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Old 06-26-2013, 05:16 PM
  #42  
Peckish
Super Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 9,602
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Kitsie I thought maybe your hummers had come over to visit me! I've had quite a few of them fighting over my feeder, so I ended up adding another feeder in the back.

I've discovered one of the easiest ways to deter ants: My hummer feeders hang on wrought-iron shepherd hooks. I spray WD-40 all around the base of the hook, right on the iron, from the ground up to 8" or so. No more ants.

This happened a couple of days ago, I was highly entertained.

Male hummer was in the tree on right side of the yard, the feeder is on the left. Female swoops in, hovers right in front of his nose, then zooms over to the feeder. Can't have that! He races over to the feeder and chases her off, scolding. Back up into the tree he goes. Yak, yak, yak. She swoops in again, hovers right in front of him, then over to the feeder. He chases her off again. More yakking and scolding. She swoops in again, waves her fanny in his face, then zooms over to the feeder. He chases her off and this time, as he's yakking and complaining and scolding his way back to his perch in the tree, I see her turn around right behind him and plant herself on the far side of the feeder, so it's between her and him. He has no idea she's there. He may have the brawn, but she's got the brains!
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