There is no need to buy expensive hummingbird nectar from the store. The perfect hummingbird food requires only two simple ingredients: white granulated sugar and water.
Homemade Hummingbird Food Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 4 cups water
Directions
- Stir the sugar into the water until it completely dissolves.
- Allow the mixture to cool before pouring it into a clean hummingbird feeder.
- Store any leftover nectar in the refrigerator for up to one week.
This recipe can easily be made in a smaller batch by mixing ¼ cup of sugar with 1 cup of water.
Why This Is the Perfect Recipe
The four-parts-water-to-one-part-sugar ratio closely resembles the natural sugar concentration found in many of the flowers hummingbirds visit. It provides quick energy without making the nectar unnecessarily strong.
Always use ordinary refined white sugar. Never substitute honey, brown sugar, powdered sugar, artificial sweeteners, or corn syrup. You should also skip the red food coloring. A feeder with red-colored parts is enough to catch a hummingbird’s attention.
Here in the South, hummingbird food can spoil surprisingly quickly during hot weather. Change the nectar and clean the feeder at least every other day during summer—or immediately if the liquid becomes cloudy or mold appears.
A clean feeder filled with this simple homemade nectar is one of the easiest ways to help hummingbirds while enjoying more of these lively little visitors in your garden.
