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Post by Joe M on Feb 3, 2011 12:04:42 GMT -5
A post by Lynne caught my eye, I thought I would offer a suggestion to help keep ants off her feeders. The other pest problem are bees which are more problematic (maybe some good ideas out there)? If the feeder is hung by wire rubbing common vegtable oil above the feeder on the wire, will solve the problem! Depending on the weather (rain), it will have to be repeated occasionally. I no longer place feeders on poles, as I prefer 'crooks' which can be moved and positioned, in addition the vegatable oil method gets messy on poles. I would be very, very cautious in using any aerosol spray to combat bees as contamination of flowers and beneficial insects can not be guaranteed. Any insect flying through the mist could be affected but still be ingested by a hummer! Same goes for flowers and adjacent foliage. A bit of control (not complete) can be achieved with non-insecticidal bee/wasp/yellow jacket traps. The type that are reuseable and baited with the same hummer sugar water solution. Hope this helps, Joe M. Lakeland, FL
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Post by Joe M on Feb 3, 2011 15:26:11 GMT -5
Since I mentioned bee traps! The attached photo demonstrates why the trap should only be a pesticide free trap. Many commercial types have attractants that also contain pesticides. Be careful! Hummers are curious and will 'inspect' every interesting object in your yard and often taste it! Word to the wise! Bee control should be viewed as control, not complete eradication. I think that approach is futile and not desirable. In this instance, I slightly over filled the trap, and the female Ruby-throated was able to reach the sugar water. Attachments:
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lynne
New Member
Posts: 38
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Post by lynne on Feb 21, 2011 19:21:36 GMT -5
Joe I'll keep the oil in mind. So far I've had my 2 new feeders out for 2 weeks & no ants. But it is still winter. The hummer hasn't been using them either. Seems to prefer the "real thing".
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