Reasons You May Want To Think Twice About Buying A Hummingbird Feeder

Hanging a hummingbird feeder outside your home is an excellent way to attract beautiful hummingbirds to your garden. The feeders can also enhance the overall look of your outdoor space, even when they're not being swarmed by little hummers! However, before you rush to buy a hummingbird feeder, consider if installing one is the right choice for your home. While they're wonderful for attracting hummingbirds, feeders might also invite extra guests to your yard like ants, bees, and even bears. Additionally, hummingbird feeders can require a lot of maintenance to keep them safe for the birds, and if you have a busy schedule, you may want to think twice before buying a hummingbird feeder.

To keep hummingbirds safe, feeders need to be cleaned and the nectar needs to be replaced at least every other day in hot weather, and about twice a week in cooler climates. If the feeder shows any signs of mold, if there are insects on or around the feeder, or if a sick bird has used it, it needs to be cleaned and emptied right away. It's also important to clean any bird poop off of hummingbird feeders to prevent the spread of diseases. Plus, between the sticky nectar solution you'll be making and dealing with the animals they attract, hummingbird feeders can be just plain messy. With so much upkeep, hummingbird feeders certainly aren't for low maintenance gardeners.

While there are certainly a lot of benefits to attracting hummingbirds to your yard, there are still some inherent risks to consider when attracting any sort of wildlife closer to your home. In addition to hummingbirds, feeders can also attract other types of birds like finches, woodpeckers, and thrushes. This is a potential issue because there are over 60 diseases that bird droppings can carry, and many of those are airborne and can make you and your family very sick. Ants also love hummingbird nectar, and if you are already struggling with an ant problem in your home, installing a hummingbird feeder could possibly make your ant problem worse. Other wildlife that enjoys hummingbird nectar such as squirrels and bears can also cause some serious problems around your home.

Hummingbird feeders also may not be the safest for the birds themselves. Even if you're extremely diligent with cleaning the feeder, they can still sometimes attract bees, which can sting and harm the hummingbirds. You also have to be careful where you place your hummingbird feeder, because installing a hummingbird feeder near a window for easy bird-watching may lead to them flying into the glass and getting hurt. Beyond the potential issues for both you and the birds, they can also have a broader negative impact on the ecosystem. When hummingbirds are visiting feeders instead of flowers, they are visiting and pollinating native plants less, which can possibly have negative environmental impacts.