[bex714]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site. I am at a loss as to what to do to keep Gila Woodpeckers away from my hummer feeder. They are constantly drinking all of the nectar, and are so heavy the nectar actually spills out all over the ground. The poor hummers have to fight for anything that's left. I am also refilling the feeder a few times a week because of this issue. Would old CD's hung nearby the feeder work, or would this also discourage the hummers?

The woodpecker-proof feeders I have seen online don't receive good reviews.
Any ideas? I don't want to harm the woodpeckers. But they're quite rude!!!

Many thanks!

[TFM70]

Put up more feeders. At some point you will have more feeders than Gila's.

[bex714]

Thank you! I think that might just work. There are two Gilas that hang out there. Hopefully that is it!!!

[Flower Sipper]

I have the same problem. My neighbor has cd's hung directly above and says it works. He only has 1 feeder.
I have 7 feeders and no cd's. They only go to a couple feeders but it is a pain how they are so messy.
You can put out suet cakes for the peckers as well.

[bex714]

We tried the CDs, but they figured it out and kept coming. They are tenacious, I'll give them that!! Now we have a cylinder cage around the feeder (bottom is cut out)--it worked for a few days and they figured how to crawl underneath it. They are driving us crazy. I wouldn't mind if they drank from time to time, but they hog the feeder, chase the hummers away, and hang on it so all the nectar drips out. Arggghhh!

[Flower Sipper]

Take a two liter and make a feeder for the Peckers. I don't know if they find the Hummer's by watching them or they smell it or what. Or by color like the Hummers

[grebefeet9]

fix the feeder securely to a post so that it cannot be tipped. the gilas will still drink, but they won't spill.

[Chas 100]

I am highly amused by this thread...... I live in cold dreary Great Britain and would literally give my right arm to have a woodpecker of any kind any where near my back yard, let alone on my feeders. But I can imagine it would be annoying to both you and your hummers. Just enjoy, you are so fortunate.

[Cruidín]

Originally Posted by Chas 100

I am highly amused by this thread...... I live in cold dreary Great Britain and would literally give my right arm to have a woodpecker of any kind any where near my back yard, let alone on my feeders. But I can imagine it would be annoying to both you and your hummers. Just enjoy, you are so fortunate.

Have to agree with Chas here. Would be wonderful to have Woodpeckers AND Hummingbirds around here more often. Any chance of any photos of them all? People complain about the beautiful Starlings over here and the lovely Magpies here, but I just admire their intelligence.

[KCFoggin]

Add me to Chas and Cruidin's thoughts.

A wise person once told me that once you decide to start feeding the birds you really shouldn't discriminate as to what birds you are feeding

Do I get a little ticked off when the Blue Jays and Grackles have drained my 6 feeders (used to be 10) and 4 suet feeders on a daily basis? I do, but I take the good with the bad cause I decided to feed the birds

[tielfan]

No one has said what kind of feeders they're using, but it's supposed to be helpful to use a feeder that requires hovering instead of allowing the bird to perch. If the woodpeckers are clinging to the rope/chain holding the feeder up and trying to reach the feeder ports from there, putting a dome above the feeder might prevent this.

You know those cages that you can put around seed feeders to keep the larger birds out? If you can find one that's the right size to keep woodpeckers out you could hang your hummingbird feeder inside it. Or get some wire and make your own. I live in Tucson where nectar-feeding bats drain the feeders during the night at some times of year, and I know people who built bat cages out of wire to exclude the bats and let the hummers in.

[JanElla]

Interesting topic, I agree.
I have a lot of hummies, as I call them, coming to the feeders during the season, and don't really have problems with other birds drinking the nectar.
However... there are ants that find the way to the feeders, and you know the story. So, I found the ant guards to safeguard the nectar, and it worked. Sometimes, I see bees feeding on nectar, and fighting with hummies. Who wins? It depends on their persistence and character. Usually, unfortunately bee wins.
From time to time, butterflies find the way to the sweet drink, and that's also a sight. It's good the butterflies are not aggressive, they simply change the spot when hummies are angry, and drink until they are drunk and flutter away.
Putting up more feeders should help, or simply put some food only for woodpeckers. although, we all who watch the birds know how fast they learn, and how many tricks they know.

[tielfan]

Hummingbirds are afraid of bees for very good reason - a sting would probably be fatal. Garlic helps to repel bees but doesn't bother the hummingbirds - either garlic cooking spray (Pam) applied near the feeder holes (it's hard to find in stores but might be available on the internet) or rubbing a cut clove of garlic on the feeder. The Pam dries hard on the feeder and it's a nuisance to wash it off, and I don't have experience with the cut clove technique so I don't know what kind of a mess it makes. The bees will hover around for a while and it won't get rid of them completely, but it usually will cause a big drop in their numbers. However once last year we had an incident where the bees actually seemed to like the garlic - it made them act drunk.

Another technique that can help with large numbers of bees is to put an open saucer of nectar out for them, with two or more sticks in it to give them a place to sit. This is easy for them to get to so they'll prefer it over the feeder. We've seen a big swarm lick the bowl so clean in a short period of time that it looked like it just came out of the dishwasher.

[Bird_Bill]

Originally Posted by tielfan

Hummingbirds are afraid of bees for very good reason - a sting would probably be fatal. Garlic helps to repel bees but doesn't bother the hummingbirds - either garlic cooking spray (Pam) applied near the feeder holes (it's hard to find in stores but might be available on the internet) or rubbing a cut clove of garlic on the feeder. The Pam dries hard on the feeder and it's a nuisance to wash it off, and I don't have experience with the cut clove technique so I don't know what kind of a mess it makes. The bees will hover around for a while and it won't get rid of them completely, but it usually will cause a big drop in their numbers. However once last year we had an incident where the bees actually seemed to like the garlic - it made them act drunk.

Another technique that can help with large numbers of bees is to put an open saucer of nectar out for them, with two or more sticks in it to give them a place to sit. This is easy for them to get to so they'll prefer it over the feeder. We've seen a big swarm lick the bowl so clean in a short period of time that it looked like it just came out of the dishwasher.

Going to give it a whirl Tie'. Have used lysol then a thorough wash,which seems to clear pheromone trail and minimize but never eliminate.Have to do almost daily,a ton of work and waste.Not so much honey bees here,but yellow jackets.

[tielfan]

I was talking about honey bees, and I don't know whether those techniques will work on yellow jackets.

[KCFoggin]

I've had very good luck with just cutting back on the sugar ratio and the hummers still come but the bees don't

I would never use any kind of oil around any feeders.