Care and Maintenance of Your Parasol Humming Bird Feeder

Parasol humming bird feeders are an attractive design to use in your back yard. With its graceful curves, this style of feeder provides an element that not only enhances the tranquility of your yard, but also ensures that you can enjoy watching humming birds for hours on end. It is important to keep the feeder clean if you want it to work efficiently. Here are a few tips on the care and maintenance of your parasol humming bird feeder.

Because humming birds will avoid any feeder that contains spoiled syrup, it is important that you clean the parasol humming bird feeder on a regular basis. It is a good idea to clean the feeder every time you refill the syrup. To accomplish this, flush the feeder with hot tap water. You may need to use a brush made for small bottles; this will help you remove any residue that could contaminate the fresh syrup.  One important thing to remember is to never use any type of soap in the cleaning. Soap will drive away the humming birds, defeating the whole purpose of having a feeder.

If you spot some sort of mold growing on your parasol humming bird feeder, you can flush it with bleach. After using the bleach, be sure to flush it again with hot water, as you do not want anything other than minute traces of the bleach to mix in with the syrup.

In addition to cleaning the parasol humming bird feeder every time you change the syrup, also set aside one time a month to clean the feeder with a solution that is one part bleach and three parts hot water. Soak the feeder in this solution for about an hour, then flush thoroughly with hot water. This will help inhibit the growth of mold and make the maintenance much easier.  

Following this simple maintenance plan will keep your parasol humming bird feeder looking great and ensure that humming birds will return again and again to enjoy your feeder.