One part plain white sugar to four parts water. That is the whole recipe. No boiling required, no red dye, nothing else in the jar.
The recipe
- Measure 1 cup refined white sugar and 4 cups water. Tap water is fine.
- Stir or shake until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Fill the feeder. Refrigerate what is left over, for no longer than a week.
That 1:4 ratio is not arbitrary — it sits close to the sugar concentration of the flowers hummingbirds feed from naturally. Richer is not better, and weaker gives them less than they came for.
Five things never to put in a hummingbird feeder
- Red dye or food colouring. It does nothing to attract birds — the red plastic on the feeder already does that job — and it could be harmful to them. There is no upside to weigh against that.
- Honey. It ferments quickly and encourages mould growth.
- Corn syrup. Not a substitute for table sugar.
- Raw, brown or unprocessed sugar. Only refined white sugar is recommended.
- Powdered sugar. It usually contains cornstarch and other additives.
If a product on a shelf is bright red and calls itself hummingbird nectar, you are paying for dye and water. You already have the ingredients at home.
How often to change it
This is the part people skip, and it is the part that matters most. Sugar water ferments, and a feeder left too long grows black mould in the ports.
| Conditions | Clean and refill at least |
|---|---|
| Hot summer weather | Twice a week |
| Cooler spring and fall weather | Once a week |
| Any time you see cloudiness, strands or black specks | Immediately |
In real heat, every other day is better than twice a week. If the nectar looks cloudy, it has already gone. Dump it, scrub the ports, start again.
Where to hang it
- Out of full afternoon sun. Sun cooks nectar and halves its life.
- Where you can see it — from the kitchen window is the classic spot, and it also means you notice when it needs cleaning.
- More than one feeder, out of sight of each other, if a single bird is bullying the rest. More on that in why hummingbirds stop coming to a feeder.
When to put it out
About ten days before the first birds are due in your area — the males arrive roughly a week ahead of the females, and an empty feeder on the day a scout passes through is a yard he does not come back to. We keep arrival and departure dates for your state.
Sources
- Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute — hummingbird nectar recipe, ingredients to avoid, and cleaning frequency
Last reviewed: October 2026.