Tired of Ants Stealing Bird Food? Try This Expert Approved 'Fishing Line' Trick That Actually Works
Bird feeding has grown to be a popular activity among homeowners with backyard gardens. While it is immensely rewarding, watching colorful birds hop in for a quick bite, regularly feeding birds is a great responsibility. If not done right, it may put your local bird population’s health at risk. As spring blooms, ants, bees, and wasps break out of their winter shelters in search of food and nourishment, creating competition with small birds. But experts at Perky Pet have discussed the ‘fishing line’ hack to prevent ants from stealing bird feed without using insecticides.
Fishing lines have the potential to be sturdy enough to suspend a bird feeder and happen to be thin enough for ants and other insects to climb up to the feeders. Ants are persistent and can scale most surfaces, from poles to concrete walls, but it is unlikely that they will be able to sustain their death grip on fishing lines. Hence, a brilliant way to keep your bird feeders free from them. It is also worth noting that the hanging spot for the feeder must be considered carefully. Ideally, an area with shade or dappled sunlight and the line hung from a tree branch ot gutter works perfectly. The sugar water will not ferment when kept out of direct sunlight, and the shade will keep flying insects out of the area.
Other measures may be taken to keep insects away from feeders. Avoid feeders with yellow accents resembling flowers because they will attract wasps. Some essential oils also repel bees and paper wasps, like clove, peppermint, sage, spearmint, etc. However, they should not be applied to the poles or hanging equipment, but can be kept separately in a saucer dish near the feeder. Oil contaminants on their body will obstruct the bird’s flying by making the feathers heavy and inconvenient. A bug-deterring feeder, like bee guards, moats, and saucer feeders, could potentially serve the purpose. If nothing seems to work, then it is probably time to relocate the bird feeder.
While insecticides may seem like the most viable and easy option to eliminate ants and other insects from attacking the bird feeders, the experts do not recommend this. This is because even minute amounts of the chemicals present in insecticides can gravely impact and kill small birds like hummingbirds. Their metabolism is sensitive to harsh chemicals, and the rampant use of insecticides in agricultural practices has led to a decline in bird populations of some species, per the Wiki Observatory. Simply putting out feeders to enjoy a good view will not be sustainable and eventually harm the local bird population.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has reported that 191 hummingbird species have decreasing population trends, with two listed as extinct. The factors range from climate change to habitat loss and degradation, exposure to toxins and nonnative predators, according to a report by the University of Wyoming. “One example is a mismatch of migration timing with plant flowering that hummingbirds depend on. Another example is the effect of changing climate on invertebrate communities, including insects that hummingbirds need for their protein source,” said Holly Ernest, a professor emeritus of wildlife genomics and disease ecology.