How to make nectar for hummingbirds?
Love watching hummingbirds in the garden and looking for a recipe to make your own nectar to attract them cheaply? I may have the solution for you!
In this article, I present to you some recipes that I tested last summer to make homemade hummingbird nectar.
1. Homemade Hummingbird Nectar Recipe
Rather than buying a ready-made solution from the store, why not make your own homemade nectar to attract and feed hummingbirds in the garden?
So here is the recipe for homemade hummingbird nectar:
- Boil 3 cups of water for a few minutes to have good quality water (without bacteria).
- Let cool, add 1 cup granulated white sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Pour the liquid into the hummingbird feeder and store the remaining nectar in the refrigerator.
This is the simplest and most effective nectar recipe to make at home to naturally attract these birds to your garden this summer.
2. Add red food coloring to nectar
Did you know you don’t need to add red food coloring to your nectar recipe? Indeed, although hummingbirds are attracted to red and other bright colors, food coloring is not recommended for this recipe.
Instead, use a red-colored hummingbird feeder or waterer to attract hummingbirds to the nectar.
3. Check water and nectar quality regularly
If you notice that hummingbirds are becoming increasingly rare, it is probably because of the quality of your nectar.
As the nectar is composed of sugar water and the summer is hot, mold can quickly form inside the trough unfortunately.
Change the sugar water in the drinker regularly:
As soon as you notice the nectar becoming cloudy, it is important to change it. If you don’t take the time to check regularly, hummingbird food may ferment causing mold and bacteria.
Clean the hummingbird feeder regularly:
So if you notice mold, you must thoroughly clean the feeder before giving the new food to the hummingbird. To do this, you can use bleach that you leave to act for 30 to 45 minutes before rinsing thoroughly with water to remove all traces of bleach, which could be fatal to hummingbirds.