Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Hummingbirds
Thread: Hummingbirds
View Single Post
 
Old 05-12-2020, 07:04 PM
Joelack99 Joelack99 is offline
Member
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 40
Thanks: 55
Thanked 51 Times in 19 Posts
Default

There is a trick to the feeders. Since we learned it we have the ruby throated ones much more frequently. It needs to be red, of course, that stands out to them, hung several feet from the house, preferably in partial shade—and you need to feed them the right stuff: plain white sugar dissolved in boiling water—1 cup sugar in 4 cups water—then chilled—keeps a week or two in the fridge. The real trick is changing the nectar out every couple of days when the weather is hot, cleaning the feeder thoroughly so no mold grows in it. Fermented nectar or mold will make them very sick so don’t bother if you can’t keep up with it. If you can, it’s worth it. We only put out a quarter to half a cup at a time, and keep changing it.

Ants will go for it too. You can pick up “ant moats” at Lowes.