ANTS IN THE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER



One forgets after the hummingbirds fly south for the winter that there is a problem of ants and wasps stealing the nectar. It therefore seemed logical to get the feeder with a suction cup that would attach to the door. Those half inch ants discovered it within days of its use. The year before, my hanging hummer feeder would have this problem. Too bad it took it happening again for me to remember. So... for last year's hanging one which was difficult to clean I had put petroleum jelly on the wire from which it hung. I think the determined ants managed to go through the gunk in quest for the nectar, and then used Vicks on the wire.

With the new one attached directly to the window, I thought of those rat traps with the sticky glue which is a cruel and horrible thing to do to any living creature, but I used a big triangle double stick tape on the glass around the new feeder with the same idea to dissuade or trap the ants. No dice. It didn't stop them one iota. So I slathered petroleum jelly on the tape... with the same failed results. Then I remembered the Vicks Vapor Rub,but knew swabbing it around feeder would use up the whole ounce of the expensive Rub, so I tried hanging this feeder like I had last years, and put the Vicks on the hanging wire. Those damned insects managed to get by the Vicks. Those who got too ambitious with the nectar were soon floating in the nectar, mucking it up. What to do? In this day and age, the answer is to "Google It Up!" I did, and saw what the experts did, and for a fee, plus tax, plus shipping, and the bother of it all, I could purchase a MOAT. A hummingbird feeder moat that eliminates the problem of the ants. With this new feeder, the wasps may come and take a drink, but aren't squeezing their bodies into the feeder polluting the thing, so they weren't a problem. Those wasp and bee catchers seem almost as bad as the sticky rat traps, only they starve to death or toast in the hot sun in their trap. So, with only my concern of the ants polluting the nectar, I went to the pages online and looked at what a moat looked like, and created one myself.



It seemed the perfect solution. For days we only saw the hummingbirds use the feeder. Then, this morning, I notice... THE DAMN ANTS... ONLY, this time it's those teeny, tiny ones. I swear that they must have swung across the mote on a cobweb to the outer edge, and wended their ways down the side, over the hook and wire to the feeder. I think they are so tiny that they can float on the surface tension of the water. But I checked the moat, and the water was low. Well... you have to keep water in it. So, I took it down, as it needed refilling; got rid of the ants and cobwebs; rinsed it out well, and refilled it with fresh nectar, hung it out, and a few hours later I saw ONE teeny tiny ant had somehow bridged the gap. They must be learning to swim. Well, it's cut down on their numbers, and could have been one that hid under the outside wires. Later I knew ...it must be my conclusion that they are floating across the moat. I'm including pictures. If you look really closely at the picture of the moat, you'll see one of the teeny ants on the wire that drops into the middle of the water. The photo of the whole business also reveals my reflection. I thought that an added touch.

I was listening to NPR one day when driving somewhere last month, and they were talking about the importance of insects for the whole environment. Trees get their leaves chewed by caterpillars; and the birds eat the caterpillars. The point was that we need a good variety of trees and plants that attract a variety of insects so that the insects will attract a larger variety of birds. I guess sometimes it can work in reverse. What you want to feed the birds, wants to be eaten [or drunk] by the insects. Who knows, maybe the hummingbirds like a little protein with their nectar.