We have had a variety of feeders for 30 years, always with perches. To keep ants, bees, etc. off the feeders - after I fill them with the boiled 1 cup sugar to 4 c. water - I dip my finger in some mineral oil & rub it on the surfaces around the feeding holes & on the hanger wires & lid. The bugs don't like getting their feet in it. I know I have some of the same birds return because the early arrivals will come to the hook outside my kitchen window, look for the feeder & then fly right up to the middle of the window looking in as if to say, "I'm here, where's the feeder?" We have 3 feeders, each with 6 holes. I have seen as many as 3 sit on 1 at the same time, but as soon as a 4th arrives all h... breaks lose. Some will guard a feeder & chase off the others. They may be little but they're feisty.