I have found that whatever feeder you use, the bees will go to your feeders. The hummingbirds spill sugar water when they withdraw their beaks from any feeder. The bees wait until the Hummingbird goes away and then goes after the spillage.Too bad we can’t hand out napkins!!!

I love that you have the energy of a hummingbird.

I'm a MN beekeeker. Couple FYI: 1. Only female (worker) bees forage, so every single honeybee that's at your feeder is a she. 2. If you are intentionally giving bees their own sugar/water. Their ratio needs are different. In spring the ratio is 1:1. In fall they need 1:2 (water:sugar),because the thicker syrup is easier to fan moisture out of for longterm storage (as honey), which they'd cap with wax. Too liquidy syrup would freeze in the wax cells, creating too much moisture in hive.

I have feeders that do keep bees out. I grow every kind of salvia and bees can climb into the blooms, but our vermillionaire flowers bees cannot fit into so they are a safe flower for hummers. The nectar is still there and they produce thousands of blooms. I plant them in pots everywhere and hanging baskets.

Had lots of bees the last three weeks but am grateful for them I had mason bee houses guess they worked we do need bees everyone ate well🙂🙂🙂

Very informative as usual. Our kids love to watch the hummingbirds, so we might get them a feeder. We never imagined all the factors that warrant consideration when shopping for a feeder. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Robbie, I have made feeders and learned so much from you. You just make it so joyful!

I love you and your channel, you are one of my favourites. When life really stresses me, I will put on one of your videos and you calm me down and I can go to sleep. Yes, that is right! I often use you as my lullaby .... hahaha :) I think it is the good energy in your soul you are joyful and a sweetheart

With the winds, now I know why we've got the bee problem. Thank you for telling us about that. I'll try the bowl & rocks.

Great video! Very informative and you explained it great! I think you covered every question I had. Thank you!

Super review and instruction Robbie, thank you!

Thank you for your advice. I watched your video and went out and purchased the feeder from Walmart, they liked it immediately. I am now going to use the walmart ones when the bees start coming after my feeders.

this is great! you have helped me with all my bee problems. thank you!

Hi! Just wanted to say thank you. I got my first hummingbird feeder last summer, and I LOVE it. This summer, I have two feeders and a couple hummingbirds. I’m an amateur photographer, and I love setting both my camera up and my iPhone up to shoot them. I’ve gotten some amazing shots, even slowmo clips. Your channel has helped me so much, I knew absolutely nothing about them, and I always feel so inspired after watching your videos. I could sit for hours on my back porch just watching them, and even now, they always make me smile. I just saw two just now! Anyway, thank you for sharing your wisdom, it’s easy to tell you delight in them too, which makes your videos a pleasure to watch.

Thank you for this! Is just like you read my mind… the past week or two, bees have discovered my lone hummingbird feeder, and now they think they just own it! And sadly have made my hummingbird friends no longer come by! I have had smaller bees actually fall in the holes and had to save them and free them… but, these are larger bees, but they still come to it and claim it, even though they cannot reach the nectar through the holes… and watching them, they don’t even go to the holes, but under the flowers to where they connect to the base, through silicone tubes… I had been thinking of rubbing hand sanitizer all around the base, underneath the flowers, everywhere except where the hummingbirds access it, to see if that will deter the bees… will see… am sad and missing my hummingbird friends, and hope they come back! But was just so great to see your video here pop up on my feed, when lo’ and behold, that is the very same problem I just now happen to be experiencing! So thank you!

I bought some cute cup like feeders that have holes large enough to feed the Orioles too. All went well until this summer heat brought out the bees. Now they're covered I bees. I tried cheese cloth between the cap and cup. It worked well for awhile. Now the hummingbirds can only dash in for a sip when the sun is out. So I picked up a bunch of the Walmart ones for $4 each. Like you said as long as the wind doesn't blow them about, the bees ignore them. I do have to add ant motes though. The Orioles stopped using hummingbird feeders when I put grape jelly out. They have their own bee battles.

Thank you we live in NJ we are in early September and never had bee problem since now. I did buy the 2 feeders you recommended. We had to order them like you mentioned in the video. Free delivery was a plus and feeders were roughly $4/piece. I kept the older feeders nearby to draw the bees away. Really appreciate your help. Go Hummingbirds

Northern wisconsin here, just picked up some of these and hoping they help, the yellow jackets and other wasps are terrible this year. Just got stung in the ear last week. Thanks for the tips ! My hummingbirds send their regards 😊

I have those feeders you show from Wal Mart with the ant moat built in. I would never put olive oil or any kind of oil in that top moat. I have seen my hummers drink from this and even bathe in it. Any oil in there could cause their death because they can’t get if off of their feathers. Only plain water should be used, and I would n ever make the holes bigger because then the bees can definitely get in. This year I’ve had many bees swarming my feeders, first time they have ever been this bad!

I bought a feeder that sticks to your window and had a million ants attacking it well I put vasaline all around the edge of the suction cup on the window and they couldn't get past it to the feeder. It worked great and cleans off the glass easily with windex.

7-12-24 I just got the feeders with thin slots & they're great! Thanks for all you share!!!

Iam a beekeeper and a hummingbird feeder. We have always used the same feeders. As the resivore go bad from light exposure . I have kept the bottoms. Every time I refill a feeder a put a newly cleaned bottom on the feeder. I soak the bottom in a bleach solution. Almost no bee issues. Usually if I have an issue it's a leak or a dirty feeder bottom. I have about 20 hives so lots of bees. Thanks for sharing.

Robbie I got the Walmart feeder a couple of years ago, and the hummingbirds love it!!!

That feeder from Walmart is perfect to keep bees away❤️ thank you so much!🐝🦋🌸🌹🌼🌺

Robbie, i think i have finally found the answer for the bees and wasps. I have the large hole Walmart feeder and bees were still always on the feeder trying to get to the sugar water and not letting the hummingbirds drink in peace. I purchased a product called Tree Tanglefoot insect barrier from Home Depot. It is extremely sticky. I spread it all over the base of the feeder, making sure i didn't put any on the flower area or their little landing bar. Before i applied it, there were constantly bees all over the base. Now i have seen a few try to land on it, but quickly fly off when they feel the stcky substance. It is also said to be good for ants.

That one you said was good from Walmart and opened up the holes is my worse for bees. But best feeder

I love your videos so much!!! You and Gary are just amazing

Thank you for the bee info it did help to know which feeders work best

Robbie, I found you three years ago when my husband died suddenly, your love of the flying jewels is very inspirational!! Love ypur videos and learning how to do these easy water and feeding fixtires...my son made me one of your hummingbird baths! Bless you!

Thank you for all the information, every year I have trouble with ants and bees,I am from central Wisconsin!

I use buttons that I save from old clothes or even buy. I've lucked up before and found some shaped and looked like flowers. But if they're on the thicker side I only use one and if they're more thin I stack 2 or 3. You can glue them on or if you are pretty experienced with a soldering iron, you can "weld plastic to plastic". It took me a while to learn not to mention a couple of burns on my fingers. Hope y'all have a great week ahead and God bless.

I was told the dish type feeders work better for repelling bees. Fill them only partially so the bees "tongues" can't reach it but the hummers can.

I've just purchased 3 of those feeders with the small slits and so far no bees! I've also put into pots a vermillionaire plant and the hummers love it. Thanks Robbie for all your great insight and advice!!knowledge knowledge

You are Amazing!! Thank you for this informative video!!!

Thanks so much! A life saver. You are the best❤

Thank you, this info helps

Hi Robbie and everyone who loves the hummingbirds. The Walmart feeder is made by First Nature. How do I know this? I ordered directly from First Nature, after a major home improvement retailer jacked the feeder price way up. In one order, I was sent the feeder with the slits. They made it good - that was before I knew about your videos. First Nature sent me replacement bases with the round holes. The good news - First Nature sells direct, they send you emails about discounts and sales and they sell parts. If you only need flowers or a base, for example, you can now buy that alone. Hope this helps everyone...our fellow "humdingers." 😂

I enjoy watching your feeders. I guess for some of us it doesn't take much. ??? We don't have bees like others but we have wasps and when they are on the feeders trying to get juiced up the hummers run away. They seem terrified of wasps. Is there a way of getting rid of wasps? I bought 2 feeders couple of years ago and every time I went to fill it up there were at least 5-10 dead bees that had drowned in solution. 😮 oh well. Keep doing the fun things that you do. I so enjoy watching. Joyce

So much great information! Thank you!!!

The problem I have had with the bottle feeders is as they heat up the nectar leaks out. Walmart here has had a pancake style feeder with an ant moat all plastic 10oz volume.

I LOVE THAT FEEDER (The first Nature, the 3rd one you showed), it was $3.64 at Wal-Mart and it was the BEST DECISION! I had the Perky Pet with those bulbous yellow "bee guards" that I spent $100 on! Glass feeders and expensive like $10-$15 or more each! This year, I had bees INSIDE the guards and ants in the water and this was with an any moat! I was able to get 6 of the slit feeders for approximately $22!!! I LOVE THEM, MY HUMMINGBIRDS LOVE THEM! AND THE BEES AND ANTS DISAPPEARED!!! The First Nature slit feeders don't leak, by design if it leaks it catches inside like a moat! I had the dollar store feeder but it LEAKED!!! even with plumbers tape, leaking everywhere, bees everywhere! Qas hard to clean! For the moats, I did switch to the perky pet ant guards which I'm still undecided about but they are working. I used to have ants all over my patio and the yellow jackets and wasps were terrible! As soon as I switched to the First Nature feeders, they all disappeared!!! Now, I have to try and sell those perky pet feeders!

I bought the $4 feeder fromm Walmart, and it was a bee magnet! I have tried everything including peppermint oil. No luck!

Thanks for your video 😁👍

I have found, taking aliminum foil pieplate, cut hole in center, place over feeder with feeder hook through it, piece of twig to stop pie plate, from moving around, acts as raincoat, stops a lot of rain from getting in feeder.

An alternative that works for me: instead of 4:1 water:sugar, dilute the mix. Somewhere between 4.5:1 and 5:1, the bees stop coming, but the hummers still show up.

Ty robbie...yes I had many problems with Bees. Great video:) Lord bless

Thank you for this very informative video. One request is please post the brand and page link for the Walmart hummingbird feeders you like. I may have missed them but did not see them, particularly the larger of the two, on their website. In the fall of the year with swarms of hummingbirds migrating I am constantly filling my 3 feeders plus fighting off bees so the larger feeder is what I need. Thanks again for this video.

My flat round feeders filled with bees 2 days ago, 1st time I have ever had it happen

Thank you everyone!! 🐝🐝🐝

Thank you😊

I love your viewing area!

Thanks for SHARING!!🥰☺️

Hi Robbie! Enjoy your videos. I love hummers too, but never have but around 3. I’m in Alabama.

I will find a way to work with honey bees but in my area of NE Ga, the real culprit are yellow jackets, a ground nesting wasp. They are small and can get into amazingly small holes. I don’t think anyone is immune to ants. If your feeder is on a pole that is driven into the ground, you can put petroleum jelly on the pole near the ground to keep the ants from climbing up. DO NOT put any petroleum jelly farther up the pole where the birds may come in contact with it.

Great info! I love the Strawberry feeder 💙🍓💙 I've seen basic Hummingbird feeders at Dollar Tree. I don't know how you clean all your feeders a job of passion for the birds 💜 One thing, be careful using bleach, vinegar or cleaners on plastic feeders plastic is absorbant and can harm the Hummingbirds.

Im new to this humming bird feeding thing, I wonder if you could tell us about how to make the feeder liquid ? How much Sugar to how much water? thanks' Happy New Year, Bob

After trying everything to keep bees off I found a feeder that actually works. Its the Pennington triple trumpet 18 spout red from walmart. no more bees..

I made my first ant moat out of a metal coat hanger, a plastic cup from fabric softener (clean) and hot glue. Testing in the garden now.

I know you said that you can't smear anything on a feeder that will deter bees from going after the nectar. My wife and I thought that was true until we ran out of everything to try and decided to try olive oil. I removed the flowers from one feeder and replaced them with flowers that have raised petals. We were afraid that the oil would affect the hummingbird, so I took a q-tip and applied the olive oil to the flower's edge from the back of the edge to the front. You almost squeegee the oil to the edge and back of the flower, leaving the inside of the flower dry. Now Ohio birds may be different from other states, but the OLIVE OIL WORKS. The bees fly to the petals, sense the oil and back off. Confusion sets in and they eventually leave. In a few days, the bees are gone. One or two seem to come back but the oil keeps them away. We only reapply the oil if it rains. Remember, put is on thin. You want a very light coat. Dip the q-tip in the oil, dab on a paper towel to squeeze out most of the oil and squeegee to the back only of the flower petal. You should see a very light film. Try it on one feeder. If you like it, do the others. Remember to reapply after it rains. It works in Ohio.

I beat feet to my local walmart. They had two of the feeders with the little slits. I bought both and some kind of window feeder with I'm going to put by my desk window. But, the dang bees came and started drinking out of the slits. I guess they weren't getting anything out but you couldn't tell them that, they just sat there trying. Naturally the bees hadn't hit the feeders all season, now today suddenly there are hundreds of them, hundreds. I have plenty of flowers for them to suck on. IDK. I'm really sad. I have the deer tipping them over and licking the spills too. 😣Looking at all the tule netting I bought for my garden too Robbie. Wondering how to fashion something from that to keep the bees away.

I have a big bee problem currently with the first nature feeders. I put out the little hummblossom ones and no more bees! Once the bees leave, I will put the first nature ones back out.

I switched out my regular feeders for the Walmart feeder because of the bees. The hummingbirds don’t like the new feeders. Most of them have stopped feeding. I put 3 of my old feeder out and they emptied them, but the bees use them too.

The dead bee trick worked for me

How do you make your own small square hummingbird feeders that you showed that come in the multi pack for a dollar

The small yellow jackets invaded my irst natures and Dollar tree feeders this year, whole tiny bodies inside floating in the nectar!

My bigger problem is yellow jackets. A lot of them are smaller and can fit in the holes. I have opened them to clean and found them inside, alive a couple of times, but usually dead. Some of the bee guards have a larger flower with a slightly bigger hole and they an get in it. I have found the Perky Pet replacement t bee guards fit the dollar store feeder, have perches, the numbers love it and the yellow jackets and bees leave them alone. I live in the northeast, seems we always have a breeze which is enough to move the smaller feeders and allow the sugar water to leak out! It seems fruits summer all I have done is dealt with insects. Took care of the ants, got traps and took care of the yellow jackets, and then we got the bee problem for the end of season! I am making my plan of attack for next year. Don't want to kill the bees but I want them away from my feeders!

7:50 you need a long, bendable brusn. Still it might not work though depending on the design

Robbie, I just bought a bunch of those slit feeders from Walmart and they have First Nature tabs all over them. I heard they were not popular so First Nature just sold them all to Walmart. My question for you is, I've heard those slit feeders can damage or break the beaks of hummingbirds. Have you ever seen anything like this happen?

If you're using a feeder with the mesh bee guards, be aware mold develops inside the guard, where you can't get to it.

I put a little feeder for the bees on purpose on the other side of the yard.

I use a flying saucer shaped hummingbird feeder, and since the liquid is below and not above, where it can seep, it is bee proof. I had to do this after my neighbor's bees took over my feeders, and I am allergic and they were warding off the hummingbirds. Just search "saucer-shaped hummingbird feeder" and many will come up. At first I thought it was more work since you do the nectar and cleaning more often, but since they are simpler design and you clean frequently, it is actually much easier. Since I change it more frequently, I now make my nectar quickly in 2 X quart mason jars. 1/2 cup sugar, 2 cups of water is 1 : 4. I use 2 X 1/4 cup scoops bc it fits easier to pour the 1/4 c sugar in the widemouth jar. I shake and serve, instead of the longer process I used to do. I tried all the tricks, but if the liquid is above, like 99% of feeders on the market now, then it will seep, and bees will come. I feed the bees organic flowers, but I couldn't have the hundreds of bees that came from my neighbor's hive. They were interfering with my coming and going, as well as disturbing the hummingbirds. My favorite ant baffle is the bell shaped baffle, which usually worked on its own, but I add Vaseline/ petroleum jelly inside the bell for extra protection. 3rd generation Audobon birder

I didn’t have a hummingbird fountain last year & I had a hummingbird use the ant mote as a bathtub.😂Where do you get the dots?

Is it ok to use galvanized metal and glass bc I worry about the galvanized metal possibly making them sick, 🥺 I would appreciate and love an answer, please 🙏🏼 from a new hummingbird mommy 😊

Wonder if an artifical bee glued on the feeder would stop bees.

Hi, I'm trying to find the feeders with the slits on line but can't seem to find them on the walmart website... could someone please post a link? Thank you

This is my favorite feeder. Clean it with a sponge and detail with a toothbrush. Have never seen any bees on it. Why the slits in the feeder Vs holes?

Do the anti-bee feeders keep out paper wasps? One of the problems I have with my perky pet feeder is the sugar water accumulates on the base of the feeder near the portals. The wasps will sit there and drink that sugar. I live on the third floor of an apartment and the wasp nest is in the eves just above my balcony and management will not spend money to get rid of the nests. The manager said to keep geraniums on the balcony or patio and that will deter the wasps. What a joke that is. Doesn't work for me. I've had germaniums before I put up my feeder. Moving soon to Arizona and I hope I can have a yard with hummingbirds all year trouble free. Thanks Robbie.

I've seen suggestions on swabbing tea tree oil under flowers...to deter bees, comments?

I have a problem with fruit flies in my hummingbird feeders. Any suggestions ?

My problem is wasps viciously chasing hummingbirds from accessing the feeder. Will this Walmart feeder prevent this?

Walmart is so frustrating with their “seasonal items”. I wanted to buy a frisbee for the kids. I couldn’t find one so I asked. “Oh no sir….that’s a seasonal item, we only have those in summer” So frisbees are out of the question in October in NC I guess? They act like they’re in Siberia or something.

can you send the link to the walmart bee proof one? I can not find it

I have that walmart feeder, but I have wasp at it all the time. Help!

I don’t know how you manage to get so many hummers sharing your feeders. I have three up and a couple of hummers have claimed them and viciously fight off any visitors! I have a male Anna’s and one male Allen’s. There is also a female Allen’s that is allowed to feed at one of the feeders. I have witnessed several visitors being chased off and it is frustrating for me because there is plenty of nectar. I’ve tried moving the feeders, adding extra ones, but nothing has worked. I live in San Diego on the coast.

Is it ok to use those plastic feeders? I always thought the feeder must be a glass jar.

What about the saucer-shaped feeder? Isn’t that a better shape than the upside down version in controlling bee attraction?

How do I keep the ants away from the hummingbird feeder?

Where on the Walmart website is "their" feeder? They have a lot of different types.

What is the best cleaning solution to clean the feeders before putting then away for the winter?

What do u do for hornets

The tear drop feeder you have the bees are all on the bottom!

If I put on pedestal...wonder how high off ground to deter neighbor cat .

I live in jamaica i had a bird fider no birds not comeimg

You mention bee guards. Are they specific to a brand of feeder or do they fit most feeders?

In Mn I get only wasps, never honeybees.

I've bought those tiny slitted feeders from Walmart. They didn't work at all! I've never had such a big problem with yellow jackets in over ten years. This is the first time I've had swarms and clusters on everyone of my feeders. They can't reach the sugar in the feeders, but that doesn't discourage them at all! They still keep trying to get the sugar! I've tried everything but killing them! That's my next step. I'm so bloody tired of them! They keep my hummingbirds away and the bees attack my friends and even me!

Is red your favorite color Robbie?

Robbie we live in Las Vegas and we have lots of wind and sometimes very heavy wind my feeder gets empty just like that …yes i can make it seat somewhere but again heavy wind will make it fall down…what can i don?

I have a problem with downy woodpeckers, I chase them off and I throw sticks at them, I haven't kill them yet, the woodpeckers do attack the humming birds. I want to kill them and I might, but " By chance do you know of any other way I might get them to stay away ? " I hang my feeders on a shepherd hooks it has 2, I thought about putting a sticky trap on the pole but I am afraid the humming birds might fly to close and get trap. The woodpeckers land on the side of the pole then fly to feeder they hang upside down on the feeder. I Hope You might be able to help.