The petroleum-based dyes used in commercial food coloring and most “instant nectar” products are like nothing the birds would ever encounter in nature. Here homemade sugar water has been colored with a teaspoon of tart cherry concentrate.Īrtificial coloring. “Alternative” ingredients that don’t belong in hummingbird feeder solutions:įruit juice concentrates available from health food stores and online retailers are a safer alternative to artificial dyes. My favorite cleaning method is to spray hydrogen peroxide on all feeder surfaces, let it soak for a couple of minutes, then brush and rinse to remove organic debris. Sugar water spoils quickly no matter what you do, so clean and refill your feeders every three days in cool, mild weather and daily in very hot, windy, and/or rainy weather. in the sugar and/or water, but it isn’t strictly necessary. Slightly stronger solutions (1:3) are helpful for migrating and wintering hummingbirds, and slightly weaker (up to 1:6) keeps them hydrated and cool in extreme summer heat, but all the average hummingbird host needs to remember is 1 part white sugar + 4 parts clean water.īriefly boiling the solution on the stove top or in the microwave dissolves the sugar quickly and may delay spoilage by killing spores of yeasts, molds, bacteria, etc.
Good old 1:4 (or 4:1) has proven itself safe and effective over more than four decades of use, it’s well within the range of sugar concentrations found in the nectar of hummingbird-pollinated flowers ( 1), and, like a one-size-fits-most garment, it leaves enough “wiggle room” to accommodate some challenging environmental conditions without short-changing the birds on either energy or water. Though opinions about ratios of sugar to water vary slightly within the hummingbird community, most hummingbird experts endorse this recipe. Leftover sugar water will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. The Basic Recipe: 1 part sugar + 4 parts waterįilling your feeders with one part white granulated sugar dissolved in three to six parts good-quality water is a safe, effective way to attract hummingbirds. Water softened by ion exchange is high in sodium, and overloading the birds on sodium may not be a good idea.