Two cool things that were left for us when the previous owners moved out was an old hummingbird feeder and a shepherd’s hook. The old feeder shattered during a bad storm we had, so we’ve since replaced it. But otherwise our hummingbird feeder and shepherd’s hook is in the same spot: our back corner behind the pool, a.k.a. my problem area.
I didn’t know what it was that hummingbird’s ate, so I called my good friend, Joan, and she told me how to make the proper sugar water mix.
1 part sugar to 4 parts water
We had a lot of fun last year spotting the ultra-fast, seemingly levitating hummingbirds. They whipped into our yard and hung in the air just long enough to suck up some wonderful sugar water, before zipping right back out. Our next door neighbor has a couple feeders as well, so we are definitely a hot spot of sorts on their long journey.
As last season ended, I kind of forgot about our feeder, and now have a lot of cleaning to do as a result.
Cleaning the outside is one thing, but mildewy stuff had grown on the inside of the glass portion, and that needed to be properly removed.
About a year ago, I found this super helpful chart on Clorox’s site. It gives you safe & effective ”recipes” of bleach to water amounts to clean anything from baby bottles and sippy cups to dog bowls and cutting boards. I’ve used it to figure out the best way to disinfect bath toys, legos and pool toys. It’s been a great resource for me.
So, I now have successfully removed the dirt and grime, made a fresh batch of sugar water and added a bit of red food coloring (hummingbirds supposedly are attracted to red).
Voila!
