Install bee guards
It accomplishes the same goals as a bee suit. The hummingbird feeder protects the birds from the bees while the bee guard keeps out bees.
It’s a delight to watch hummingbirds and bees around the same feeder. But it’s not a pleasant experience to see bees actually trying to land on the hummingbird feeders.
Unless you want to spend your time swatting and blowing at the bees, a bee guard is your best option to keep bees away from hummingbird feeders.
The bee guards are meant to fit over glass or other wide-opening hummingbird feeders. Using a bee guard is also an option to prevent bees from building a hive inside the feeder.
The biggest advantage of using a bee guard over other remedies is that the feeder is not at all affected by the presence of bee guards.
Other remedies to prevent bees from building a nest in a hummingbird feeder include:
- using a syrup feeder with an anti-coagulant-free mixture, where bees are unable to get a grip on to the glass
- using a removable anti-coagulant on the feeder,
Removing the feeder for a few days once a week to deter the bees.
These other remedies may affect the birds. Bee guards avoid that problem.
Use red saucer feeders
Some bee-proof feeders have special characteristics that the bees are trained to recognize. These feeders have red or yellow feeder bodies that appear visually similar to an Italian Meatball. The bees are trained to stay away from any feeder that is red or yellow, and they are even