How Often To Clean A Hummingbird Feeder

Here’s how to keep your feeder clean and safe for these amazing birds.

Getty Images

Watching hummingbirds whir around your garden is a true delight! If you want to entice more of these little beauties to your yard, add native plants that hummingbirds love in containers and garden beds. It’s also fun to offer them several feeders throughout your garden, especially where you can observe their midair acrobatics.

To keep these winged wizards healthy, hummingbird feeders must be cleaned regularly. "Hummingbirds may come to a dirty feeder, so it’s up to you to keep feeders clean and safe for them," says Erika Zambello, communications director at Audubon Florida. "Keeping your feeder clean keeps the birds healthy. Mold and bacteria can make a bird sick. If a sick bird visits your feeder, it can pass on its illness to other birds visiting the same feeder."

Every time you change the solution, you also should clean the feeder. When it’s hot, clean your feeder every day. In cooler weather, you can change the solution twice a week, says Zambello. Or if your birds empty it more quickly, clean it before every refill.

You also should clean the feeder and replace the nectar solution any time you see signs it has gone bad such as cloudiness, visible mold or mildew, or dead insects such as ants and bees floating in the nectar. If you hang feeders in the shade, it will also help prevent the solution from spoiling as quickly.

Here’s how to do it right:

Most importantly, never use soap or detergent to clean your feeder. It can leave behind residue which tastes bad and can harm birds if they are exposed to the wrong chemicals, says Zambello.