CLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing these photos on a mobile device
DEAR JOAN: I am a big lover of hummingbirds and have many feeders in my front yard. All of my feeders are suspended from shepherd hooks and visited very regularly by my colorful bird friends, along with the occasional migrating oriole. They are cleaned often.
My frustration is with the ants that seem to be feeding on the nectar as well. I have tried deterring them by spraying the hooks with Tabasco sauce, coating them with Vaseline and filling the reservoir on top of the feeder with water but nothing works.
Do you have any helpful suggestions that will not harm my beautiful visitors?
Beverly Freitas, San Jose
DEAR BEVERLY: You’ve tried a lot of things in your battle against the ants. Let’s talk first about what didn’t work and why.
Tabasco, or hot sauce, can be effective against mice, rats and squirrels, but not ants. Rodents hate the odor and taste of hot peppers, but other creatures are just fine with it.
Coating the hooks with Vaseline or some other slightly sticky gooey substance might work, but such products shouldn’t be used around birds.
Petroleum jelly — the common name for products such as Vaseline — is a petroleum-based product, and if oil should get on a bird’s wings or body, it can be fatal. It’s difficult for them to clean it off, and when it’s on the feathers, it can mess up their protective feathered layers, which keep them insulated. In colder weather, the birds can freeze to death.
The petroleum jelly also can make it difficult for a bird to fly and thus escape a predator.
You are on the right track with water, however. You can purchase ant guards for the feeders that attach between the hummingbird feeder and the shepherd’s hook. The ants will climb up the hook and start down the line, where they’ll run into the guard.
There are a few different types. Plain ones have a moat that you fill with water; others have a chemical that kills the ants, and still others something that repels the ants.
You can make your own by cutting a water bottle in half and drilling a small hole in the bottom. Run the line from the feeder through the hole in the bottom and up through the bottle to connect with the shepherd’s hook (or other hanging device). Use a silicon sealer to close up the hole and fill the bottle about half full of water.
You also can use talcum or cornstarch.
The advantage of making your own moat is that it’s much deeper than the commercial ones, and makes it more difficult for the ants to escape.
Clean out the moats whenever you clean the hummingbird feeder.
DEAR JOAN: We have been feeding a group of hummingbirds a quart of food everyday for several weeks and everyone has been happy until now. A very aggressive male has domineered the feeder and will not let any birds feed.
This has been going on now for several days. How can we make him go away? What is his problem?
Frank and Corky, Pleasanton
DEAR FRANK AND CORKY: He’s trying to protect his food source and isn’t willing to share. Try adding more feeders and grouping them together. The bully will get tired of trying to protect them all and eventually will give up.
