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Easy DIY Ant Moat For Hummingbird Feeders

Published on June 1, 2020Last updated October 5, 2021 โ™› By Melissa J. Will

This post contains affiliate links.
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If you have ants raiding your hummingbird feeder, this simple DIY moat will prevent them from ever reaching the sugar water. Iโ€™ve been using mine for a while now, and it completely solved the problem.

This hummingbird sugar water recipe can be made in different size batches.

Hummingbird approaching moat at feeder that prevents ants from getting in the sugar water.

How Hummingbird Feeder Moats Work

Hummingbird feeder with an water moat hanging above it to keep ants from climbing onto feeder.

You can buy or make a moat to keep ants off your hummingbird feeders.

Ants can be very disruptive at feeders. Attracted to the sugar water, they climb all the way up and around the shepherdโ€™s hook and down onto the feeder. Once at the feeder, they descend into the sugar water to feast or drown.

It looks awful and it ruins the food.

As much as hummingbirds like to eat both ants and nectar, they do not like the two combined, and they will stop feeding if the ant invasion is too much.

This also shares other reasons hummingbirds may be avoiding your feeders.

How to make a hummingbird feeder moat to keep ants away from the sugar water.
What liquid do you put in a hummingbird moat?

You put plain water in hummingbird moats, not sugar water. Ants will be attracted to the sugar water in the hummingbird feeder hanging below the moat but will not be able to reach it.

How It Works

The idea with the moat is: a cup of water is hung from the shepherdโ€™s hook, and the actual feeder is suspended below it.

Now, when the ants come marching, the moat is the first thing they encounter on their way to the feeder.

With nowhere to go but down the middle eye hook, they either drown in the cup of water or give up and walk all the way back to the ground.

Meanwhile, the hummingbird feeder remains ant-free.

You can use these moats on any hanging nectar feeder including ones used for orioles.

Easy to use hummingbird nectar feeder.

Ant Moat

Moat for Hummingbird Feeder | Amazon

Feeder

Hummingbird Feeder | Amazon

The least expensive hummingbird feeder moats on Amazon retail for around $9. The supplies for mine cost a few dollars. Itโ€™s not a huge savings but perhaps worth making one, especially if you already have the supplies on hand and need a few of them.

The whole project takes just minutes to make.

Wondering where the hummingbirds are now? This spring migration map tracks their journey.

How do you keep bees away from hummingbird feeders?

The big picture solution is to grow a diverse selection of native plants rich in nectar that flower from early spring to fall. With an abundance of food available, bees will have other options.

For the feeder itself, this has tips for bee-proofing your hummingbird feeder. The type of feeder, how you fill it, and where it is located can all help deter bees.

How to Make a Hummingbird Feeder Moat

Hummingbird and feeder

Video Instructions

Supplies & Tools

  • (2) Eye hooks: 3/16-inch diameter, 4-inches long.
  • (2) 3/16-inch nuts
  • (2) 3/16-inch washers
  • (1) 3/16-inch coupling nut (to join the eye hooks)
  • (1) plastic cup, kiddie bowl, or lid from spray paint can
  • Silicone Sealant (outdoor, waterproof) or Plumberโ€™s Puddy or similar waterproof product
  • Electric drill and 3/16-inch drill bit
  • Small wrench to tighten nuts

Notes: I used 3/16-inch materials. You can use any size from 1/8 to 5/16-inch: just make sure everything including the drill bit are the same diameter.
You could use J hooks instead of eye hooks. I choose eye hooks because the squirrels and chipmunks have a harder time knocking them off.

Parts for making a moat for a hummingbird feeder to keep ants from ruining the sugar water.

Assembly

Drilling hole in plastic cup for hummingbird feeder moat to keep ants away.

1. Drill a hole in the middle of the plastic cup. Use a drill bit the same diameter as the eye hooks.

2. Place the nut on the lower eye hook as close to the eye as it can go. Add the washer.

3. Add a dab of Silicone Sealant to the underside of the cup where the washer will touch.

4.  Add a dab of Silicone Sealant inside the cup around the hole where the second washer will rest.

5. Thread the lower eye hook up through the cup. The lower nut and washer will press against the cup (but donโ€™t snap the plastic!).

Assembling a hummingbird feeder moat to keep ants away from the sugar water.

6.  Place the second washer down the eye hook to the bottom (inside) of the cup. Then add the second nut and tighten. You may need to use a wrench -gently.

7. Attach the coupling nut to the lower eye hook, with half the nut still available.

8.  Insert the top eye hook into the coupling nut.

Allow Silicone Sealant to dry (most take 2 hours). Then hang moat from shepherdโ€™s hook and hang hummingbird feeder from moat. And say good-bye to the ants.


Collage of summer and winter garden and a ruby-throated hummingbird

Related: Hummingbirds Through the Seasons (A Guide For Gardeners)



Resources

Empress of Dirt

FREE TIP SHEET

Hummingbird Food Recipe & Care Tips

File includes sugar water recipe for various batch sizes and feeder cleaning tips.

Ruby-throated hummingbird flying toward sugar water feeder.
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~Melissa the Empress of Dirt โ™›

Hummingbird feeder with an water moat hanging above it to keep ants from climbing onto feeder.
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How to Make a Hummingbird Moat

How to make a moat to use with a hummingbird feeder to prevent ants from reaching the sugar water.
Total Time30 minutes mins
Author: Melissa J. Will
Cost: $10

Equipment

  • Silicone Sealant
  • Electric drill
  • 3/16-inch drill bit
  • Small wrench

Supplies & Materials

  • 2 Eye hooks 3/16-inch diameter, 4-inches long
  • 2 3/16-inch nuts
  • 2 3/16-inch washers
  • 1 3/16-inch coupling nut to join the eye hooks
  • 1 Plastic cup 3-inch diameter

Instructions

  • Watch the video for visual instructions.
    Drill a hole in the middle of the plastic cup. Use a drill bit the same diameter as the eye hooks.
    Parts for mkaing hummingbird moat.
  • Place the nut on the lower eye hook as close to the eye as it can go. Add the washer.
  • Add a dab of Silicone Sealant to the underside of the cup where the washer will touch.
  • Add a dab of Silicone Sealant inside the cup around the hole where the second washer will rest.
  • Thread the lower eye hook up through the cup. The lower nut and washer will press against the cup (but donโ€™t snap the plastic!).
  • Place the second washer down the eye hook to the bottom (inside) of the cup. Then add the second nut and tighten. You may need to use a wrench -gently.
  • Attach the coupling nut to the lower eye hook, with half the nut still available.
  • Insert the top eye hook into the coupling nut.
  • Allow Siliconeย Sealant to dry (most take 2 hours). Then hang moat from shepherdโ€™s hook and hang hummingbird feeder from moat. And say good-bye to the ants.

Notes

A metal jar lid with a deep lip could also work instead of the plastic cup.ย 
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Hummingbird feeder with an water moat hanging above it to keep ants from climbing onto feeder.
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I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
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