![]() ![]() To make your own hummingbird feeder you’ll need: Last week the kids and I made butterfly houses and this week we repurposed an empty water bottle into a hummingbird feeder instead of tossing it. The deer are unwelcome guests, but I can provide things to attract animals I want to my back yard. We don’t have much “habitat” space on our little lot, so the deer chomp on my tulips and anything else they think look good. Keep the feeders in the shade if possible during hot weather to reduce the risk of the water going sour too fast.Now as an adult, who owns property which the deer use as a smorgasbord I see his point.Once the hummingbirds are draining that amount in a week or less, add more. In the spring, you only need to fill your feeders about halfway to prevent waste.To clean, hand wash it with warm water and about a tablespoon of vinegar to kill any bacteria. ![]() Clean your feeder once a week or when the nectar looks cloudy or otherwise dirty (like when there’s an ant or a few dozen floating around in it).We have one little guy that perches in the tree in our front yard and dive bombs any other hummingbirds that dare drink from his feeder. Since hummingbirds are territorial critters, you’ll want at least two hummingbird feeders–one for the front yard and one for the backyard–or at least at locations where a hummingbird at one feeder won’t be able to see any at another feeder.Once the nectar has been made, let it cool completely before filling your hummingbird feeders (you don’t want to burn the little guys). If you have any leftover nectar, put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. Whether you’re making the syrup on the stove top or in the microwave, you know the sugar has dissolved completely when the liquid turns clear and there is no more sugar settled on the bottom. Once it’s done, I remove it with a hot pad (’cause it’s very HOT) and stir it until any remaining sugar on the bottom has completely dissolved. I put the water in a 4-cup glass measuring cup, add the sugar, give it a quick stir, then pop it in the microwave for about 7 minutes. I still have a microwave (getting rid of the microwave is one crunchy step I haven’t quite leapt for yet), so I use it to make the nectar. To make the nectar, bring the water to a boil and stir in the sugar until completely dissolved. I have these adorable mason jar hummingbird feeders which each hold about 3 cups of nectar, so I use 3/4 cup sugar and 3 cups water. To make the syrup (er hummingbird nectar), you need 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. And you don’t want to kill off your cute little humming friends. Most food dyes (including some natural food-derived ones) are toxic to hummingbirds. I highly recommend you leave out any food coloring. Now that’s significant savings! And it’s so easy to make it’s a real no-brainer.įor this recipe, ALL you need are two ingredients: water and white sugar. Homemade nectar, on the other hand, costs me about 5¢ (CENTS!) per 32 ounces. But hummingbird nectar–which costs as much as $7 for 32 ounces (and that was about the cheapest I could find)–now that’s just a bit too pricey. A lot of DIY stuff I don’t care for because they’re either too much work or cost just as much (or more!) than just buying it (like the kids’ sandbox) or a combination of both. Hummingbird nectar is definitely one of those “why buy when you can DIY” things. ![]()
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