It won’t kill the ants, but it will discourage them from getting to your feeder.ĭo not just use any insecticide though, you don’t want to harm the wildlife in your garden or the hummingbirds themselves. More often than not, this insecticide is Permethrin, which is used to treat scabies and lice on humans. Some species of ants are more likely to do this than others.Īn ant guard is like an inverted ant moat which has a bit of a mild insecticide inside to repel insects. Yes, they do that and it’s quite terrifying to see how clever they can be. So don’t be surprised if you catch those canny insects building bridges with their own bodies to help their comrades breach the ant moat. And they will go to great lengths to reach a good food source, such as sugary hummingbird nectar.
But keep an eye on your feeder just in case! Ants Are Breaching The Moat! You May Need An Ant GuardĪnts really, really love sugar. Also, ants don’t usually get out in winter, so the ant moat is not necessary in cold weather most of the time. Glass won’t catch fire if it heats up, but plastic is a fire hazard. It is less “pretty” than the ones you can buy, but it works just fine to keep ants out of hummingbird feeders and it costs nothing to make.Ĭome winter, you may want to get rid of the ant moat if you are installing some heating to create a heated hummingbird feeder particularly if it’s made of plastic. If you want a DIY way to get rid of sugar ants, you can make an ant moat DIY with the top of a plastic bottle or a plastic cup, and some basic building items.
#DIY HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER MOAT FULL#
They must be kept clean and full of water to work, so make sure you check them out when you change the nectar. Hang the feeder from the hook at the bottom of the ant moat.Hang the ant moat from the hook you’d normally use to hang the feeder from.You can buy ant moats that are just designed to be hang on the same hook as your hummingbird feeder. But sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands and either buy one or build it yourself. Some feeders have built in ant moats, which makes it very simple to keep ants out of them. Since ants are not good at swimming… a moat will keep ants away from hummingbird feeder nectar as they can’t get through it. Ants can’t fly, so the only way to access a hanging feeder is by walking down the hanging line. It works very similarly to moats in ancient castles. What is an ant moat? Simply put, is a tiny water deposit you hang above the hummingbird feeder.
The easiest way to get rid of sugar ants is installing an ant moat. Installing An Ant Moat For Hummingbird Feeder Cute ant moat shaped as an umbrella Thankfully there are several ways to keep ants out of hummingbird feeder, and none of them will actually harm the ants. Ants can also die on the ports, blocking them and contaminating the nectar with their bodies. That can put off hummingbirds from even coming to the feeder, as these little birds don’t really like having to fight for their food with a swarm of angry ants. Unless you get rid of sugar ants quickly, they will take over the feeder and tell any other ant in the colony about it, creating a swarm. Pin It For Later! Why Is So Important To Keep Ants Out Of Hummingbird Feeder?Īnts may look harmless, but they can actually do a lot of damage to your hummingbird feeder because they love sugar and they can be quite aggressive when protecting their food sources. So unless you find a way to get rid of sugar ants, your feeder will soon be infested with insects.
#DIY HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER MOAT HOW TO#
While researching how to attract hummingbirds to your garden, you must have come across the words “ ant moat” and are probably wondering what do ants have to do with hummingbirds.
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