I have been using vegetable oil around the holes to keep bees off. It really works! It is very sticky when cleaning though. Has anyone else tried this?
By Mainehummerluver from Bridgton, ME
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
If you get feeders where the feeder part is deep and the sugar water is not to close the bees will not be interested in the feeder. the color of the flower part has nothing to do with it, the bees smell the sugar. if they cant get to it they wont come back. the oil is not good overall to the bees but not good for the hummingbirds either.its not going to kill them but this will help keep down any uneccessary things to our critters to help keep them healthy! but the yes the oil does help on our two fancy favorite feeders (we have since put up)but the others we make sure the the feeder part is deep. hope this helps when you buy feeders in the future.
I tried peppermint essential oil on quip and no more bees....
I've made hummingbird feeders from wine bottles and purchased on line feeder nozzles. I think the long neck of the bottle with the rubber stopper, clear curved tube and small stopper with feeding hole will defeat the bees.
I'm trying aquaphor instead of Vaseline. It's slippery but made of water with nothing such as oil or preservatives, so far, so good.
Don't use Vaseline or Aquafor. The later has many chemicals in it. People, please seek professional help through a government agency or a local wildlife store. If you make your own nectar then you understand why it is better to make something without chemicals.
Aquaphor is water emulsified with petroleum jelly. Be careful.
Yes, it is oil based. Not good.
I use olive oil on the yellow part.the bees stay off
Yes it's help
Please No vegetable oil, No Vaseline, No oil of any kind, & No Pam anywhere on the feeder or on the pole / hook holding it. Oil / grease can lead to the death of the hummingbirds. The birds cannot get this off their feathers or beaks.
Yes I tried it. It worked for a while but then the bees came back. Going to try mint . Wish me luck.
I used to use vegetable oil on the ports of my feeders it works until the sun bakes the oil on. And like you said makes them sticky..I read that oil isn't good for them..it gets on their bills and then when they're preening gets in their feathers and could affect their flying
Please please do not spray your feeders with Pam spray. Don't put any oils, Vicks Vapor Rub, Pam Cooking Spray, Duct Tape, Off, Skin-so-soft, or Vaseline on your hummingbird feeder. These may work slightly. However, hummingbirds have a tendency to fly around frantically and bump into feeders quite often. If there is oily stuff or duct tape on the feeder, it can get into the feathers. The hummingbirds will have a hard time getting it off and it's not all that good for them.
Decrease the amount of sugar in your mixture or use 3 cups water to 1 cup sugar in a bowl and place a little ways from your feeders. The bees should find this source.
For the ants, you can buy an ant moat at your local big box hardware store. You can DYI one by using the bottom of a plastic drink bottle. Cut the bottom of the bottle off about 2 - 3 inches from the bottom. Poke a hole in the middle of the bottle. Take piece of wire ( really needs to be smaller than a coat hanger, but it'll do in a pinch ) about 4 inches long. Put it through the hole in plastic bottle. Put wire through a metal washer. Bend bottom end of wire into an eye, or circle big enough to accept the hook on your hummingbird feeder.
Did you say use vacuum to suck up wasp and bees? And who, pray tell will empty or change vacuum bag? or worse, just leave and let them crawl out in the house!!
Here's the (absolute way to keep bees and wasps) away from your hummingbird feeders for good.
The first picture is a feeder that DRIPS and FILLS up nectar in an area underneath the "bee guards" that are suppose to keep bees out. (( They do not work.))
As you can see there's a Verdin bird drinking up all the nectar that lies "under" the bee guard in the port hole of the feeder. These type feeders are best used in the winter, since bees aren't abound, as there is no way to stop the nectar/sugar water from filling up beneath the port hole where the hummingbirds drink.
The second picture I've drawn a line down it, on the left side of the line is to show how the port holes face upwards to the sky, as these will *never drip* nor pool nectar for bees to get at. See how the arrows point upwards? Any feeder that the holes/ports for drinking are facing up to the sky, will never allow the bees to feed, and they go away after checking it all out, they just don't waste their time, as there's nothing for them to get at.
The right side (2nd picture) with the line down the picture, I put yellow arrows to show how these type feeders will attract bees because the port holes drip, they do not face upwards, they face outwards, and bees will swarm for this type feeder, which is also best to use in the winter when the bees are not out.
So, sort of a rule-of-thumb: If you do not want any bees at your feeders in the warmer temperatures (only use feeders that the port holes face upwards).
Please, for the sake of these tiny beautiful birds, be diligent, and caring, and don't use any sprays, any greasy stuff, or smelly stuff like mint or anything as that WILL harm them and they'll not come back.
All you need is a feeder that the "port holes" face upwards and your bee problems will be non-existent.
And in the winter, that's when to use your feeders that don't have the port holes facing upwards.
I use peppermint oil around the feeding ports and top of the poles holding the feeders. Bees and wasps hate the smell and stay away
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
