Maintain Your Hummingbird Feeders with These Tips

Few things are as majestic as fluttering, jewel-colored hummingbirds. These dazzling pint-sized birds are fascinating to watch as they hover precariously above flowers in search of nectar. In addition to petaled flowers, another common food source that attracts hummingbirds is a manmade hummingbird feeder. 

If your yard doesn’t have space for a garden of flowers, a hummingbird feeder can be hung to encourage the little guys to come around. Using a hummingbird feeder is relatively easy, but it does require a little bit of routine cleaning and maintaining if you want to continue getting frequent winged visitors. 

How to Properly Fill Your Hummingbird Feeder

Though hummingbird feeders are easy for anyone to use, they are made up of several components. There’s usually a lid, a body or bottle that holds the nectar, ports that the hummingbirds stick their beaks into for the nectar, and a base. 

Most hummingbird feeders are top-fill feeders, meaning you pour the nectar in from the top into the body portion of the feeder. Before you do this though, there are a few things you should check:

• Check that the base of the feeder is screwed together tightly.
• Check to make sure the body is screwed in tightly to the base and fully closed. 
• Unscrew the lid from the top of the feeder.
• Pour in nectar until it’s about an inch away from the edge of the lid.
• Screw the lid back on tightly. If you don’t screw the lid on tight enough, there won’t be a vacuum seal that allows the nectar to flow properly out of the ports. 

Pull or twist up on the body so that the nectar can flow down to the ports. Once you’ve followed these instructions, you’re ready to hang your feeder! 

How to Clean a Hummingbird Feeder

You should know that hummingbird feeders need to be cleaned at least every 3-5 days. While this seems like a lot of work––it only requires soap, water, and a little bit of elbow grease. 

Step 1. Pour out any nectar that is in the body of the feeder.

Step 2. Unscrew and detach the base of the feeder from the body. 

Step 3. Remove the ports from the base.

Step 4. Remove the lid from the bottle.

Step 5. Thoroughly clean each part with a soapy water solution.

Step 6. Rinse the feeder well.

Step 7. Reassemble the parts starting with the base.

Step 8. Refill the bottle with nectar, and you’re done!

Owning a hummingbird feeder is an easy way to add some diversity to your backyard. After a few days of hanging up a feeder, you’ll come across a variety of fluttering hummingbirds. 

Are pests in your yard taking away from your personal hummingbird show? Then give Vulcan Termite and Pest Control Inc. a call!