Why Are Bees on My Hummingbird Feeder? Tips and Tricks to Keep Bees Away From Hummingbird Feeders.
Honey Bees at the Hummingbird Buffet: Keeping Your Feeder Free of Unwanted Visitors
The busy buzzing of bees is a common soundtrack to many a backyard. But when those bees become focused on your hummingbird feeder, they can quickly go from helpful pollinators to pests competing for food.
If your feeder has become the unintended buffet for local honey bees, here’s what draws them in and how you can take steps to keep bees away.
However, because bees and wasps outnumber hummingbirds and can drain nectar supplies, it’s best not to just resign yourself to sharing your feeder. Follow these tips to keep bees buzzing off.
Tips for Deterring and Keeping Bees Away From Hummingbird Feeders:
1. Identify the Visitors
Before taking action, closely observe and verify that honey bees are the uninvited guests at your hummingbird buffet. Small stingless sweat bees, hoverflies, yellow jackets, and other insects can also be attracted to the sugar water, but different deterrents work best for each. Identifying the species helps pick effective remedies.
2. Relocate the Feeder
Because bees zero in on feeders, once they discover them, simply moving the feeder to a new yard location can help throw bees off the scent. Try relocating it at least 5 feet away from its original spot. Avoid placing it near beehives or busy flower beds.
3. Reduce the Sugar Concentration
Diluting the nectar solution to half the normal sugar changes the taste profile, making it less appealing to bees. Use 1 part sugar to 6 parts water. To keep hummingbirds happy, do not go below a 1:4 ratio. Making a fresh batch of nectar also reduces scent.
4. Use Bee Guards
Specialized feeders with integrated bee guards prevent bees from accessing nectar through the feeding ports. The elongated ports accommodate hummingbird beaks but block bees. Decorative ‘bee baffles’ attached above feeder openings also deter bees.
5. Offer Bee Alternatives
Set up a small, separate feeder with diluted sugar water away from hummingbird feeders to distract and detract bees. Open containers of overripe fruit also give bees an appealing alternative food source.
6. Try Scent Repellents
Spritzing feeders with natural scents repugnant to bees but not hummingbirds can discourage bee visits. Possibilities include citronella, cinnamon oil, clove oil, mint oil or lavender oil. Reapply 2-3 times a day.
7. Use Deterrent Plants
Growing plants like lavender, catnip, garlic and chives around feeders repels bees with pungent scents they dislike. Daffodils and fritillaries also deter bees. Planting these around your yard can cut down on bee traffic.
8. Install Slippery Landing Zones
Petroleum jelly or vegetable oil applied to feeder perches creates an uncomfortably slippery landing platform that deters bees from touching down. Re-coat perches as the oil wears off.
9. Try Moving Red Feeders
Since red objects can attract bees, switching your red feeder to one of a different color may reduce bee interest. Opt for green, yellow, orange or white feeders.
10. Keep Things Clean
Change sugar-water and clean feeders every few days to limit scent buildup. Rinse with a 10% bleach solution to eliminate traces of nectar. Regular cleaning removes bee attractants.
What Attracts Bees to Hummingbird Feeders
Much like their feathered friends, bees are programmed to seek out sugary sustenance. Flower nectar is their natural food of choice, but backyard hummingbird feeders can provide an appealing homemade nectar to bees.
Having a bee swarm at your feeder can be a scary sight.
Several key factors make hummingbird feeders particularly enticing to foraging honey bees:
Sweetness. The sucrose- or sugar-based solution in hummingbird feeders mimics the taste of flower nectar that bees naturally enjoy. The higher the sugar concentration, the more bees take notice.
Color. Many hummingbird feeders feature bold hues of red, yellow, orange and pink. These colors stand out and help attract hummingbirds. But they also flag down bees, who associate bright colors with plentiful pollen sources.
Scent. Fresh nectar has a distinctively sweet aroma. The scented oils that give flowers their perfume also lend an appealing scent to freshly made nectar mixes in feeders. Bees hone in on these smells to find food.
Convenience. Backyard feeders provide bees with an easy meal that requires minimal energy expenditure, unlike visiting scattered flower patches. Easy access allows bees to make repeated trips.
Protected feeding ports. Feeders designed to keep ants out, unfortunately, can also allow bees easy access. The enclosed feeding ports that bar ants from marching in provide bees with sheltered access to nectar.
How Bees Find Your Hummingbird Feeders
Bees have an excellent sense of smell and vision tailored to finding sweet sustenance, making your hummingbird feeder an easy target. Here are the main ways bees spot and zero in on backyard feeders:
- Scent tracking – Foraging worker bees can detect the smell of nectar up to 2.5 miles away. The perfumed aroma of sugar water draws in hungry honey bees.
- Color recognition – Bees see shades of yellow, blue-green, blue and ultraviolet. Brightly colored bird feeders grab their visual attention.
- Flower constancy – Bees exhibit flower constancy, repeatedly visiting familiar, productive flowers. Once bees find your feeder, they add it to their regular rotation.
- Hive communication – Scout bees relay information on food sources back to the hive through waggle dances. This recruits more worker bees to descend on your feeder.
- Memory – Individual bees have good long-term memories of reliable feeding locations. They’ll come back as long as your feeder provides a sweet payoff.
Can Bees Harm the Hummingbirds?
While having bees and hummingbirds jostling for position is not an ideal scenario, the upside is that bees generally pose little danger to the hummingbirds as they share the feeder.
Here’s why hummingbirds remain safe despite the bee activity:
- Peaceful foragers – Honey bees are not aggressive unless provoked. Both bees and hummingbirds can access feeders peacefully through separate feeding ports.
- Nectar bandits – Bees lick up extra nectar but do not prevent hummingbirds from feeding. There is enough to share.
- Brief visitors – Bees make quick feeding trips rather than lingering long at the feeders.
- Different feeding times – Hummingbirds feed most actively in the morning and evening. Bees tend to forage more mid-day.
- Non-stinging types – Stingerless male bees cannot harm hummingbirds. In general, stinging is rare.
- Minimal contact – The small size of bees and hummingbirds means direct contact is uncommon around feeders.
When Bees Need a Professional Beekeeper
In most cases, tweaking your setup and using deterrents will resolve neighborhood honey bees dropping in on hummingbird feeders.
However, if you notice a persistent, excessive number of bees that don’t seem deterred, it likely indicates a larger issue – a nearby bee colony that needs attention.
Signs that professional removal may be needed:
- Bees by the dozens crowding your feeder throughout the day
- Aggressive stinging when deterrents are used
- A suspected hive visibly located on your property
- Continued bee issues over weeks or months of trying solutions
Rather than using DIY methods like insecticides, which can harm beneficial pollinators, have a beekeeper humanely relocate the colony.
They have the proper tools, protective gear, and knowledge for the safe capture and transport of the bees.
With a few adjustments, your yard can go back to being a carefree, bee-free haven for happy hummingbirds. A little strategy goes a long way in making hummingbird feeders tempting only to their intended audience once more.
We know the frustration of discovering bees swarming hummingbird feeders, and now we know how to put an end to it.
Have patience, use multiple deterrents, and avoid harming bees, and you can resolve even a sizeable bee infestation at your feeders. How to get bees away from hummingbird feeders can be done easily, and we hope it is easy for you.
Let us know if any of our tips and tricks helped you!
Betsy and Pete
Las Vegas, Nevada
About Us
We're Betsy and Pete, passionate Las Vegas beekeepers trained by a master in the field. With hundreds of successful bee and bee swarm removals under our belts, we're not just experts; we're enthusiasts committed to the well-being of these incredible pollinators.
We manage dozens of beehives, both natural and honey-bearing at our Joshua Tree Preserve.
Our Commitment to Excellence
Education is an ongoing journey, especially in a dynamic field such as beekeeping. That's why we continually update our knowledge base, collaborate with other experts, and stay up to date with the latest advancements in bee control methods and beekeeping practices.
We also provide top-tier beekeeping supplies, offering everything a beekeeper needs, from beginners to experts.
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