9 Hummingbird Feeders You Can Easily DIY With Household Items On The Cheap

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Many states are home to local hummingbird populations, making them a common sight in yards and gardens. Hummingbirds are unique compared to most bird species, and you aren't going to attract any by making a DIY bird feeder filled with seed. These birds need nectar or bugs every 10 to 15 minutes, and most bird watchers attract them to their yards by filling store-bought specialized feeders with homemade hummingbird nectar. However, you don't have to buy a specialized feeder to attract these birds. Despite their unique eating habits, they're just as easy to feed as other avian species, and it's very doable to craft a feeder using primarily cheap or free household items.

Below are nine DIY hummingbird feeders anybody can make using mostly repurposed items at home. All you need is a container to hold the nectar and a spout or opening to reach it. There are only a few key things to keep in mind. One is that hummingbirds have better vision than humans and are attracted to vivid colors like red, orange, and pink. This is why hummingbirds most often visit red flowers and why most hummingbird feeders are painted in a rich red color. DIYers also must ensure the feeder openings are around 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch so hummingbirds can fit their beaks and tongues inside, but small insects can't easily fly in. Keep those two factors in mind when pursuing these DIY projects, and read on to learn how to assemble them. 

Downsize the towering collection of Tupperware in your kitchen cabinets by transforming one into a hummingbird feeder. The design might look simple to humans, but local hummingbirds will be drawn to the bright lid of this plastic receptacle. It's flat and wide, giving them a comfortable place to perch while they feed. When hanging this feeder, use a twine material that's resistant to water to ensure it holds up in high humidity and rain, such as hemp or jute. You could also use twine in a bright color that helps attract hummingbirds to gardens. If you don't happen to have a container with a red lid like the one shown in this video, you can also consider painting the lid red with acrylic craft paint, or drawing flower shapes around the holes with something like a paint brush or acrylic paint pens (like these Artugn Paint Pens).

Spices are good kitchen ingredients to sprinkle around bird feeders to deter pests, and you can also repurpose their empty containers into small DIY hummingbird feeders. Get a hummingbird's attention by repurposing spice jars with red lids, such as those by McCormick. Ensure the spice is completely removed and washed from the jar, as most avian experts recommend solely feeding sugar and water. Spices with artificial sweeteners or additional ingredients like dyes might be harmful to hummingbirds and strange flavors could potentially deter them from your feeder. This feeder is tiny enough to hang off delicate shrub branches, making it easy to implement in newly-established flower gardens.

This household DIY looks like many of the traditional top-rated hummingbird feeders you'd find on Amazon. As long as the water bottle is secured upright and the bottom is heavy enough, you can use this as either a standing or hanging hummingbird feeder. To be safe, you might want to tie extra twine around the outside of the bottle and Tupperware than what's shown in this video — securing them so they don't detach thanks to the weight of the sugar-water mixture. It may be tempting to let the refillable feeder sit for weeks, but if the weather is over 90 degrees, you should change the nectar daily to prevent spoilage.

Not all hummingbird feeders have to be plain. DIY an artsy hummingbird feeder using an empty pear-shaped Kikkoman Soy Sauce container. All it takes is a little acrylic paint on the outside of the bottle to decorate your feeder in bright colors that complement your garden and home. Add a clear coat of outdoor Mod Podge (like this Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer) to the outside to keep your acrylic paint job safe from rain and weather. If you're not confident in your painting skills, you could even découpage the outside of the bottle with some brightly colored napkins. Sugar water may slowly drip out the cap, so hang this feeder over grass or dirt where it won't make outdoor furniture or the deck sticky.

Did you know that Dollar Tree has an unlikely find that doubles as a hummingbird feeder? Some of the Cooking Concepts Silicone Travel Dressing Containers have a red lid and a small body — perfect for feeding individual visiting birds. If you already have a small squeeze bottle at home, but the lid isn't red, skip the store trip and simply brighten it up with some acrylic paint. Extremely patient bird watchers can hold a container like this, and, if you wait long enough, you'll win the hummingbirds' trust and they might drink right out of your hand. Fortunately for less patient, this feeder is still usable without having to sit and wait. Wrap the container in wire or twine and hang it from a branch or fence post to let the hummers visit in their own time.

With this DIY you can make a sizeable, saucer-shaped humming feeder, which many people say are the most ideal for hummingbirds. One of the reasons why saucer-style feeders are best for hummingbirds is that the nectar doesn't have to sit right at the nozzle. Hummingbirds can still reach it with their long beaks, but bees can't. Saucer-shaped feeders are also easier to hand wash than narrow and cylindrical feeders. To create this feeder you will need a deep plastic tray (like a chip and dip style tray) and a plastic charger plate. If you don't have any spares you want to upcycle into this feeder, you can combine a Dollar Tree Clear Plastic Chip and Dip Tray and a Red Plastic Charger Plate (for the roof) by making holes in the center and threading a length of string or wire through. 

A high-quality store-bought glass feeder can easily run you over $17. Take a smarter route and create a nearly identical feeder by repurposing wine bottles and purchasing stoppers. A 9-pack of Decoh's Hummingbird Feeder Tubes With Red Floral Tips is only $16.99. Start saving wine bottles (or raid your existing glass bottle collection), and you could build nine hummingbird feeders for the price of just one standard store feeder. It's easy to replicate the look of standard feeders, as many are designed to look like vintage or repurposed bottles anyway. To suspend the feeders, you can knot string, or wind strong wire around them.

An empty candy tube from a past holiday makes a great receptacle for hungry hummers. Attract hummingbirds by hanging it on twine or wire and poking holes along the plastic tubing. This is an especially useful hack after Valentine's Day, as many candy tubes are topped with a bright red heart or similar colors that appeal to birds. You can dress up this repurposed item by adding Yellow Hummingbird Feeder Flower Shaped Plastic Bird Feeding Ports on top of the holes, or simply paint on some flower shapes with yellow paint. The creator of this DIY feeder opted for Puffy Paint, which can help create a 3D effect, mimicking the raised design of the store-bought feeding ports. 

Stop throwing away single-use sauce cups by turning them into feeding receptacles for hummingbirds. It doesn't take excess amounts of homemade hummingbird nectar to fill the 1- or 2-ounce cups, ensuring less goes to waste and spoils during warmer months. YouTuber @michaelcatalanottohandyman spray-painted the lids in red and yellow colors, and you can follow suit as long as you use paint without any VOCs, such as the Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint Set for Adults and Kids. The YouTuber uses a sprayer to paint, but simple brushes will also suffice since it's a small surface area to cover. If you have some wire at home you can use that to create hangers, or hang the feeders using string and a bottle sling knot.