Hummingbird Feeders...

I put about 3 tablespoons of sugar in 2 cups of water and a couple drops of red food coloring. They seem to love it because I have to fill it up often!!

Scientists have found that red food coloring is toxic to hummingbirds. So all you need is to boil two cups of water and add in one cup sugar. Stir until it's completely dissolved, let it cool and voila! For the actual feeder, you can get really inexpensive ones at Home depot or Lowes. I paid five dollars for one of mine. Get one with a red base if you can- red attracts the hummingbirds. They do like certain flowers but I'm not sure which types for your area. Good luck and enjoy!

Flowers in the yard, especially ones that are hummingbird friendly really help them stick around.
Bee Balm
Red Columbine
Delphinium and Hollyhock
Butterfly Bush
Catawba Rhododendron
Rose of Sharon
Trumpet Vine and Trumpet Honeysuckle
Cardinal Vine
Lantana and Fuchsia
Silk Tree

I don't use red dye in my mixture. I have one feeder and mix 1 cup sugar to 2 cups water, although from reading below, it sounds like you can do much less. However, I have played around with the mixture and I lose hummingbirds if I change it from what I do. They don'd like bird houses. They typically love cedar trees. Or at least mine do and so do my parents. My parents have so many humming birds and then literally have to fill their feeder twice a day. I think my parents have close to 30+ hummingbirds. They land on my mom everytime she changes the feeder. It is pretty cool.

Everley said the same thing I was going to -- ditch the red food coloring. I have heard that it's not good for them. My MIL swears by using purified/distilled/bottled water for her hummingbirds. I am not sure of the ratio of water-sugar, but Everley seems to know.

Enjoy the hummingbirds! They are so much fun to watch.

I have used sugar water. There are also prepared hummingbird foods available in bird supply stores. I don't think they are into bird houses (that I know of). You can google on "plants hummingbirds love" (or something like that) to see what sort of flowers they like, if you'd like to make plans for your gardens.

Even so, you're doing better than I am - I've had two feeders up since April and have seen nary a hummer, although my friends in different parts of town have had dozens! Maybe we're just not on their road map.

good suggestions so far - and Google! :)

3 parts water to one part sugar and boil it then let it cool. There is really no need to add food coloring. They like red flowers best, if you Google for flowers Hummingbirds like or ask at a nursery I'm sure you will find a lot. They may just stay a few days as they migrate through, but more will be on their way too. Trumpet shaped flowers are often popular. Have fun with your hummers! They are awesome little birds.

For ant problems we were told to spray part of the feeders with cooking spray. It won't hurt the birds, but the ants can't walk on it. This was a tip from a place in Madera Canyon, az where there are tons of hummers.

The recipe I was just told was 1 C sugar to 4 cups water.... I've been getting hummingbirds to the feeder quite readily with that!

Just boil the water, and add the sugar, then let it cool.

A person I was talking to recently (he had a hummingbird specialist out to his property, they filmed a hummingbird hatching!) had said that they are finding that the commercial nectar may have too much calcium in it, and is making it hard for the babies to hatch out. I don't know about that, but I am just making my own.

The base and top of my feeder is red, and that seems to be enough to attract them.

I am having problems with ants finding the nectar, but that doesn't seem to bother the hummers.

My hubby is all about the red food coloring. Boy scout camp this week, guess what, no food coloring in the birdies' feeders. It's been an ongoing battle, and the birds really could care less. My hubby puts dye in the feeders, I do not, we still get birds.

If you use too much sugar then you attract wasps more easily. THe birds will come to a 4, 5, or 6 to 1 solution. I do mine 4 cups water, about 1 cup sugar.

You can also leave out a piece of fruit to attract fruit flies. Apricots work real well. THe birds will swoop down over the fruit to get the flies.

We live just north of you and have 4 feeders going all the time. Ours are red with no yellow fowers, those tend to attract more wasps.

Just today I put some duct tape, sticky side out near the base of the feeder pole. We're geting ants.

You have to boil 1cuP water 1/4 cup sugar and boil 1 minute no food coloring cool and fill feeder the birds love it. That's what my aunt does and she has like 3 to five birds.

Hi R.,
I just read an article this morning that had Hummingbird information.
To make your own food it is one cup of sugar-disolved to four cups of water. The also like the followiing plants:
*Cleome
*Flowering Tobacco
*Four O'Clock
*Geranium
*Mexican Sunflower
*Nasturtium
*Parsley
*Rosemary
*Salvia
*Verbena
*Zinnia
*Anise Hyssop
*Aster
*Bleeding Heart
*Cardinal Flower
*Dames Rocket
*Daylilly
*Fireweed
*Hollyhock
*Liatris
*Lupine
*Milkweeds
*Mints
*Phlox
*Sweet William
*Turtlehead

I'm not sure what will grow in your area put I figured if you researched what they looklike and decide what shapes and colors you like you would also find out if they work in your climate. The nice thing about hummingbirds is that once you get them and they find out food is available they come back year after year!
Best Wishes!