Attract More Hummingbirds To Your Yard With This Easy DIY Feeder Hack
Among nature's most magnificent creatures is the hummingbird. The fast-flapping tiny little birds come in an array of colors and dazzle bird watchers in various areas of the U.S. during the warmer months. Hummingbirds have come to symbolize a variety of things to the humans they visit including joy, hope, good luck, comfort in suffering, healing, and resilience. So, it's no wonder that we look for ways to attract them to our gardens and yards. You can do so without spending a dime by using this hack, which involves an old glass soy sauce bottle.
Glass soy sauce bottles seem like they were almost made to be turned into a hummingbird feeder after serving their initial purpose. Their design couldn't be any better suited, as they have a red top, which some say is a hummingbird's favorite color. These birds are assumed to be attracted to red because these colored flowers produce a high amount of nectar, which they need in order to fuel their rapid metabolisms and beat their wings 50 or more times per second. So, they're attracted to the bright color because they assume it will provide them with a hefty meal. The nozzle on the soy sauce bottle, which dispenses soy sauce, is surprisingly perfect for a little hummingbird's beak to suck nectar through. Make your own nectar with ingredients in your pantry and you'll have yourself a DIY hummingbird feeder.
How to make a hummingbird feeder with a soy sauce bottle
For this hack, you'll need an empty soy sauce bottle (the Kikkoman brand works best), wire (a clothes hanger can work as well), pliers, refined white sugar, and water. First, you'll screw off the top of your bottle and rinse it out completely. Flip your bottle upside down and wrap two pieces of wire around either side of the bottle, just below the widest part. If you don't have wire, unravel a coat hanger and use it in the same way.
Twist the wires together at the sides so that the bottle won't slip out. You can use your pliers to create a tight grip. Make loops at each end with wire, then feed some additional wire or rope through these loops and tie it off at the top so that you can hang your feeder. Another alternative is wrapping rope around the feeder and securing it with tape.
To make the nectar, mix four parts of water with one part of refined white sugar. Stir the mixture until the sugar completely disappears, then unscrew the cap of your soy sauce bottle and pour the nectar inside. Flip the bottle upside down and hang it from your tree. The extra nectar should be refrigerated. Change the nectar and rinse out the feeder with hot water every other day to prevent mold from growing.