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. Well, fact is, ants love sugar. Hummingbird nectar is mostly sugar. So unless you find a way to get rid of sugar ants, your feeder will soon be infested with insects. That’s what an ant moat is for.
Why Is So Important To Keep Ants Out Of Hummingbird Feeder?
Ants 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. 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. 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. Ants can also die on the ports, blocking them and contaminating the nectar with their bodies. Thankfully there are several ways to keep ants out of hummingbird feeder, and none of them will actually harm the ants.
Installing An Ant Moat For Hummingbird Feeder
The easiest way to get rid of sugar ants is installing an ant moat. What is an ant moat? Simply put, is a tiny water deposit you hang above the hummingbird feeder. It works very similarly to moats in ancient castles. Ants can’t fly, so the only way to access a hanging feeder is by walking down the hanging line. Since ants are not good at swimming… a moat will keep ants away from hummingbird feeder nectar as they can’t get through it.
Some feeders have built in ant moats, which makes it very simple to keep ants out of them. But sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands and either buy one or build it yourself.
You can buy ant moats that are just designed to be hang on the same hook as your hummingbird feeder. They are really simple to install:
- Hang the ant moat from the hook you’d normally use to hang the feeder from
- Hang the feeder from the hook at the bottom of the ant moat
They must be kept clean and full of water to work, so make sure you check them out when you change the nectar.
Ant Moat DIY
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.
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.
Come 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. Glass won’t catch fire if it heats up, but plastic is a fire hazard. Also, ants don’t usually get out in winter, so the ant moat is not necessary in cold weather most of the time. But keep an eye on your feeder just in case!
Ants Are Breaching The Moat! You May Need An Ant Guard
Ants really, really love sugar. And they will go to great lengths to reach a good food source, such as sugary hummingbird nectar. 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. Yes, they do that and it’s quite terrifying to see how clever they can be. Some species of ants are more likely to do this than others.
An ant guard is like an inverted ant moat which has a bit of a mild insecticide inside to repel insects. More often than not, this insecticide is Permethrin, which is used to treat scabies and lice on humans. It won’t kill the ants, but it will discourage them from getting to your feeder.
Do not just use any insecticide though, you don’t want to harm the wildlife in your garden or the hummingbirds themselves. Always buy a suitable ant guard and replace as recommended.
Ant Moat Maintenance Tips
An ant moat for hummingbird feeder is not a set and forget way to get rid of sugar ants, you will need to do some maintenance on it to avoid ants being able to breach it. But thankfully, it takes 30 seconds and can be done as you refill the feeder.
First of all, the key to a working moat (ant or castle) is for it to be filled with water. Water evaporates so you need to always refill your moat so the ants can’t make their way through it. You should clean it from any debris or dead ants that may have accumulated, then refill it with water. Do this every time you refill the nectar reservoir and you’ll get rid of sugar ants easily.
Ant moats sometimes start to leak, particularly if you used cheap plastic to make a DIY one (the glass ones are virtually indestructible), so keep an eye and if the water disappears very quickly it may be time to install another one.
Always make sure the moat is hooked properly to the hanging line, and the feeder is hooked properly to the moat. A full feeder can be quite heavy and last thing you want is for the entire thing to come crashing down when there is a bit of wind.
In order to keep ants away from the feeder properly hygiene is very important. Over time, even port feeders start to leak a bit and as the water evaporates sugar crystals will form around the feeder and the ports, attracting ants (and bees, and wasps). Give your feeder a good rinse regularly and keep an eye for leaks. Many cheap hummingbird feeders are not 100% leak-proof. If residue deposits on the borders of the feeder, brush it off each time you change the nectar to keep the ants away.
With hot weather you may find that your feeder heats. This is because heat makes the nectar expand, so it can start overflowing the ports and dripping, creating an irresistible ant magnet. Move the feeders to a shaded area to avoid this problem.
Other Ways To Keep Ants Away From Hummingbird Feeders
While the ant moat will help A LOT, there are other additional ways to discourage insects from climbing to your feeder.
You can start by hanging your feeder using fishing line, as that will make it more difficult for the ants to get there. If you want to go the extra mile, rub vaseline, mint leaves or bay leaves on the line to repel the ants (you may need to do this again every time it rains though).
Mint is a known ant repellant, so if your hummer feeder is on a pole and not hanging you could plant some mint in pots around the base of the pole. As the mint grows, the ants will avoid the area and stop climbing to the feeder. Just make sure to put the mint in pots: mint is an invasive species that will spread very quickly if you just plant it on the ground.
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