How To Make Hummingbird Nectar: A Formula For Hummingbird Feeder Nectar
Tired of running to the store and paying high prices for hummingbird food? If you have some sugar, some water and a few minutes time, you can quickly learn how to make hummingbird nectar of your own, and you will take pride in your accomplishment every time you see the hummingbirds at your feeder enjoying the food that you provided for them with your own two hands.
The formula for how to make hummingbird nectar is 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Ordinary white granulated table sugar that’s found in every kitchen and regular tap water are all the ingredients that you need.
Ok, now you have the ingredients and are ready to learn how to make hummingbird nectar.
How to make hummingbird nectar:
First put the water and the sugar in a pan on the stove top and bring the mixture to a boil, while stirring the sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil for about 2 minutes to boil off any chlorine that might be in the water, and to get rid of any impurities that might be in the sugar. Take off the heat and let cool. I’ll bet you didn’t think how to make hummingbird nectar would be so easy!
Once the hummingbird nectar is cool, you can fill your feeder. If you have extra nectar you can store it in the refrigerator for as long as 2 weeks.
You might be wondering why red food coloring wasn’t added to the nectar. Everybody knows hummingbirds are attracted to the color red.
Well the truth is, your red hummingbird feeder will provide enough red color to get the attention of any hummingbirds that might be in your area.
Some people think that the red dye in food coloring isn’t good for the health of the hummingbirds, so to be safe don’t add it to the nectar recipe.
If you don’t have a red feeder or you just want to add a little extra red , you can tie strips of red ribbon to your feeder or hang a basket of red flowers next to your feeder. I like to use hanging baskets of red petunias and red fuchsias to help attract hummingbird to my yard.
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hanging basket of red fuchsias |
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red petunias next to my window feeder |
I also plant tall red salvia in large pots to put on the ground near my feeder to attract hummingbirds.
Ok, now you know how to make hummingbird nectar, your feeder is attracting swarms of hummingbirds and life is good. If you want to be sure the hummingbirds continue to swarm to your feeder and provide tons of exciting entertainment…….you must keep fresh nectar in your feeder and keep your feeder clean
Read that again…….you must keep fresh nectar in your feeder and keep your feeder clean
Keep fresh nectar in your feeder and cleaning your feeder will be easy. If your nectar goes bad, mold will grow in your feeder. You don’t want that to happen.
You must change your nectar every few days to keep it fresh. Every time you change the nectar be sure to rinse out your feeder with warm water several times before refilling.
The outdoor temperature will determine how long your nectar will stay fresh.
The sugar will ferment and mold and bacteria that can harm the hummingbirds, will start to grow in the nectar if it isn’t changed regularly. If the outside temp doesn’t get above 70 you will only have to change it about once a week. Once the temperatures begin to rise you can follow the guide below.
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
These are general guidelines just to give you an idea of how often you will have to change you nectar. If you see that the nectar is turning cloudy or if you see black spots growing in it you will have to change it more often.
If mold starts to grow in your feeder you will have to sterilize it. You will
have to soak your feeder in a mild bleach water solution. Soak your feeder in a 10% bleach 90% water solution for an hour. To help clean your feeder buy a set of hummingbird feeder bottle brushes that will reach inside the feeder and into the feeder holes.
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When it’s done soaking, thoroughly rinse the feeder with water 3 or 4 times to make sure all traces of bleach are removed.
To make feeder cleaning easy, you should get a feeder that’s easy to take apart. One that allows access to those hard to reach places inside the feeder where mold might grow.
Now that you know how to make hummingbird nectar, you will need to get a feeder that is easy to take apart and clean, and one that will also protect your hummingbird food recipe from bees ants and wasps.
My favorite choice of hummingbird feeders to use with the how to make hummingbird nectar 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.
The Trap It Ant Moat for hummingbird feeders
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.
Knowing how to make hummingbird nectar is only half the battle, you must also keep fresh hummingbird nectar in your feeder if you want hummingbirds returning to feed on a regular basis.
Enjoy watching all those hummingbirds that a clean feeder and knowing how to make hummingbird nectar will attract, and I hope you enjoyed this article on how to make hummingbird nectar.
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