Is It Safe To Feed Hummingbirds Using Nectar Made With Well Water?

A hummingbird feeder is a fun way to liven up your garden or patio space by welcoming some exciting, flitty friends with a sweet treat. And while there are some nectar mixes on the market to make feeding your hummingbird guests extremely easy, like the uber popular Pennington Electronectar Hummingbird Food, you can DIY hummingbird nectar just as simply with sugar and water. However, there are some things you need to watch out for to make sure your hummingbird visitors are happy and healthy on the nectar you make and provide. The key to your best nectar? The kind of water you're using. Nectar recipes are predominantly sugar and water, and the latter is way more important than you may think when it comes to keeping your flying visitors healthy themselves.

For many city slickers, you'll want to avoid using tap water to feed the hummingbirds in your yard, since it may contain chlorine, fluoride, and other treatments that adversely affect hummingbird health (though there are some workarounds we'll discuss next). However, if you have access to well water, the great news is that your water is perfectly fine for DIY nectar use. Since well water and bottled spring water contain the optimal levels of natural minerals that benefit hummingbirds, it's more than safe to feed these flying visitors with it.

The best way to prepare your nectar is with boiling water, and if you're up for that step, then using your city tap water may not be all that harmful either. The heat dissipates those bad additives in tap water, but in some cases, depending on your water's conditions, you don't have to boil the water at all for DIY hummingbird nectar. This is all made easier, however, with well water, as the boiling process here is more to dissolve sugar easily than it is to get rid of anything nasty.

Although it may be your next thought to use distilled water, that's actually a bad idea for your DIY hummingbird nectar. Conversely to plain, tap water, distilled water is stripped of anything good for hummingbirds, including natural salts and other minerals. No amount of boiling will bring those minerals back, so use boiled tap water, warm spring water, or warm well water over distilled options. Once you've prepared your water, then add the sugar that's essential to any nectar recipe. Keep in mind the 1:3 or 1:4 ratio when you mix sugar into the hot water: One part sugar to four parts water is best for hot and dry weather, while one part sugar to three parts water is a good mixture for cold and rainy weather. If you use well water or treat your tap water accordingly, your hummers should be happy and flighty!