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September 07, 2011

Comments

Helen in Switzerland

Oh my goodness....I'd have died if I encountered that! I'm so glad I live somewhere where we don't have big scary creepy crawlies!

Barbara Anne

Love the hummingbird and the feeder cleaning method!

Don't love the praying mantis so much. They are icky but I didn't know they would harm hummingbirds, too. I wonder if there is a spray to deter the bugs from staying in your garden or if they come with the territory?

Yesterday was the most delightful rainy day but this morning we were awakened at 7a by crashing loud and repetitive thunder. The cats went under the bed and I nearly joined them there!

Where is Eva???????

Hugs!

Gwynette in Northwest Arkansas

I have several praying mantis on my feeders each day and flip them into the flower garden. They ARE a beneficial insect. I googled praying mantis and found that in South America they are much larger and do eat hummers. At Walmart, I found rectangular quart feeders with large mouths (easy to clean)and 10 feeding holes. We hang 4 and the little rascals drink more than a gallon a day. We probably feed 60 or 70 little birds.

Ferne

There definitely seem to be more praying mantis this year than in the past and also more earwigs. I am hoping that the praying mantis like to eat earwigs and hornworms.

ina

Too early for such violence! YIKES! ;0

Hey, it's been a few days since we've seen the baby....come on...where's that beautiful girl??? ;0

Paula Zumaris

Thanks for the feeder tip. I have never heard of using rice.

jane

Thanks for the tip. I abhor praying manti!

Candace

Great tip, Nicole! I had NO idea about the mantis! You would think the hummingbirds being so fast wouldn't get anywhere near striking distance! Mother Nature can be very strange sometimes!
cheers!

Lindsey

True story...

During or after mating, it is common for a female praying mantis to eat her mate. She usually starts by biting off/eating his head.

I always thought that this was an interesting approach to life. :)

Sinta Renee

I was wondering why the hummingbirds weren't gravitating to my feeder... it must need to be cleaned. Thanks for the heads up on the praying mantis! Yikes! I thought cats would be the potential problem!
I have the same kind of cleaning tip for coffee pots... only using salt.

Denise Downey

Interesting post!
I've seen three praying mantises in the past few weeks, but haven't seen them around or on the hummingbird feeder. My husband can't stand being around them (he says they're creepy) but I just tell him they're good to have around, so please don't kill them! :)
Sinta was talking about cleaning her hummingbird feeder. I clean mine and refill with fresh nectar every 2 days. In hot weather, it doesn't take long for the liquid to begin fermenting or grow a black fungus which can make the birds sick. The nectar I make is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar (no red dye), a recipe I got from my mother after she watched a documentary about a couple who has been feeding hummers for almost 40 years.

Carol

We have lots of hummingbirds visiting the flowers where I live, I like to watch them but I don't have a bird feeder for them. I hear ya about that bug on your doorknob and you screaming if you were to have touched it. A couple days ago, I felt something on my foot while I was in my sewing room cutting fabric. It was a Scorpion! OMG, I quickly got a fly swatter and wacked the heck out of it. He tried to crawl into my basket of Pre-Cuts, I'm saying oh now you aren't doing that you stupid Scorpion.

k

Hi,
I change my fluid every ohter day and clean the feeder and let it dry over night. This stops all the "crap" from growing .

Colleen

Be careful you dont bring in a plant that may have a praying mantis nest in it. I have done that twice and have had teeny tiny praying mantis by the hundred hatch in my classroom at school. Also some are endangered so handle with care.

Kristyne

Cool, yet creepy. My kind of information! ;)

Judy Snider

We have alot of hummer's at my house. I have 15 feeders (the same brand as you) and they get filled everyday. Hundreds of birds. So fun to watch as I'm quilting.

Enjoy

Michele

Wow! Who knew?? Thanks for the info!

Sherry

Thanks for the tip on cleaning the hummingbird feeders. I've been enjoying our hummingbirds all summer but there have been a lot more haning around the last couple of weeks. They are so fun to watch. Yikes, I'm not loving that praying mantis at all.

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