Keeping ants away from hummingbird feeders can be a real problem. A few years a new device showed up in the stores that the manufacture promised would solve this often perplexing problem. The device is called an AntGuard®.

The AntGuard® is placed between the structure holding up a hummingbird feeder and the feeder itself. The gadget is nothing more than a red plastic bell-shaped shell containing a disk impregnated with an ant repellent. Perky-Pet, the makers of the AntGuard®, claim that, if properly used, the device does not pose a threat to ants, birds or other wildlife.

I had read that a number of folks had tried the device and found that it did indeed live up to the manufacturer’s claims. I must admit I was skeptical that the contraption really did work.

A couple of years ago I purchased two of the devices to see if they could solve the problem of tiny ants getting into my feeders.

Much to my surprise the AntGuards® actually kept the pesky ants out of the nectar in my hummingbird feeders.

Perky-Pet advises the consumer that the gadget will work for a season, however, at the end of the hummingbird season I placed the AntGuards® in a sealed plastic bag. The next spring I took them out of the bag and used them for a second time. Remarkably, they worked just as well as they did the first year.

If you have been having a problem with ants and don’t want to deal with refilling ant moats or applying petroleum jelly or grease on the wire supporting your feeder, you might want to give an AntGuard® a try.