How Do You Keep Bees From Attacking Hummingbird Feeders? Ways to repel bees from Hummingbird feeders include: opting for a saucer style feeder, adding bee guards, using a color that does not attract bees, adding natural bee repellants like cinnamon or peppermint. Dabbing the minty on the feeding ports or putting a peppermint plant near the feeder is an excellent way to get rid of bees. Peppermint does not bother hummers, but it is a good repellent for bees, and it will also keep wasps away. Does Peppermint Oil Keep Bees Away From Hummingbird Feeders?īird lovers claim peppermint essential oil repels bees when they apply it to their birdfeeders. Installing a fake wasp nest will elude both carpenter bees and other neighboring wasps. Bees avoid wasps, as wasps can kill carpenter bees and prey on their larvae. Placing a fake wasp nest can trick other wasps scouting out the area to think that there is already another wasp colony that has already established itself.įake wasps nests are also effective at keeping carpenter bees away. The bowl of sugar water acts as a resource for bees to get an abundant flow of nectar that they otherwise may be having a hard time finding. Setting up a diversion feeder will help draw the bees’ attention away from the feeders. Placing a small bowl of sugar water about 6 feet away from the hummingbird feeder works just as well for the bees and wasps. Keep Your Feeder Clean and NeatĪ cleaner nectar feeder is highly likely to be bee-free than a dirty one.Ĭleaning a hummingbird feeder is an excellent way to maintain your feeders in a like-new condition. NOTE: Please test their recommendations before opting for more environmentally harmful extermination practices. Our friends over at Honeybee Hobbyist have shared a fantastic list of bee-repellent plants and flowers, as well as multiple other ways to keep bees away. Make sure to plant a garden for pollinators, as hummingbirds are sure to compete for the nectar of ornithophilic plants. Pollinators will flock toward those flowers and leave the feeders alone. Placing feeders near attractive flowers will be an attractive alternative. Place your Feeder Next to a Pollinator Garden
Using a yellow feeder will only attract bees. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, but bees are more attracted to color yellow. Bees and wasps are good at finding and remembering their sources by sight and smell, so a red feeder will certainly be avoided if it is not leaking. On the other hand, they are not attracted to red feeders and will bypass them. Avoid Using the Color Yellowīees are attracted to yellow because they often associate it with yellow pollen. Bees need sunlight to navigate better shaded areas can hinder how bees navigate in new environments. Bees and wasps love to forage under direct sunlight, not in shaded areas. Hanging the feeders under a tree can help to bee-proof the feeders. This will not affect the birds since once the feeders are placed outside, the birds will come back. To keep bees away, one can change the location of the feeders or even place them indoors for about one to two weeks until the bees find another venue. Keeping the hummingbird nectar more diluted will make the bees lose interest in the hummingbird feeders. On the other hand, the hummingbird can use a lighter balance of 1:5 of sugar to water.
Beekeepers use a 2:1 ratio for their sugar and water, respectively. Honey bees enjoy very-sweet nectar, but hummers do not mind their nectar low on sugar. These tips create a barrier that prevents flying insects from penetrating the feeding ports.
This membrane easily opens when the hummingbirds insert their beaks. Nectar Guard tips are flexible membranes placed at the opening of the feeding ports. Dish feeders prevent leaking, which attracts critters, including bees. Even though an inverted bottle drains slowly into the feeding chamber, on a sunny day, the sweet nectar inside might leak faster and then spill over.Ī flat saucer shape is not prone to such air pressure. What are the best ways to keep bees away from hummingbird feeders? Use a Dish FeederĪ dish feeder or saucer type design over the inverted bottle design since the flat saucer-shape design minimizes leakage of feeds.
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