Keeping Bees Away from a Hummingbird Feeder

Does anyone have an idea as to how to keep bees away from hummingbird feeder?

Hardiness Zone: 5b

DONNA from Millbury, OH

Answers:

Keeping Bees Away from a Hummingbird Feeder

If your feeder has yellow flowers on the ports, turn them red with nail polish or replace the feeder with one without any yellow on it. I always had the same problem until this year. I purchased a new feeder and its ports were all red. There was no yellow on the feeder at all. Later I read an article about this new feeder which said that yellow attracts bees, thus the manufacturer eliminated yellow. It worked. I did not have any bees or wasps at the feeder this year.

By charscorner

Keeping Bees Away from a Hummingbird Feeder

Spray the feeder with "Pam" oil. The stuff that keeps food from sticking. A lodge owner who has about 15 Hummingbird feeder just told me this last week. (08/31/2007)

By Dave

Keeping Bees Away from a Hummingbird Feeder

Don't kill the bees! You're likely to kill honey bees that way, and with the major decline in the vitally important honey bee population, we need all the bees we can get.

I take a cotton ball and soak it with baby oil, and rub the little chain at the top with it to keep ants from climbing down and getting into the ports. For bees, I rub some around the ports. The bees don't like it, and they leave it alone. (09/26/2007)

Keeping Bees Away from a Hummingbird Feeder

We had at least 30 bees on our feeder yesterday. We sprayed it, washed it out well, then put crisco oil on it. So far, not 1 bee today. (04/12/2008)

By Renee ONeill