How to Keep Ants off a Bird Feeder FROM: www.ehow.com Anything sweet - such as nectar for hummingbirds - attracts ants. Carefully applied nontoxic insect repellents or barriers can keep them at bay. Steps: 1. Fill feeder with nectar and hang as usual. 2. Spray or apply a nontoxic insect repellent on hanging wire of feeder and at the base where the wire comes into the feeder. 3. Spray or coat tree or eave the feeder is hanging from. Tips: Other substances that discourage ants are petroleum jelly, applied as suggested above; vinegar or powdered cloves applied to ant trails; and adhesive tape applied sticky-side-out to the hanging wire. Moving the feeder to another location may discourage ants - at least temporarily. WARNINGS: Never use insecticide near feeders where it might be ingested by birds. Avoid applying insect repellent directly into or around feeder ports. Tips from eHow Users: Use a Moat by Shabana M. The only thing I've found that works is the type of hummingbird feeder that has a moat around the hanging stem that you fill with water. Ants won't crawl over the water. Don't put other stuff in, because some birds come to drink the water in the moat. Keeping ants off your hummingbird feeder by Mandy B. Put Vaseline on any places the ants could get to your hummingbird feeder (like on the bottom of the pole or wire you have your feeder hanging on). They will not pass it.

I spread Vasoline in about a two inch band, or wider, around the wire of a hummingbird feeder outside my kitchen window. You have to goop it on at least 1/8 inch thick. It may work for your type of bird feeder too. There is a sticky product sold in garden shops that stops ants from getting into fruit trees (and bird feeders too I suppose). P.S. You might try Vick's VapoRub - it may work better for the ants because of the strong camphor smell. Neither product should harm your birds. It may take a few applications of any product to stop them from coming.