cup of white granulated table sugar to 4 cups of water and boil for 2 minutes, while stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Boiling the water helps get rid of any chlorine that might be in the water and other impurities that might be in the sugar. Your hummingbird mixture will last longer before going bad.
After your hummingbird nectar has cooled you can add it to your feeder. Any left over nectar can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks and used at a later time. I’ll bet you didn’t think that how to make hummingbird food could be so easy!
Your hummingbird food mixture should be changed about twice a week before summer weather sets in but when the temperature reaches 80 and 90 you should change it every day or two to prevent mold from forming on your feeder. That’s why it’s good to have spare nectar in the refrigerator. You can always tell when your hummingbird solution needs to be changed because it will start to look cloudy.
You have to keep your feeder clean
Each time you change your hummingbird nectar be sure to rinse out your feeder thoroughly with warm water. If you wait too long and you start to see black mold spots on your feeder, you will have to clean it with a mild bleach water solution.
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You will have to soak your feeder in a 10% bleach solution for about half an hour to kill the mold and brush the mold out of the feeder. To the left is a good set of hummingbird feeder brushes that will come in handy if you ever have to clean mold out of your feeder. |
Then be sure to rinse your feeder several times with hot water to be sure you have removed all traces of the bleach solution before refilling your feeder with hummingbird food.
Now that you know how to make hummingbird food you will want the best feeder possible to put your hummingbird nectar in.
The correct feeder will make cleaning a lot easier
My favorite choice of hummingbird feeders to use with the how to make hummingbird food recipe is 
Aspects 12oz Hummzinger Ultra With Nectar Guard
It’s inexpensive and 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.
Use an ant moat to keep insects out of your feeder
Trap-It Ant Moat for Hummingbird Feeders
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 know how to make hummingbird food, you will be able to keep fresh hummingbird nectar in your feeder and your hummingbirds will thank you by providing you with lots of exciting entertainment.
Enjoy your hummingbirds and I hope you enjoyed this article on how to make hummingbird food.
Check this link for other articles on homemade hummingbird food.
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