Quick answer: Keep bees and wasps off a hummingbird feeder by using a bee guard over the feeding ports (their tongues are too short to reach past one), choosing a saucer-style feeder that holds nectar below the ports, avoiding yellow feeder accents, hanging the feeder in partial shade away from flower gardens, and keeping it clean and leak-free. Never use pesticides, insecticide sprays, or sticky substances like petroleum jelly — they can harm hummingbirds directly, and bees are valuable pollinators worth protecting too.

1. Add a Bee Guard

A bee guard is a small plastic or mesh insert that fits over or into a feeder's feeding port, narrowing the opening. Dr. Robyn Underwood, Penn State's Extension Educator of Apiculture, has noted that a bee's tongue is only about a quarter-inch long — far shorter than a hummingbird's bill and tongue — so keeping the nectar just out of that reach blocks bees and wasps without affecting the birds at all. Guards are inexpensive and widely available separately if your feeder doesn't already have them built in. Pop's Hummguard tips are bee guards that fit Pop's AspenPerch Feeder. 

2. Choose a Saucer-Style Feeder

Feeders come in two broad designs: bottle-style, where nectar sits above the feeding ports and drains down, and saucer-style, where nectar sits in a shallow basin below the ports. A saucer design works against bees the same way it works against ants — the nectar sits low, out of easy reach, rather than pooling near the ports themselves. It's one of the few fixes that helps with every insect at once.

3. Skip the Yellow

Yellow is a strong visual attractant for bees and wasps — noticeably more than it is for hummingbirds, which are drawn more to red. If your feeder has yellow flower-shaped ports or accents, swapping them for a different color (or choosing a feeder without yellow components in the first place) measurably cuts down on bee and wasp visits.

4. Hang It in Shade, Away From Flower Gardens

Bees and wasps forage more actively in full sun, so a feeder in partial shade sees less insect traffic — and stays cooler, which also slows nectar fermentation. It helps to keep the feeder away from your flower garden too, if bees are a persistent problem: flowers and feeder together concentrate pollinator traffic right where you're trying to watch hummingbirds instead. 

5. Keep It Clean and Leak-Free

Sticky, spilled nectar on the outside of a feeder is one of the biggest insect attractants there is, for bees and wasps as much as ants. Check for leaks regularly, wipe away drips immediately, and stick to a consistent cleaning schedule. A dry, residue-free feeder is simply less interesting to insects than one with sugar water crusted around the ports. For full cleaning tips, see How to Clean a Hummigbird Feeder (and Why It Matters).

6. Don't Weaken the Nectar — It's Already Working in Your Favor

Standard hummingbird nectar is 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water. That ratio is already less concentrated than what bees and wasps prefer, which is one more reason to stick to it rather than mixing it stronger. There's no need to dilute further specifically for insects — doing so just shortchanges the hummingbirds' calories without much added benefit. If you're not sure how to make the correct ratio, see The Correct Hummingbird Nectar Ratio (And How to Measure It for Any Batch Size) or make it even easier and use our Nectar Mixing & Change Calculator.

If bees or wasps are still persistent, some birders set up a separate "decoy" station — a shallow dish of diluted sugar water positioned well away from the hummingbird feeder. Bees and wasps tend to stick with an established food source rather than search out a new one, so a more convenient alternative can pull them away over time.

What to Avoid Entirely

Pesticides, insecticide sprays, and sticky substances like petroleum jelly or cooking oil should never be used on or near a hummingbird feeder. These can coat a hummingbird's feathers or bill, impairing flight or feeding, and pesticide drift can harm hummingbirds directly. They're also harmful to bees, which — annoying as they are at a feeder — are essential pollinators in their own right. Every method above works without touching a single drop of anything toxic near the feeder.

Key Takeaways

• A bee guard and a saucer-style feeder stop bees and wasps before they reach the nectar — the two most reliable fixes on this list.
• Avoiding yellow accents and hanging the feeder in partial shade both cut down on insect traffic.
• Standard 1:4 sugar-to-water nectar is already less appealing to bees than a stronger mix — no need to dilute further.
• A clean, leak-free feeder away from flower gardens sees far less bee and wasp activity.
• Skip pesticides, oil, and petroleum jelly — they can harm hummingbirds, and bees are worth protecting too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do bee guards actually work?

Yes. A bee's tongue is only about a quarter-inch long, far shorter than a hummingbird's bill, so a guard that adds even a small amount of distance to the nectar blocks bees without affecting the birds.

Why do bees and wasps like yellow feeders?

Yellow is a strong visual attractant for bees and wasps, more so than it is for hummingbirds. Feeders without yellow accents, or with guards replacing yellow parts, tend to see less insect activity.

Should I make hummingbird nectar weaker to keep bees away?

No need — standard nectar (1 part sugar to 4 parts water) is already less concentrated than bees prefer. Diluting it further mainly shortchanges the hummingbirds.

Does feeder placement affect bees and wasps?

Yes. They forage more in full sun, so partial shade cuts down on visits. Keeping the feeder away from a flower garden helps too, since it avoids concentrating pollinator traffic in one spot.

Can I use pesticides to keep bees away from a hummingbird feeder?

No. Pesticides can harm hummingbirds directly, and bees are important pollinators — the goal is to redirect them, not harm them.

What about ants — do the same fixes work?

Some overlap (a saucer feeder and a clean, leak-free feeder help with both), but ants need their own approach — see our full guide to keeping ants out of a hummingbird feeder.

Summary

Keeping bees and wasps off a hummingbird feeder comes down to the same basic idea as keeping ants out: put the nectar out of reach and remove what draws them in. A bee guard and a saucer-style feeder handle the reach problem; avoiding yellow, choosing shade, and keeping the feeder clean handle the rest. No pesticides required, and no need to weaken the nectar your hummingbirds actually want. AspenPerch® was built with exactly this in mind: a leak-proof saucer design, plus optional HummGuard™ tips that add bee guards and a built-in ant moat to any feeder.

Ready to keep your feeder hummingbird-only? Shop the AspenPerch® Hummingbird Feeder or add HummGuard™ Nectar Tips to your current feeder.