Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:37:58 -0400
From: Anne Flannery
Subject: Hummingbirds vs yellow jackets
Thank you Thank you Thank you to all of you Chatlisters who wrote me with your wonderful ideas to keep the yellow jackets away from the hummingbird feeder. What a great resource this Chatlist is!
Here was the most repeated suggestion: Spray the feeder with PAM. The birds don’t mind it and the yellow jackets will stay away. So far, I have seen a Y.J. fly toward the feeder but veer off before trying to feed. I have not seen a bird as of this moment but maybe they learned to stay away in the past week, so as not to get stung. Hopefully, they will return soon. One thing, someone did mention was that the PAM melts in the sun and must be reapplied. (BTW, I did not have PAM on hand so I put veg oil on a paper towel and rubbed it on the surface of the feeder). I will keep an eye on the feeder and if the oil disappears, I will reapply it.
Thanks again you wonderful people!
Anne