Every year about this time the yellowjackets start ramping up and hogging the hummingbird feeders. This year they are horrible(so are the wasps, but different topic). I feel bad watching the hummers struggle to get a sip.
What does everybody do/use to combat this issue? Thanks.
yellowjacket traps might slow up they’re numbers.
Are you referring to the yellow jackets as bumble bees??,
I have some wasps and hornets but not many bothering the feeders.
Beast is right, I religiously use wasp traps and definitely helps
But then I also have 2 fly traps out also
No, yellowjackets. They’re smaller than paper wasps but built similarly. Some might refer to them as “ground bees.” They can be aggressive little buggers. When I used to collect recycling for a living they made work extra hellish during late summer and fall. Wasps did too, but those Yellowjackets have a real sweet tooth. Any residual sugar from empty cans/bottles would have them swarming the bin. Good luck approaching it, let alone wheeling it and dumping it! I really felt bad for the garbage men…
Yellowjacket traps are a thing, huh? I’ll have to look em up and buy some. Thanks.
I hate to kill pollinators but hummingbirds are pollinators too and I like them a lot more than the little stinging armored flying tanks lol
Side note: I’ve been spraying wasp nests around the yard the last couple days. It’s nuts how many there are. Probably killed 150-200 from just four or five nests… in the clothes line poles and under the eve of the shed. Crazy. Never have had this many in the past.
We have an exhaust fan for the basement bathroom that exits in the basement window well. A few days ago, I saw a wasp crawl around the corner of the screened cover over the fan exit, so I rapped on it with a broom handle. A wasp flew out, I waited a little bit and climbed down the ladder into the window well and pulled the cover off. Immediately half a dozen or so wasps came swarming out and attacking me. I was windmilling my arms at them for what seemed like forever but was probably only a minute or so before all but one left and I could climb out of the window well. Got stung on my arm and my lower lip. Went to the hardware store and got some wasp spray, doused the nest and a couple of wasps that came back. Then I replaced the cover and fixed the gap in the screening. Hopefully that’s the end of the story.
Yellowjacket traps are a thing, huh? I’ll have to look em up and buy some. Thanks.
I hate to kill pollinators but hummingbirds are pollinators too and I like them a lot more than the little stinging armored flying tanks lol
you can get them at the big M or FF!!!!! about 8 bucks i think. just put some hummer juice in it.
i dont ever recall seeing them wasps or hornets working on flowers to pollinate…….but??????//
Getting stung on the lip had to hurt like hell.
Getting stung on the lip had to hurt like hell.
No doubt. I remember once when I was working on a welding crew at fabcon in savage, was taking a morning break and went to take a sip of coffee out of my mug(which I had left the sip-hole open on) and suddenly got the burning, stinging pain in my upper lip. I spit my coffee on the floor and sure enough there was a Yellowjacket in there. My lip was bigger than Jay-Z’s for a few hours, lol. Not fun!
Just got a couple of these guys. Hopefully does the trick!
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Don’t see why they wont. 
If you have some Gold Malrin [the fly bait] around, dissolve a couple tablespoons of it in some sugared soda and put that in those traps. Those wasps won’t last twenty seconds after a slurp.
What Is the Best Hummingbird Feeder To Keep Bees Away?
The best kind of hummingbird feeder that bees cannot use is a saucer feeder. It’s also known as a tray feeder or a dish feeder.
The secret behind these feeders is the same secret that flowers use out in the wild: they keep the nectar down deep, where bees cannot reach. But hummingbirds can reach the nectar just fine with their long, specialized tongues.
The feeding ports on the saucer feeders are incredibly narrow, which is key so that only hummingbirds can reach inside. Sometimes they are protected by additional bee guards, which usually look like a mesh or plug.
It’s also important to choose a red feeder without any yellow. In particular, avoid yellow-colored flower decorations. Insects are especially attracted to yellow but cannot see red.
Hummingbirds are well known for their love of all things red. Many flowers that hummingbirds naturally pollinate are red too.
What Is the Best Hummingbird Feeder To Keep Bees Away?
The best kind of hummingbird feeder that bees cannot use is a saucer feeder. It’s also known as a tray feeder or a dish feeder.The secret behind these feeders is the same secret that flowers use out in the wild: they keep the nectar down deep, where bees cannot reach. But hummingbirds can reach the nectar just fine with their long, specialized tongues.
The feeding ports on the saucer feeders are incredibly narrow, which is key so that only hummingbirds can reach inside. Sometimes they are protected by additional bee guards, which usually look like a mesh or plug.
It’s also important to choose a red feeder without any yellow. In particular, avoid yellow-colored flower decorations. Insects are especially attracted to yellow but cannot see red.
Hummingbirds are well known for their love of all things red. Many flowers that hummingbirds naturally pollinate are red too.
Interesting info. Especially the colors.
I agree, interesting. We have(I believe) what you’re referring to as saucer-style feeders, however the downy woodpeckers have drilled into them, widening the holes. Maybe time for new feeders?
They’re all red except for the main bottle portion. I’ll admit that I do use 2-3 drops of red food coloring in the nectar mix. I’ve heard rumors that this causes a reproductive defect in their systems but also have heard that’s a myth, along with “you can’t clean them with dawn dish soap.” I still do that one every week-1.5 weeks depending, but make sure to rinse them super well after.
We have an exhaust fan for the basement bathroom that exits in the basement window well. A few days ago, I saw a wasp crawl around the corner of the screened cover over the fan exit, so I rapped on it with a broom handle. A wasp flew out, I waited a little bit and climbed down the ladder into the window well and pulled the cover off. Immediately half a dozen or so wasps came swarming out and attacking me. I was windmilling my arms at them for what seemed like forever but was probably only a minute or so before all but one left and I could climb out of the window well. Got stung on my arm and my lower lip. Went to the hardware store and got some wasp spray, doused the nest and a couple of wasps that came back. Then I replaced the cover and fixed the gap in the screening. Hopefully that’s the end of the story.
When spraying the nests it should be done late afternoon as the temp drops. They come back to the nests then. The ones you didn’t kill will be back building more somewhere not far the next day
Steps for Cleaning a Hummingbird Feeder
Sugar water feeders are an easy way for backyard birders to attract more hummingbirds, but it’s important to clean the feeders to keep birds healthy. In general, the best advice on how to clean a hummingbird feeder is to follow the same general steps that you would for cleaning seed feeders. This means taking the feeders down, emptying any leftover sugar water, and scrubbing them with hot water and dish soap. You can also use a bleach solution (made from 1 part bleach to 9 parts water) or a vinegar solution (1 part vinegar to 2 parts water). Make sure you rinse all parts thoroughly with clean water before refilling them.
You’ll need to clean hummingbird feeders more frequently than other feeders. Aim to scrub them once a week in cooler weather and twice a week when temperatures soar. If you’re crunched for time, Emma Grieg, project leader for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch, has a tip. “Running them through a dishwasher will do the trick,” she says.
Droll Yankees Cleaning Brushes
When washing the feeders by hand, pay special attention to the feeding ports. A pipe cleaner can help get the ports squeaky clean, as can special microbrushes. Use this three-pack of little brushes to scrub tiny ports on sugar-water feeders.
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