How do you keep bees out of hummingbird feeders?

[Tom Reichner]

How do you keep bees out of hummingbird feeders?

We have two feeders. When we first set them up a couple months ago, the hummers were on them right away, and we greatly enjoyed their presence. Now that the yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps have found these feeders they come in droves, and there is never a moment when there are not a half dozen or more at each feeder. The hummers still come in to the feeders, but just hover a few inches from the feeder, look at all the bees, then buzz off, without feeding. They come much less frequently, too. So instead of having several hummingbirds consistently feeding from the feeders throughout the day, we only have them coming in from time to time, check out the bees for a second or two, and wing away in a hurry.
What do you do to keep the bees away from the feeders?

[lauderdalems]

Does your feeder have yellow or red/yellow flowers on them. I read somewhere that the yellow color is what attracts the bees. Also, you might hang it in a different place; bees are fixed on locations more
tightly than are hummingbirds. Sometimes just washing off the outside
of the feeder will deter bees.

[wickerprints]

Wikipedia recommends setting up a second feeder with a higher sugar concentration (1 sugar : 3 water), which insects will prefer, but will not hurt the hummingbirds should they drink.

Another alternative is to use a feeder that has openings that insects cannot reach past, but hummingbirds can.

[prrs4me]

I hope someone has an answer to this. The feeders have bee guards on them but it doesn't seem to help. We have bees too but not enough to keep the hummers away. I also know that the hummers are migrating at this time of the year so the pattern is different.