The feeders I bought from Ace hardware have bee guards. I never had a bee problem.

I have tried those in the past, but the hummers avoided them for some reason. May have to give them another try and see what happens. Thanks!

Haven't had the problem, donna, but I'd be desperate if I did have it. Just some ideas for you to think about

What about putting a pan or two of sugar water a few feet away from the feeders for the bees, or in another place in the yard?

I also spray all around the feeders with windex whenever I want to keep insects away. Spray the post and feeders. Works on ants, but doesn't seem to bother the hummers. If it doesn't work, no loss.

Also, if you're desperate enough move those feeders a few feet away or to a different part of the yard and let the bees have them, and put new ones up for the hummers, maybe a different type?

Maybe you could put up a hummer feeder somewhere else?

Agastache is a bee magnet this time of year. Mine are covered with bees of all sizes, maybe ten different kinds of bees at once. If you don't have any, try planting a couple of these in another part of the yard. Unfortunately this will have to wait til next year.

I hope you manage to solve this problem. It must be very upsetting. Please let us know how this all works out.

A hummer expert from AL said there was no easy solution, but suggested I take down all feeders for two or three days to see if the bees moved on.

Truthfully, I have not done that

Why not try it and see what happens?

Also, give the bees some fresh water in a shallow pan with a stone slanting into the water so they can get water. They might be desperate for water as much as sugars.

OK folks, you are right! Will take down all feeders early tomorrow morning for a few days and see what happens. Just hope my little hummers will return!

Donna, I may be the dissenting opinion. You have 10 feeders up, that means you have lots of hummers. They're trying to bulk up for migration. Is there anyone close to you who also feeds the hummers? If not, they'll probably hang around where the feeders were for a while, wasting precious energy.

You have no easy choice, but IMO, the bees may have to be sacrificed.

"Also, give the bees some fresh water in a shallow pan with a stone slanting into the water so they can get water. They might be desperate for water as much as sugars. "

I agree with this statement. My birdbaths are covered with bees this year. They have buzzed the hummer feeders, but they really seem to want the clean water more than the sugar water. I would try this before taking down the feeders.

I've been inundated with honey bees for the last few weeks. I saw a bunch of new hives at a nearby university ag field, and thought they may have put in too many for the crops. But the hives are gone and I still have the bees.

I have 7 of this type feeder throughout the yard, and they all look like this or worse:

I had this happen one year, but it only lasted for a few days. I put out a shallow pan of sugar water with some stones near the feeder. The bees visited the pan for a day, then moved on. I have so much blooming right now that the majority of the bees are ignoring the feeders, but I've noticed quite a few yellowjackets visiting, and I hate those things. Bad enough I have hummers fighting for rights, but I've added the yellowjackets and downy woodpeckers to the mix. Been a strange year for sure...

Donna, I hope you'll let us know what, if anything, worked!