Who told u that a sales person? I have used 1 pt sugar, 4 pts water for years. Added food coloring is not good either. I did switch to pure cane sugar instead of beet sugar. Homemade sugar water is just fine for your hummers.

Karen

Joela, if you'll read the posts here, you will find nearly every one uses just sugar water. One part sugar to four parts water. That's proven safe for your hummers.
Rob

The "nectar" they sell at the store is pretty much sugar water with red food coloring. If you like feeding hummers, you'll save a LOT of money buying regular cane sugar and making it yourself! And yes, it is better for the hummers that way too, so it's a win-win scenario.

Joella
Even licensed banders use the plain sugar and water mix. The commercial mixes do contain red dye #40 which I believe has been outlawed in Canada.

Penny

We got our first two hummers three weeks ago Wednesday. (Male & Female) I was out preparing beds and I was surprised to see them come buzzing by my face! It seemed a bit early to me, but this year we wrote in on our calendar.

I quickly went in and made a batch of sugar water. (1pt cane sugar to 4pt water) When it was cool enough I poured it in a feeder and took it to my little friends. :) They drank like I've never seen!

We do not use the store bought nectar. I think the hummingbird society also advises a white sugar solution and NOT the red dye stuff from the store.

Sugar's cheap! :) And the solution is SOOO easy to make. Take 4 cups of water and heat on medium in a sauce pan, add 1 cup of sugar and stir 'til dissolved. Don't boil or you'll get sugar syrup. Remove from heat and let cool. That's that!

Thank you to everyone who responded. That is what I thought. I even looked on a hummer sight and it said the store bought nectar spoils quicker. I've always used the home made kind, I just wanted to be sure. It also said on that sight that boiling the water was not necessary. I've always done that though. Thanks, joela

I recently read that in early spring you can use 1 part sugar to 3 parts water - give them a little extra energy & calories they need after the long migration. Otherwise, later in the season switch to 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.

kimcoco
Yes, 3:1 or 4:1 ratio are both perfectly fine. I use the 3:1 until it gets really hot and then I swtch to 4:1 because they get their water from the nectar and there are more plantss blooming later on so they don't need the stronger mix.

Penny

Responsible Wild Bird store owners do not sell the died hummer nectar. Nor do we sell the stuff with the extra "nutrients" The ready to use nectar we sell is a convenience item. The hummer sugar is refined differently to dissolve completely in cold water, and again is a convenience item. Any store that still is selling red dye containing hummer food is not a place I would shop at for any birding supplies. The companies who still sell this stuff are too lazy to try to educate the consumer.

None of the stores whether they be local or big box in my area sell anything but the commercial red dye nectar mix. I would be hard pressed to not purchase other supplies from them. I would have to make all my own feeders. I do make some of my seed and hummer feeders and I do grow some plants for summer seed but I don't have the ability to grow enough plants to provide all the seed I would need for the winter and early spring.

Penny

I do boil my water and bring it back to a boil (a few bubbles for 30 sec.) after adding the sugar. The boiling kills any bacteria, yeast or fungus that may be in the water or sugar.