g-bus Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I'm making a hummingbird feeder for Mom's birthday and am on a pretty tight schedule. It will be suspended from their deck railing, so ants aren't too much of an issue, but they have gotten to their other feeders on occasion. My main concern is just the lid blowing off in a strong wind. I threw the feeder with the intention of putting a rubber O-ring around the collar, but after trying to fit the lids I made (I threw 3 to see which would fit best) I'm not sure any of them will sit low enough to seal over the O-ring. The lids I've made seem to fit pretty darn snug as-is. Guess I'll see after it's fired. As an alternative I was thinking about maybe something like wax to help form a temporary seal. Any thoughts or other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Have you seen these at your local pottery supply store? http://www.axner.com/hummingbird-feeder-tips-and-bottle-pourers.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Wax actually makes a rather difficult to remove seal. I usually use wax to seal funeral urns. Plasti-dip is a product that electricians use to re-coat the handles on their pliers when that rubbery coating comes off, and a number of other purposes. Most hardware stores or automotive supply places have it here. You could maybe just brush some of that on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 I have ants in my feeders crawling on the wire support. Supposedly a Bay leaf on the wire will repel ants. Otherwise you could design a water barrier that the ants can't cross. For the strong wind maybe make a sturdier support system. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-bus Posted July 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Plasti-dip! Genius! Love that stuff. I considered a locking lid, but that was in hindsight. Go figure. I'll tell Mama about the bay leaf thing though. Might help her with her other feeders. I've heard cinnamon makes a good barrier too, however when trying it it basically just made my windowsills look dirty. Ants are smarter than we give them credit for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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