Becky Griffin, the coordinator for community and school gardens at the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture and the UGA Cooperative Extension, conversed with Southern Living regarding strategies to deter bees from hummingbird feeders.

“Bees are drawn to your hummingbird feeder because the sugar solution inside resembles the nectar that bees seek in blossoms,” Griffin noted. “Occasionally, bees may visit your feeder due to a scarcity of nectar sources in your vicinity.”

It’s beneficial to cultivate bee-attractive flowers in gardens, including mountain mint, butterfly weed, and bee balm.

“The idea is that the nectar from flowers is far more appealing to bees than the sugar water found in feeders,” Griffin expressed.

Additional suggestions encompass positioning the feeder away from flower beds, opting for saucer-style hummingbird feeders or those equipped with bee guards, avoiding feeders that incorporate yellow elements, suspending multiple hummingbird feeders, maintaining cleanliness of the feeders, and frequently replacing the nectar.

The article Coordinator offers tips to keep bees away from hummingbird feeders was initially published on UGA Today.