06/18/2026
We've had a warm few days, haven't we?
Make sure to keep up on when to change your hummingbird nectar, to keep it from fermenting in the heat!
🌡 Under 20°C - change once a week
🌡 20-30°C - change two to three times a week
🌡 Over 30°C - change every second day
🌡 Over 40°C - change every day
When in doubt, more frequently is better.
☀️ Hummingbird feeders can be cleaned with a bleach-water solution consisting of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.
🌡 The solution can be kept in a spray bottle for ease of use, and your feeder should be sprayed liberally, scrubbed, and rinsed with warm water.
☀️ If you don't want to use bleach, cleaning vinegar, or industrial white vinegar, should be available in hardware stores and is also a good disinfectant to mix with water.
🌡 Cooking vinegar is not a good substitute, as it doesn't have the disinfectant properties of industrial vinegar.
☀️ Certain feeders, like the Aspects saucer styles, can be run through on the top rack of your dishwasher for a good clean.
🌡 Check them out online at https://thebackyard.ca/store/Leak-Free-Feeders-c126822294
🌡 You may notice some colour fading, but it shouldn't affect the usage of the feeder.
🌡 Double check before running your feeder through, as some of the basic plastic ones can have issues in the hot water used in dishwashers.
☀️ You can also premix your nectar solution and store it in the fridge for two to three weeks to make refilling your feeders easier.
☀️ If you're worried about fermentation, add a capful of Nectar Defender, a copper sulfate additive, for every one cup of sugar water.
🌡 Check it out online at https://thebackyard.ca/store/Feeder-Fresh-Hummingbird-Nectar-Defender-p440228113
🌡 Copper is a natural antibacterial agent, and the trace amounts present in Nectar Defender aren't harmful to the birds, though it does help keep fermentation down.
