I have one hummingbird feeder, and look forward every spring to thier return. I mix my own nectar. 1 parts sugar to 4 parts water. I boil the water before adding sugar. It purifies the water. I always put a tiny bit of red food coloring..so it's more like pinkish. A few years ago I had tried a batch without food coloring. No hummingbirds! Up until this I had 3-4 visiting my feeder daily. After 2 days of inactivity I went back to using the food coloring. They all came back. I think the
red coloring is an attractant to them. I use only a tad bit just enough to make it pinkish. Every year they all come back, and have babies. It's wonderful. I also agree with purchasing feeders with perches. They will stay at your feeder longer. I just feel like why not let them sit and relax and eat? I have had issues with ants, usually in the late summer. I have used Raid on the post, but made sure I took down the feeder before I sprayed of course then let the Raid dry a little before re hanging the feeder. The feeder is hanging off a shepherds hook that is attached to a wooden post attached to our back deck. It worked and no harm was done to my hummers and kept the ants away. I bought a feeder last year that had an ant moat. This year I may buy a moat you can attach to the feeder. But all in all the ants only last a few weeks in August. It's just gross seeing them floating in the nectar so I try to prevent them. ... View related article.
