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DEAR JOAN: I have three hummingbird feeders that I keep up all year long, after reading your column saying it was OK. I still have quite a few hummers coming around and my husband and I could sit for hours watching them.
But now I have another problem. Wasps — or maybe bees, I’m not sure — are swarming the feeders and driving off the hummingbirds. It’s scary. The bees are very aggressive and come after me when I go to shoo them off or take in the feeders to fill them up again.
Is there anything I can do to get rid of them? I don’t want to take the feeders away and make the hummers suffer, but I also don’t want these bees hanging around.
Alice G., Pleasant Hill
DEAR ALICE: I’m fairly certain your insect invaders are yellowjackets — wasps. They often are mistaken for bees, but their bodies are more slender and they have what is called a pinched wasp waist. It’s their bully behavior, however, that identifies them.
The wasps you are seeing now are the queens and a few others that will soon start building new colonies. For the sake of the hummingbirds’ peaceful dining experience and your summer enjoyment, you want to discourage yellowjackets from nesting in your yard.
Yellowjackets are useful insects to have around because they prey on some troublesome pests, however, they are aggressive in defending their nests and food sources, and they can become a menace. Unlike bees, which only sting when riled and can only sting once, yellowjackets have quick tempers and their stingers allow them to zap you several times.
You can minimize the wasps’ visits by changing the type of feeder you use. Saucer feeders work best for this as the hummingbird’s long beak can reach the nectar but the wasps cannot. If you have single tube feeders, invest in some inexpensive bee guards, which accomplish the same thing.
Avoid yellow markings on feeders, which might attract bees and wasps, and keep the feeders clean and in good operating order. Leaks and drips also attract unwanted visitors. And yes, I realize that bee guards are yellow and feeders often have yellow centers in the flowers, so the best we can do is to limit the amount of yellow.
Relocating your feeders, even a few feet, also can work. Hummers will search for the food source, but wasps tend to move on when they find the feeders gone. Even taking the feeders inside for a day or so could work.
You might also try hanging brown lunch bags, crinkled, puffed out and shaped to look like hornets’ nests, near the feeders. Yellowjackets usually respect territory and move elsewhere.
DEAR JOAN: I’ve taken your advice and put a well-stocked bird feeder in our front yard, safe from the cats, but we’ve learned that the squirrels are hanging upside down in the dogwood tree and eating most of the seed.
We didn’t want to feed the squirrels, but there is no other location we can hang the feeder as our yard is so tiny.
Any suggestions? We hate to take this feeder down, but bird seed is expensive.
Jane and Tim, Bay Area
DEAR JANE AND TIM: Try seed that is mixed with hot pepper. The squirrels hate it, but the birds don’t even notice. You also can install a squirrel baffle, which is a clear plastic domed shield that blocks the squirrels’ access to the feeder.
