I started off boiling in 04 and 05, but have not boiled my water to make hummingbird food the last 3 years? I'd heard that boiling wasn't necessary, but have recently been hearing that boiling does help kill microbes and remove chlorine.

So...I'd like to get an idea of how many of you experienced hummingbird magnets boil your solution...and of course those who do not....thanks very much!!

Ron,

I am a "Boil NOT". I measure the sugar into the container, fill the container with HOT tap water, shake it vigourously and let it disolve for a few minutes. Than into the fridge to cool off. I usually make about a quart size at this time of year until the weather heats up and I have to change nectar more often.

Where did you hear about the microbs? I thought the chlorine would kill those....

Pam NJ 6B

Ron, I nuke 1 cup of water in a glass measure cup, mix the sugar in the picture, and then add cold water from tap. Since the measuring cup only had water in it, dry it out and put back in cupboard

birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

I use Brita-filtered water, but do not boil. In any case, once the nectar goes out, it's going to pick up microbes from the air or when a hummer dips in it's beak, so it's better just to change it often.

Priya
Zone 7, Maryland

Ron
I still boil most of the time. It may not be a rolling boil but just starting to boil and I do it mainly to get the sugar dissolved right away and to help dissipate the chlorine and other chemicals in the city water.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

I know there is a link to an article somewhere here on the forum about using hot tap water. Or should I say against using hot tap water. I believe it is an article from a paper that Sheri Williamson wrote a while back. I guess there are carcinogens in hot water not found in cold water. So I don't use hot tap water.

If anyone is familar with the article feel free to comment or post the link to the the thread where we talked about that. It was probably 2 or 3 yrs. ago.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

We have filtered water from our frig door, so I put half the water and the sugar in a microwaveable bowl, zap it for a few minutes just until it starts to boil so the sugar will disolve, then add the other half of the water, cold from the frig door, so I won't have to wait a long time for it to cool down before I fill my feeders.
Honestly though, I think it's more important to change the nectar often and doesn't matter as much whether you boil it first.

Christie
Missouri
zone 6

I put 4 cups of water in the microwave for 5 min., not sure if it boils or not but it is very hot to disolve the sugar.

Linda
ne AL
zone 7b

I am a boil not person if Im wrong then Im wrong. I think more important to maintain clean feeders and change often. I clean with hot water and brushes and if mold starts use a 1-10 solutions bleach to water. Once a hummer sticks his beak into the feeder it is already starting to be contaminated.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I'm not a boil person. I used to zap water in a microwave but it was very time and energy consuming at the volume I use.

Now I fill feeders every morning then prepare the following day's batch with hot tap water. It sits inside for 24 hours to cool and gas off any chlorine (which I don't think hurts them anyway). My hummers drink water from my stream which would put me in the hospital in a heartbeat, so I don't think bacteria in my tap water would hurt their systems.

FYI: If you boil to get rid of chlorine, it is the boiling air that gasses it off and not the heat. Most municipal water districts are now using chloramine to disinfect which is more stable in water and cannot be removed by boiling or letting the water stand overnight. You would need a carbon filter or a chemical treatment to neutralize it.

**********
Farmer Steve
Deluz, CA usda zone 10a

I don't boil nor do I measure with scientific accuracy. Usually I make small quantities such as 1 or 2 cups. The 1 part sugar goes in first. Then, I add water to a little over the 1 or 2 cup level [3 parts]. I nuke 2 minutes in the microwave to help dissolve the sugar. Then, I stir and cool.

Any benefit of killing bacteria and mold is minimal and unnecessary, if feeders are kept clean. Our goal should be to give them a clean solution. It doesn't have to be sterile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

I use bottled water and do not boil that. We all have well water around here and neighbors say it has a high Arsenic levels. If I don't drink it, my hummers arent' going to either....

I don't boil, but I do use the water that goes through and extra filter system which is what we drink as well.

Lisa

Lake Country
Southern Wisconsin
USDA Zone 5b
heat zone 4/5
sunset zone 41
http://thehummingbirdgarden.blogspot.com/

I don't boil either. The main reason is I have "visitors" every night who manage to drain the feeders so the solution is put in fresh every day. I have tried bringing in the feeders to avoid the problem, but I don't get up very early so am afraid the hummingbirds will go somewhere else if the feeders aren't up by dawn. I had thought my "visitors" were bats but lately the feeders have been on the ground and in one case, broken, so I'm not sure what is getting to them. Any suggestions?

Ron, I don't boil either. I do keep the feeders clean and the sugar water fresh.

Carla, I think you might have raccoons visiting your yard at night.

Linda313
OKC, OK
zone 7b

I don´t boil it but I do heat the water to close to boiling because it seems to make the sugar dissolve faster though I have critics who say I´m just too lazy to stir it more. I dissolve ten cups of sugar at a time to fill two five litre water jugs. The water comes straight off the mountain so no chlorine. I filter it with an ozone filter for drinking.

I always have since I thought you were supposed to. I probably won't now. Especially during the week. Saw that ugly red crap today. It makes me want to go knock on the door & say "What are you thinking"!!

Joni
Elwood, Il
Zone 5

Yes I boil the water and add the sugar. I may be alone on this, but that is just fine with me. I have peace of mind about microbes and anything else that is in the water that shouldn't be is boiled out. The extra minute or two isn't setting me back on my daily schedule on the days when I clean and refill the feeders anyway...

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Looks like I'm in the boiling minority. I had always learned from childhood that drinking and cooking with hot water out of the tap was not a good idea, so I prefer to start with cold water and boil it. The cold water comes through the charcoal filter which is attached to our faucet--Brita? Pur? I forget which brand. If nothing else, the hot temperature of the boiling water certainly helps in dissolving the sugar. As for germs, the tap water ought to already be pretty clean and relatively germ free, so not sure the boiling is necessary, but why not?

I'm not a water chemist, but if I had to guess, I'd say that hot water from the tap may be more likely to contain dangerous metals and perhaps other harmful substances that can more easily dissolve in hot water than in cold. That's my best guess about why my parents said not to cook with hot water or drink it.

Other than maybe being a slight waste of energy, boiling the water does no harm, so why not?

Like everyone else, I clean my feeders frequently, and that's the main thing.

I'm another who doesn't boil the water. I run the hot water out of the tap until it reaches maximum heat. I fill a 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup and add 1/4 cup granulated sugar - generic store brand. I stir it up, let it sit a minute or two and restir. By that time the sugar is well dissolved and cooled down enough to put in the feeder. Since I use HummZinger mini feeders, it cools rapidly once outside.

I've fed hummers for many years. I use to boil but gave that up. The hummingbirds don't seem to mind the nectar made with hot tap water. I'm now getting three different females and still seeing males but I'm not sure if it is the same one or two different ones.

Charlotte Passinger-Ehrhart
Middletown, PA
South Central PA
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6

...thanks for the input, everyone.

Carla...I would second the vote for a coon being the culprit. I came home twice last summer to find my extra-large discontinued Perky Pet feeder on the ground with the flowers taken off. After consulting with the wife and determining that my little angels were not at fault...I saw the writing on the wall. Of course, the next morning there was a raccoon under the feeder in the Hav-A-Hart trap that I'd set. I relocated him a couple of miles down the road.

Wow, this is a very interesting thread since making nectar is such a big part of my hummingbird routine.

When I first became interested in attracting hummers a couple years ago, I researched online some of the renowned hummingbird sites like Cornell Ornithology Lab and many others. Every source that I checked said to boil the water so that's what I've been doing. But if it's not any safer for the hummers, then I will probably start using another method. I just wonder why so many of the top sources in hummingbird research say to boil if it doesn't matter.

I guess I could try to run an experiment this summer if I get enough hummers to test whether they prefer boiled or non-boiled water. Wonder if they can taste the difference (silly thought).

Allise
SE Michigan

I boiled water when I first started feeding the hummingbirds but woke up on day and thought "what a waste of time". I now use water right from the tap that is hot enough to melt the sugar. Since we use a deep well for water I don't have to worry and all the stuff a city might pour into the water mains. I might even put water in the microwave to heat. Depends on my mood.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

I've done a little reading and I am more convinced than ever that hot water is a bad idea. More than one reputable looking site has stressed that hot water from the tap is not for drinking. I guess my old dad knew something (he was a chemist) but I never thought to ask him why.

The Ohio state "Food Agricultural and Biological Engineering" site says that hot water heaters can be a source of hydrogen sulfide in water, and can cause a rotten egg smell and taste. Apparently, it has something to do with the hot water reacting with a magnesium rod in the hot water heater. It also mentions that some keep their water heaters below 140 degrees for safety reasons, and this can sometimes result in high bacterial counts. I also found an official municipal water department site that urged its customers to use only cold tap water for drinking. The US Environmental Protection Agency urges that you drink only cold water from the tap because "hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead."

I'm sure this can vary a lot depending on your own local water source and your water heater, the pipes in your house, etc. It may not personally apply to your water, but standard practice is to avoid hot water for drinking. I never got the impression that if you drink hot water from the tap you're likely to keel over dead. It's more a long term bad idea, at least for some water systems in particular homes.

That does it for me. If the EPA tells me to use only cold water for drinking and cooking, I'm only going to use it for my hummingbirds. Boiling the cold water helps the sugar dissolve, so I'm going to stick with what I've been doing. I remain a die hard "boiler."

I am a no-boiler.

I think there's something to be said in HOW you boil water. For instance, it seems to me that if you use aluminum pots to boil your water, you may actually be increasing the possible harmful chemicals in your sugar water. I have seen research that links aluminum cooking products with increased likelihood of Alzheimer's in humas, so it probably can't be good for birds either.

That being said, if you're a boiler or a non-boiler, keeping the nectar fresh and feeder cleaned is by far the most important thing we can do.

Zone 7B
North Carolina Piedmont

I've never boiled. We have really good well water. I especially would never nuke my water in a microwave, as I don't have microwave safe containers. (Using non microwave specific containers releases carcinogens into the water.)

I start with cold water, add the sugar, and mix well. It doesn't take that long, and I don't mind using a little elbow grease, lol. I usually make 12-16 cups at a time to fill all these feeders.

I take my feeders down and scrub them with a bleach solution so often that boiling wouldn't really help in my case. (The heat here makes it a must. It's already in the 90s.)

Maryjane
W Ga
Zone 8a

I'm a boiler...or more accurately, a nuker. Whether there's any value in it or not, I like to measure out cold tap water (our water supply is rated high quality) in a large Pyrex mixing bowl the night before...hoping to evaporate a few chemicals if possible. The next morning I nuke the water 5 or 6 minutes, then pour in the sugar while I'm stirring the water. After it's cooled, I fill the clean feeders and hang them.

While we're on the "what's good for our hummers" topic, I notice some of you speak of using a bleach solution in cleaning the feeders. Haven't we had threads where we were cautioned that bleach tends not to rinse away completely...that we're leaving traces of it in the feeders? I would like to be bleaching, but I believe I quit doing some on the recommendations of others here on the forum. Where do we stand with that?

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

The only time I bleach is when I see some mold forming and I cannot clean the particular area by hand. 98% of the time its hot water and brushes. When I do bleach I rinse as well as I can if there is a residue left it is better than the mold.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I give up.

God please help me to never reply to another post about how I feed the hummingbirds.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

Dianne, just so you know, what I posted was not in direct response to what you wrote. Our posts crossed because I was in and out of the room when I was writing that. Like I said, I think it has a lot to do with the pipes in your house, your hot water heater, and the quality of your water. It's just that hot tap water, long term, can have the potential for problems, so I thought I should mention what I had learned. All of us will do what we think is best, based on the best information we can find, and our own particular circumstances. As someone else said, keeping it fresh and clean is far and away the most important thing. I hope my comments weren't perceived as some sort of attack. They weren't.

As for bleach, I had already decided not to get into that. I've worn myself out on the tap water issue.

I appreciate all the input people share here, whether personal opinions or passing along what "experts" have claimed. In this thread, I haven't perceived that anyone is ridiculing others or saying that we MUST do something in a specific way. As mentioned, getting the varied input will help us form an educated decision on how we, individually, will choose to do it. Thanks everyone.

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Well I may opt for heating the water in a glass container in the microwave instead of heating the water on the stove. I did give it a try on Wednesday when I changed out the feeders. It worked well.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

I've always boiled my water on the stove. For two main reasons.
1) It may extend the shelf life of the solution in the refrigerator, and
2) It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

I originally boiled for 2 minutes to "sterilize" the solution but now just bring it to a boil (more or less) to dissolve the sugar. I boil up to 4 cups of water on the stove, typically while doing something else. I stir in the sugar in 3-4 pours and then place the pot in the sink with enough cold water to match the level of sugar water. I then do something else while it cools. I try to make the sugar water at my leisure so I'm not pressed for time, waiting for it to cool. I was recently introduced to the idea of making it double strength and then diluting with an equal amount of cold water to quickly cool it down. I may do that in August when they return.

I do, on occsion make too much solution as things slow down, and wind up keeping the excess longer than I normally would during the busy season. Working in the bottled drink industry, I have some insight and concern for shelf life of a product.

It's also been said that the food we offer is not likely to be the hummer's main source of food, especially if you're feeding migrants, so the minor "pollutants" may be a non-issue. I say that trying to be practical while acknowledging that all of us want to do what's best for the hummers.

The continued visits by the hummingbirds, especially the Rufous who has spent the past 6 winters in my yard, makes me believe that I'm doing something right and not endangering them with my choices in how I prepare their solution.

Steve Backes
Valrico, FL (east of Tampa)
http://mysite.verizon.net/resu64md/yardhummers/
http://floridahummingbirds.net/

WOW! So many of you don't boil! That's very informative for me. I've always boiled, only because my well water is so hard, and I was also worried about microbes. I figured with the bees and bats dying due to viruses, I wouldn't take a chance with my little HB's. But it's good to know. I also take the feeders down 2x weekly and clean thoroughly with diluted cleaning solution.

My thoughts (kind of a mix of opinions shared by many):

1. Hot water straight from the tap is probably not the best idea, if only because of the concerns expressed about lead in pipes, corrosion in water heaters, etc. That said, if your house was built in the last 15 or 20 years, most likely there are no lead pipes between your water heater and your faucet. Those of us with old places have more to worry about on that score.

2. Heating the water (in some form, whether at the tap, on the stove, or in the microwave) does help the sugar dissolve faster.

3. Theoretically, boiling the water may kill any microbes in the water, so the solution is initially fairly pure, if not sterile (certainly adding the sugar immediately kills the notion of it being sterile). However, as soon as the first bird or bug tastes it, new contaminants are being introduced. So the purity of the solution isn't likely to last long.

4. Heating the water in any form might cause/increase the leaching of certain materials into the solution. Boiling in aluminum pots was mentioned as one possibility. Microwaving in a non-microwave-approved container was another. (Personally, I think a large Pyrex measuring cup, the 4-cup model, is about as safe as you can get for the microwave, but that's just my opinion).

5. Even if you boiled the original solution, and the sugar was somehow absolutely free of any contaminants, and the microwave container didn't introduce anything harmful... while the solution cools, it's likely to get something in it from the air. Face it, none of us have kitchens that could pass as "clean rooms" in a microprocessor fabrication plant.

6. As noted, except in extreme circumstances, very few birds get all, or even most, of their diet from one feeder or a group of feeders in one yard. I suspect that with the possible exceptions of the lead in water pipes and (maybe) the aluminum pots issues, most of our options here are pretty safe for the hummingbirds. I don't think there's anything wrong with boiling, but I also don't think it's particularly necessary. As for what "experts" say... I'd want to see whatever data they have, and form an opinion, taking into account who's doing the research, rather than accept what a web page, even at a place like Cornell, quotes "experts" as saying.

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

I do not boil. But for those using hot tap water, let me enlighten you a bit.

If you don't have an "on-demand" aka tankless water heater, you should not use hot water out of your tap. If you ever saw what accumulates in a tank type water heater, you'd never even want to wash your hands with it LOL. Now I do still wash my hands and obviously shower, but I will not consume hot tap water. If you do have a tankless water heater, that should be fine.

We have an under-the-sink water filter that removes much of the undesirables, and then I warm the water just enough to melt the sugar.

Now, I'm not a nectar snob, I just wanted to state that I've seen what collects in those tank-type water heaters

Rick