Provide red hummingbird feeders hung about thirty feet apart throughout your yard. Never fill your feeders with anything but a sugar-water mix of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts boiled water. Do not use food coloring or artificial sweeteners of any kind, and never, never use honey which can develop a fungus which can be fatal to hummingbirds. Clean and refill feeders every 3 days. More often if temperatures are above 85 degrees F.

Hang feeders on a pole in a flower bed or on a porch or deck near flowers hummingbirds are attracted to.

You can also tie 18 to 24 inch strips of red ribbon to feeder. The blowing ribbons will make it easier for hummingbirds to see.

Place feeders at various heights. Some hummingbird species like to feed at heights of 12 to 15 feet, while others feed on low growing flowers and prefer feeders placed closer to ground.

Avoid hanging feeders in direct sunlight, which will cause nectar to spoil more quickly.

Once a week feeder must be washed with vinegar and water or a 10% chlorine solution and scrubbed clean.

Create a separate feeder for Bees and wasps. Fill it with a mixture of 3:1 or even a 2:1 ratio of water to sugar. The insects have a very strong preference for rich, high-sugar mixtures and will quickly decide to use feeder with higher sugar content.

To repel ants, apply vinegar or powdered cloves to ant trails. Put adhesive tape applied sticky-side-out to hanging wire. Experts advise that petroleum jelly not be used because greasy substance gets onto birds and make it hard for birds to clean their feathers properly. Use ant traps instead.

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Water those plants needing it most. Newly planted trees, shrubs, and flowers with limited roots systems will most likely suffer first from drought conditions. Give these plants priority if water is scarce. Well-established plants, especially those native to area, are likely to withstand drought conditions with limited damage.

Water in early morning before heat of day. This limits evaporation and supplies plants with needed moisture to make it through hot, sunny day.

Consider using drip or trickle rrigation systems. Many inexpensive, easy to install systems are available that provide small amounts of water to base of individual plants. These systems place water where it is needed most, rather than applying it across whole garden. Check with your local garden center.

Collect water from downspouts when it rains. Roofs intercept significant amounts of rain. Collecting this runoff into a barrel can help limit use of city or well water during dry spells.

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