HELP!! Bees are swarming around front and back hummingbird feeders.

[Bobbieo]

I don't want to kill them but how do I get rid of them.

[sharp_stick]

1. Are you sure they're bees?

Yellowjackets are moving to more sweet stuff now that their insect diet is dying off. If they're bees you could probably just move the feeders away for a few days, if they're wasps just let them eat. All of course just MHO

[MNDemNY]

2. Crank up some Hank Williams Jr, on your stereo, that will chase away anything.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Smoke

will help subdue them. Know of any beekeepers around? They would be the folks to talk to. Don't try to do anything on your own, especially if you don't have the proper equipment.

My first thought on reading your title was "Are you in a drought zone?" Bees could simply be looking for pollen because their usual sources are gone. The hummingbird nectar is as close as they can get to what they need.

[Bobbieo]

6. I'm not only in a drought area it is 100 degrees today in Yuma. The

Ag offices are closed as it is a Sat. There are several shrubs in the yard with blooming flowers. They are also swarming around the soda can container for the sugar.

This could become quite a problem.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Put more sugar water out in a pan in the yard

away from the house.

[Warpy]

4. You can keep moving the feeder around

as the bees find it, or you could feed the bees and allow them enough sugar to be able to winter over.

Do you still have hummingbirds? Here in NM, they're pretty much gone for the winter.

On edit: the only thing I object to at the feeder is ants. I see those buggers, I take the feeder down and clean it and wash the ant trail down with vinegar. Anything else, I tolerate.

[bananas]

5. Some advice here

http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html

<snip>

Bees, Wasps, and Yellowjackets

It was recently discovered that bees and wasps are attracted to the color yellow. Since many hummingbird feeders have yellow plastic "flowers" or other parts, try removing such parts or painting them red before hanging your feeder in the spring - once bees learn where food is, they fly right back to the hive to tell all their friends, so avoiding their attention up front works best.

You can buy a feeder with bee guards. However, those tend to be the drippiest feeders available (Perky-Pet "Four Flowers," etc.), and once they start dripping the bee guards are useless, since puddles form in the flowers outside of the bee guards, an easy meal for insects.

The only sure defense against bees and wasps is to absolutely deny them access to the syrup. In June 1997 I replaced my Perky-Pet 210-P with a HummZinger, which is inherently wasp-proof because the syrup level is too low for insects to reach, but easily in range of the shortest hummingbird tongue. I also bought a Perky-Pet Oasis feeder, a copy of the HummZinger with several design flaws, but just as effective against bees. Rubbermaid makes an inexpensive basin-type feeder that can be hung or suction-cupped to a window. Basin feeders are also available from Opus and other companies, and all are effective in denying food to bees and wasps. All are also easy to clean.

If you choose not to try a new feeder and wasps persist, first try moving the feeder, even just a few feet; insects are not very smart, and will assume the food source is gone forever. They may never find it in its new location, while the hummers will barely notice that it was moved. If that doesn't work, take the feeder down for a day, or until you stop seeing wasps looking for it. You'll see hummers looking for it, too, but they won't give up nearly as soon as the wasps. Also, reducing the sugar concentration to 1 part sugar in 5 parts water will make it less attractive to insects, but probably won't make the hummingbirds lose interest.

<snip>

[Papagoose]

8. I had the same problem last year

Someone gave me some advice that I tried this year with success.

Essentially, the bees and wasps are greedy - they are attracted to the most sugary substance available. Get another hummingbird feeder and fill it with a sugar solution two to three times more sugary and hang it up away from the bird's feeder. The insects will ignore the weaker solution - and the birds aren't interested in the stronger solution.

Where do you live? I saw my last hummingbird about three weeks ago in NW Georgia.

[XemaSab]

9. Let it be, let it be...

:P

[ElectricGrid]

10. You guys are all wrong...

you just need to get a feeder that is not a traditional design. One where only the long beak of a huming bird can reach in. I don't know exactly what they are called , but I call them a resivior type. The solution is too far away for wasps or bees to get to, but since the hummers beaks are so long they have no problems.

[bananas]

11. I had a similar problem and got one of these

The holes are larger than on other feeders, but not large enough for a bee to get through.
I tested it with a small piece of paper towel, the nectar is far below the hole, so the bees can't reach it.
The bees use the old feeder, and the hummingbirds use both.
I think it was around $5 at WalMart or PetCo for the 16oz size.
It's all plastic and easy to clean.
http://www.firstnature.net/shop/index.php?categoryID=5