God has blessed us with everything and yes, this includes His creation of ants! They do play an important role in our ecosystem and are important. However, how in the world do you keep them off of hummingbird feeders and out of their food? How do you keep them in their own area and out of yours?
Well I have the best news ever! My husband and I were looking at our hummingbird feeder it long ago and he observed a black layer floating on the top of their sugar water. He asked me what that was and I told him another layer of ants! They keep climbing up the shepherd’s hook and the hummingbirds don’t sit on top like they used to! I told him how much I had to clean it out and spray ant spray on and around the base and they still keep coming!
He looked at me and said he had the solution! I’m like, ‘yeah right you do!’ and laughed. He said to put baby oil on the hook and that would keep them off. I shook my head as he got up, went and found the baby oil, took off outside and dumped the feeder out, brought it in and cleaned it, filled it back up, and cleaned the hook off while he smeared the hook with the oil.
He placed the feeder back on the hook and walked back in and said, ‘You will see.’ I laughed but said that I sure hope you are right. Lo and behold, he was! The next day I checked, then the day after, and then several days after and no ants! Still, a week and a half later and they haven’t bothered it! Plus, my hummingbirds are once again sitting on the hook!
So for those of you struggling to keep those pesky ants away, you might want to invest in some good ole baby oil! My husband says they do not like the smell and plus the oil may make it difficult to adventure on! Hope this helps anyone fighting ants around or in your home as well!