Bees and wasps at your bird feeder - Solutions

Honeybees and wasps may be attracted to your feeder. Strong sugar solutions will be more  attractive to insects than the weaker solutions recommended for birds. Never use insect repellents or insecticides to discourage bees or wasps from using the feeder, as these may be harmful to the birds. The sugar water solution does not need to be very strong. A sugar:water ratio of 1:8 is fine. Stronger solutions will not necessarily be more attractive to birds, but they will be more attractive to bees and wasps, and will spoil faster. • 1 tablespoon of sugar to 1 cup of water, or 1 cup of sugar to 2 litres of water are good, easy to-remember ratios. • Use plain white sugar. Brown sugar or "raw" sugar are of no extra benefit. • Do not use honey. Honey water spoils very quickly, and can harbor microorganisms that will make the birds very ill. While we think of honey as being more "natural" than white sugar, it's actually less like flower nectar than is sugar. •Solution can be stored in the refrigerator for a week. • Water from a chlorinated drinking water supply should not be a problem for birds. However,leaving water to stand, exposed to airflow, will evaporate the chlorine in a day if you are concerned. (Of course, other things can get into the water during that time.) [caption id="attachment_967" align="alignright" width="178"] Wild Bird Nectar[/caption]   Our Wild Bird Nectar is a great solution to feeding Tui, Bellbird, waxeye and many other nectar feeding birds.     Follow the instructions for the perfect solution.     Reducing Bees and Wasps at your feeder (further information)