The hummers love his feeder, but now I do have ants all over it. Can someone please tell me where the ant moat is?
1682915
The ant moat is the little ring around the hook on the top. You can fill that with water to help keep the ants out. I have found that the ants (wasps or bees) don't really bother the birds. The thing that will really bother the birds is if the feeder gets dirty or moldy; especially in hot weather I clean the feeders every 3 days.
1682916
Hi: There's a little cup that the hook is sunk into.....fill the little cup with water with a drop of dishsoap ( to break the surface tension of the water). Also, a couple of inches up the hanger rod ( or chain.....whatever) from the hook I put a small glob of Vaseline..........traps the little buggers!
1682917
add a large bloob of petroleum jelly Vaseline on the hook where they climb on tot the feeder. Works for me the ants can't cross the petroleum jelly
1682918
If it's like mine, you fill the top, which is directly under the hook for hanging, with water. Ants come down the hook and----SPLASH!!!!! Make sure the rest of the feeder isn't leaning up against any branches. They usually enter from the rope it is hanging on.
2013605
Nothing. Actually, there are "ant" guards you can buy that can be forced into the hole that help. I mostly bring them out when we sit on the porch in the afternoon. The hummingbirds find it quickly, but the bees don't. The other option that's works temporarily on the one we leave out all the time is to spray the tip. It seems to affect the wasps but not the hummers.
1904932
I've had this feeder for about a week and it constantly has bees in it. They stick their head in there and all I see are bee butts. I actually came back here looking for "feeder tips" or some kind of screen!
2129301
Yes, ants could get into it. It is quite basic/flimsy . I bought this for the same reason you did. I feed a few stray cats outside. If I purchase another feeder, it would not be this one. Good Luck.
1158156
My hummers love this feeder as it is. Perhaps they don't like what you're serving them? Four parts pure water, one part sugar. Never use commercial nectar that is colored, never honey. I use filtered water.
1855886
Well, they won't get in from above as the top locks on, though isn't air tight. The food is dispensed with a turning mechanism, but not air right either. If your pet leaves food in the tray, that might attract ants. Hope my answer is helpful.
435638
The ants can't get in because they have to crawl through the water but the bees can fly in, so I think you will still have a bee problem. Try to google it.
322865
I had to feed the ants for almost a month, it can get quite expensive but syill just a fraction of what an exterminatoe would charge, it's been about a month now since i've seen any ants at all....If ou have patience, it's great! They keep feeding and taking it back to the colony untill there all gone, that love this stuff!
38778
It says to start with three parts water to one part nectar early in the season and then later in the season increase water a bit. As season cools, go back to original three to one ratio. I can't really tell you how well it's working. There are only a few hummers around here. They like it and will come through the day every few minutes. Then for several days, something will spook them. I'll clean the feeder and re-fill etc. and eventually they return. I have never had the experience of hundreds of hummers, and I don't see them in our area.
322862
I had to feed the ants for almost a month, it can get quite expensive but still just a fraction of what an exterminator would charge, it's been about a month now since i've seen any ants at all....If you have patience, it's great! They keep feeding and taking it back to the colony until there all gone, they love this stuff!
195834
Not sure what you mean exactly...but you just hook your feeder to the ant trap,,,the trap itself is about 2 inches, It looks a little weird, but it works beautifully. We had ants for the two years before we got the trap and now there are none. I have heard that once the ants learn they can't get to the feeder, they won't even try to come back. Hope this helps
902869
We have evil black ants that get into everything. I have the feeder off the ground on a little plywood painted base that's raised about one inch off the floor.then I just use a cheap paint brush and brush the legs with dish soap. I have (dawn) I have to redo it from time to time just like I do with the base of our pet food buckets.
1586574
Good idea. It is safe to do that. Just try to place it in the path of some ants so they can find it and lay a scent trail back to the colony so the others can ingest and spread it as well.
618349
I made my own ant moat by using a metal clothing hanger, cut the hanging part off and straightened it out. Then I took a used 16 ounce water bottle and cut the top off of it. I used a nail to make a small hole in the bottom of the water bottle and the stuck the hanger through it. I bent both top and bottom over so I can hang it from my gutter. I used some gorilla glue around the hole inside and outside the water bottle to hold it in place and stop the water from leaking out and placed it 1/2 way up the hanger. Just keep filled with water and no ants. Hang the feeder from the bottom of that. You can also but an ant moat but way when you can make it for little to nothing! I made my own ant moat by using a metal clothing hanger, cut the hanging part off and straightened it out. Then I took a used 16 ounce water bottle and cut the top off of it. I used a nail to make a small hole in the bottom of the water bottle and the stuck the hanger through it. I bent both top and bottom over so I can hang it from my gutter. I used some gorilla glue around the hole inside and outside the water bottle to hold it in place and stop the water from leaking out and placed it 1/2 way up the hanger. Just keep filled with water and no ants. Hang the feeder from the bottom of that.... » Read More I made my own ant moat by using a metal clothing hanger, cut the hanging part off and straightened it out. Then I took a used 16 ounce water bottle and cut the top off of it. I used a nail to make a small hole in the bottom of the water bottle and the stuck the hanger through it. I bent both top and bottom over so I can hang it from my gutter. I used some gorilla glue around the hole inside and outside the water bottle to hold it in place and stop the water from leaking out and placed it 1/2 way up the hanger. Just keep filled with water and no ants. Hang the feeder from the bottom of that. You can also but an ant moat but way when you can make it for little to nothing! « Show Less
805312
Let me amend my previous answer by suggesting if you plan to set the feeder on a table you might have to set it in a shallow saucer of water to prevent ants and other small crawling insects like towhigs (sp?) from getting into the feeder. It will attract them. Using the hanger, there is an inside pool of water that serves as a moat to prevent insects from getting to the feeding surface.
417671
The cup hangs from the hook on the pole, and then you hang the hummingbird feeder from a hook on the bottom of the cup. The ants may climb up the pole, but they can't get through the cup of water without drowning, so they can't get to the feeder.
1986094
use a spray bottle to spray any extra left outside of feeding hole by hummers, bees cant reach the nectar but the hummers will drip a little outside from time to time, they dont mind a little water either