Plain white granulated sugar is the only sugar you should use for hummingbirds. Mix it with water at a ratio of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, and you’ve made a nectar that closely mimics what hummingbirds drink from flowers. No other sweetener is safe.
The Standard Nectar Recipe
One cup of regular white table sugar dissolved in four cups of water. That’s it. Stir until the sugar fully dissolves, let it cool to room temperature, and fill your feeder. You can make smaller or larger batches as long as you keep the 1:4 ratio. Store any extra in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
You don’t need to boil the water, though warming it makes the sugar dissolve faster. Tap water works well and actually provides trace minerals that hummingbirds benefit from. Avoid distilled water, which strips those minerals out. If your home has a water softener, use bottled spring water or a tap that bypasses the softener, since the added sodium isn’t ideal.
Why Only White Sugar
Refined white sugar is pure sucrose, which is the dominant sugar in the natural flower nectar hummingbirds have evolved to digest. Other sweeteners introduce compounds their tiny bodies can’t handle.
Brown sugar contains too much iron. Hummingbirds are extremely susceptible to iron buildup because their bodies store it efficiently and have no good way to get rid of excess amounts. Even small, repeated doses from a feeder can cause organ damage over time. Raw sugar, turbinado sugar, and “sugar in the raw” products carry the same risk because they retain molasses, which is where the extra iron comes from.
Organic sugar is a common point of confusion. It looks similar to white sugar, but it’s less refined and often retains trace molasses. Many bird experts caution against it for the same iron concerns. If a sugar has any golden or tan color to it, that color signals residual molasses and it shouldn’t go in your feeder.
Sweeteners That Can Kill
Honey is one of the most dangerous things you can put in a hummingbird feeder. When diluted in water, it ferments rapidly and promotes the growth of a fungus that can coat a hummingbird’s tongue. Once infected, the bird can no longer feed and starves to death. Corn syrup poses similar fermentation risks.
Powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) seems like it would dissolve easily, but it contains cornstarch as an anti-caking agent. That starch can promote bacterial growth in the feeder and isn’t something hummingbirds should consume.
Artificial sweeteners are potentially fatal. Xylitol, stevia, and similar zero-calorie sweeteners provide no energy at all, which is catastrophic for a bird that burns calories at one of the highest rates in the animal kingdom. In one documented case, 29 wild sugarbirds died within minutes of drinking from a feeder filled with a xylitol-based nectar solution. Most showed signs of collapse within 15 minutes. The cause was acute low blood sugar: their bodies responded to the sweet taste by releasing energy-processing signals, but no actual calories arrived. Hummingbirds visit feeders specifically for fuel, and a calorie-free sweetener robs them of it.
Skip the Red Dye
You don’t need to color the nectar red. The feeder itself, which is almost always red or has red parts, is enough to attract hummingbirds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is unequivocal on this point: there is no reason to add red dye to sugar water. Wildlife rehabilitators have reported finding orphaned hummingbird nestlings with so much accumulated red dye that it was visible through their skin and feathers. Commercial “instant nectar” products with artificial coloring are unnecessary at best and harmful at worst.
Keeping the Feeder Clean
Getting the sugar right only matters if the feeder stays clean. Sugar water is a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, especially in warm weather. How often you need to clean depends on the temperature outside:
- Hot weather (above 80°F): empty and clean every one to two days
- Mild weather (60s to 70s°F): every three days
- Cool weather (below 60°F): twice a week
If you see any black spots, cloudiness, or film inside the feeder, clean it immediately regardless of schedule. Rinse thoroughly with hot water and use a bottle brush to scrub the interior. Soap is fine as long as you rinse completely. Avoid bleach. If hummingbirds drain the feeder before your next scheduled cleaning, wash it before refilling rather than just topping it off.
Cold Weather Adjustments
In freezing temperatures, some people increase the sugar concentration slightly, using a 1:3 ratio instead of 1:4, to lower the freezing point of the nectar and give birds extra calories when they need them most. Don’t go stronger than 1:3. Nectar that’s too concentrated can dehydrate hummingbirds because their kidneys have to work harder to process it. Bringing the feeder indoors overnight and putting it back out at dawn is another simple way to keep nectar from freezing solid.