How to Make Hummingbird Nectar

The hummingbird nectar that you mix in your kitchen mimics what is found in the flowers in your garden. The sugar in natural plant nectar is sucrose which is exactly the same as you find in plain white table sugar. Although plants also produce glucose and fructose (other types of sugars), sucrose is the dominate nectar. The sweetness of the nectar found in flowers is essentially the same as a 1:4 ratio of plain white sugar to water.

Only plain white table sugar like "domino sugar" is acceptable when mixing hummingbird nectar in your kitchen. No other sugars or additives are acceptable. This means stay away from honey, brown sugar, sugar in the raw, powdered sugar, raw sugar, agave, or artificial sweeteners. Also please refrain from adding red dyes in your nectar. These dyes are not to be beneficial to humans so don't add them to your hummingbird mix.

#1 Way to Make Hummingbird Nectar

Shake the Nectar Solution

The fastest, easiest, and cleanest method to make hummingbird nectar is to simply shake it. Sugar is water soluble which means if you pour water on it will dissolve. Our Sugar Shaker above has a line on the bottom for your table sugar and a line on the top for room temperature water like tap water.

Advantages: 

  • Save Time - Fast, Nectar in Under 1 Minute.
  • Save Money - Nectar will cost less than $0.60/Quart.
  • Safe & Effective - Nectar ratio is a perfect 1:4 sugar to water mix.
  • Easy - No thinking involved just use the lines drawn on the container.
  • Clean - Leak tight container, easy to pour into the smallest hummingbird feeder.

Disadvantage:

  • Initial cost of the product, but it can be used for years.

#2 Way to Make Hummingbird Nectar

Boiling the Nectar Mix

Advantages:

  • Tried, true, and tested - Your mother, grandmother, and great grandmother made nectar this way. We are not sure if table sugar in the past was not pure so it needed to be boiled, or wouldn't dissolve, but modern sugar is simply water soluble.
  • Sterile - If there happened to be bacteria in your water or sugar then boiling will kill that bacteria. NOTE: As soon as the first bee, ant, or hummingbird touches the feeder the bacteria will begin again.

Disadvantages:

  • Time - From boiling the water to letting it cool down to room temperature using this process takes about 1 hour. This is probably why people "give up" feeding the hummingbirds, since it becomes a chore.
  • Cleanliness - Stirring hot, bubbling sugar water is a recipe for making a sticky mess
  • Pouring - Transferring the nectar from the pot into a small hummingbird feeder is not always easy.
  • Ratio Mix - Having to look up the recipe or remembering the 1:4 sugar to water mix can be a problem.

#3 Premixed Hummingbird Nectar

Just pour it into the feeder

Premixed hummingbird nectar solutions like Katee found in every store imaginable are certainly easy, and fast, but... they are expensive compared to shaking or boiling the solution.

Advantages: 

  • Fast - Just pour the premix solution into the hummingbird feeder.
  • Clean - No boiling or stirring needed, less chance of making a mess.
  • Long Lasting - Most of these premix solutions have a preservative in them to keep the nectar fresh in the summer heat. Preservatives like Nectar Defender can be added to either the boiling or shaking method. 1 tablespoon of Nectar Defender per quart of nectar.

Disadvantages:

  • Cost - $5 to $10/Quart vs well under $1 for the shaking or boiling method.
  • Convenience - Although once the product is actually in your home it is convenient to use, going out to get it, or remembering to order it for delivery can become frustrating. Especially when you have white table sugar collecting dust in your pantry.