Hummingbird food that you can easily and cheaply make yourself
Hummingbird nectar is easy to make because the only two ingredients are white granulated table sugar and tap water. If you have a red feeder, you don’t need to add any red food coloring to attract hummingbirds, the red on your feeder is enough.
If your hummingbird feeder isn’t red you can always tie some red ribbon to it to help attract hummingbirds.
There is evidence that the red food coloring used in store bought nectar is harmful to the hummingbirds. Since it isn’t even necessary, there is no need to use it in your hummingbird food with sugar and water.
Hummingbird food with sugar and water formula:
The simple formula for the hummingbird food with sugar and water is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. A 4 to 1 ratio of tap water to white granulated table sugar yields a sweet solution that is very close to matching the actual flower nectar that your hummingbirds feed on.
Making hummingbird food instructions:
Pour your 4 parts tap water into a pan and place it on your stove top with high heat to bring it to a boil.
While the tap water is heating up you can stir in the 1 part sugar. Keep stirring the sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.
When the hummingbird food starts to boil, let it boil for about 2 minutes before taking it off of the heat to cool.
This 2 minute period that you boil the hummingbird food , will let any chlorine that might be in the water escape and will also purify the solution by killing any mold spores that might be in the sugar.
The hummingbird food will stay fresh longer in your feeder if you boil the food first.
When your homemade hummingbird nectar has cooled you can add it to your hummingbird feeder.
If you have any nectar left you can store it for up to a week, in your refrigerator.
To keep your hummingbirds happy and using your feeder, you must keep fresh nectar in the feeder. To keep it fresh you must change it before the sugar starts to ferment.
If you don’t change it often enough the sugar will ferment and mold will grow, contaminating your nectar and your feeder.
See the chart below to see how often to change the hummingbird food with sugar and water. It is based on the temperature because heat is what will ferment the sugar.
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 find little black specks of mold in your nectar, follow this maintaining and cleaning your hummingbird feeder link to learn more about cleaning your feeder.
Each time you change the nectar be sure to rinse the feeder out with hot water.
Once a month you should soak your feeder in a bleach water solution (1/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon water) for about an hour to help keep it clean. Then thoroughly rinse your feeder with running water to remove all the bleach water.
That’s about all there is to making hummingbird food with sugar and water. Just remember to change the nectar on time and you won’t have any problems.
Now that your making hummingbird food with sugar and water, you will need to get a feeder that is easy to take apart and clean, and one that will also protect your hummingbird food from bees ants and wasps.
My favorite choice of hummingbird feeders to use with the homemade hummingbird food is
Aspects 12oz Hummzinger Ultra With Nectar Guard
It’s only $28.18 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.
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.
Good luck with your hummingbirds and I hope you enjoyed this article on making hummingbird food with sugar and water.
Click the link hummingbird food with sugar and water to view more articles about making your own hummingbird food.
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