I invented my bee-proof, drip-free hummingbird feeder during my 22 year tenure as a zookeeper at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. In 2006, the local bees inundated the feeders in our hummingbird aviary, which unnerved the staff, stung the keepers, and prevented the hummingbirds from feeding. We needed a different hummingbird feeder design that blocked the bees.
My "industrial grade" design is easy to clean and almost indestructible, all while denying bees access. I designed the feeders to withstand heavy use since zoo keepers clean and sterilize the containers each time they replace the food (as often as 2 or 3 times a day).
Each hand-crafted, solid copper feeder includes instructions and two sets of BPA-free, food-grade plastic jars. Simply fill a jar with 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, then place in the copper holder and enjoy! The untreated copper will naturally patina with time but they polish up beautifully. Alternatively, you can easily seal the copper with a coat of clear polyurethane.
