Covered Hummingbird Feeder Moat

thingiverse

This hummingbird feeder moat arrives in three printed pieces - the moat bowl, a spacer, and an umbrella on top. Typically, moats are a good idea for hummingbird feeders, but you can either fill them with water daily due to evaporation or use oil in them. Mineral oil works exceptionally well, but if left uncovered, a good rain will create a mess of your feeders and the surrounding area where they're placed. My solution was to craft a thick-walled moat with a sturdy center stem to accommodate an 8-gauge copper wire hook (available at Home Depot or Lowe's). Bend a U shape in one end of the wire and thread it through the base of the moat. Then, bend a small dogleg in the wire to keep the moat positioned higher on the wire than the bottom if desired. Once seated, place the 5mm spacer atop the moat followed by the umbrella. Finally, bend a U shape in the other end of the copper wire at least three inches above the umbrella to allow for filling and emptying of the moat. As a result, ants are unable to infiltrate, and rain can't enter the moat to ruin your oil bath. You can use them to suspend individual feeders or hang plant rods with your feeders from them. My ants congregated on top of the umbrellas for a couple of hours before giving up. No more ants here.