Attract More Hummingbirds

Fine Dining

I made this attractive hummingbird feeder (right) from an old chandelier I found at a yard sale for only $2. After removing all the electrical parts, I painted it with metallic colors—each arm in a different hue.

I purchased the matching jeweled feeders from our local hardware store. To keep them from falling off the arms of the chandelier, I put Styrofoam on the bottoms of the feeders and pressed them onto the arms. I added the red bow after reading in Birds & Blooms that it is a good way to help hummingbirds notice your feeder. It must work. Now they are regular visitors!—Joan Johnson, Easley, South Carolina

Getting Antsy?

I know that many people have trouble keeping ants from their hummingbird feeders, so I was excited when my husband and I accidentally discovered a solution. We started mulching our flower beds with grass clippings to help improve the soil, and also placed the clippings around the pole for our hummingbird feeder. That's when we realized we weren't getting any ants.

I thought it was a fluke, but the same thing happened the next year. As long as nothing else touched the pole, the ants didn't climb it. Once a tree branch touched the feeder and the ants came running, but when I removed the branch, they disappeared once again. —Marianne Robbins, Grand Ledge, Michigan

Feeders on Display

My mom and dad, Delbert and Sibyl Alcorn, came up with a nifty stand to hang their hummingbird feeders in the garden. They call it a "hummingbird trapeze." It's made from pieces of PVC pipe joined in a ladder-like shape and held together with some adhesive. They drilled holes in the top crossbar and added hooks to hang their feeders. Now they can really enjoy the aerial acrobatics of the hummingbirds. —Jan McPheeters, Kilgore, Texas

No Pests Allowed

I've found two ways to keep pests off my hummingbird feeders. To prevent ants, I stick double-sided tape on the very top of the feeder. Ants won't walk over this. To deter bees and hornets, I place a birdbath or other container of water within a foot of the feeder. The bees and hornets seem to only want the moisture, so they go to the easiest place to get it. They stay away from my feeder and go to the standing water instead. —Janet Davis, Liberty Lake, Washington

Butter Solutions

To keep the bigger birds from spilling or drinking all the hummingbird nectar from my feeder, I came up with this quick and simple solution. I cut the bottom out of an old plastic margarine tub and fit it over the top of my feeder. The other birds cannot perch on it, but the hummers can hover and still get to the nectar. mdash;Norton Egbert, Tucson, Arizona