Hummingbirds As Natural Pest Control

I know they use spider webs for nests. Never heard of them eating them. With the exception of black widows, I like having them around. They do their own part in pest control.

Now, if nectar is a pest, they might be a good way to go.

I had never heard of or thought about it before so I did a quick Google search. I found one mention of hummingbirds eating orb-weaving spiders that was from a study that was done back on 1971.

There are many, many references to spiders eating hummingbirds though. Several sites mentioned that hummingbirds will use spider web silk in building their nests and sometimes get caught in the webs themselves.

Just based on search results it would appear that spiders get the better of hummingbirds than the other way around.

Well, we don't have BIG spiders here...just the little ones....or rather ones no bigger than say a quarter. ''

Hummers

Wow, some interesting stuff here!!!

heh, apparently someone just looked at this is a true scientific way.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2917859

It looks likd there are at least 3 types of hummingbirds that regularly eat spiders. You'd have to find out if those are the types in your area.

They eat aphids, I know that much. That's why I could never spray or soap them... all the hummingbirds in the garden.

I don't know about hummingbirds and spiders, but tufted titmice, nuthatches and chickadees find spider egg cases delicious and are willing to go through all sorts of acrobatics to harvest them.

How do I get those birds to frequent my home?

You can attract the birds Noddy mentions by feeding them in the winter months (they don't need your handouts in the summer). If you start to feed birds you need to be persistent, as they will come to depend on the feeding stations. Non-migrating birds tend to nest near feeding areas. Most areas have a store that caters to bird lovers, and you can get specific recommendations for feeding your local birds from them. Larger nurseries usually have a bird food department as well. Make sure you buy feeders that are squirrel proof.

Personally, I consider spiders to be good, natural pest control. I often move them into my garden to keep down populations of insects that do damage.

I don't mind the spiders outside, where they belong. I mind them in my house.

I am not looking to eradicate all spiders. I just don't want one in every corner of my house. *shiver* And so something that controls spider population around the ouside of the house would keep the number that come inside down.

Sometimes an insect population will boom for awhile, you might be experiencing such a time. Try and vacuum up all the spiders in the house and especially their egg sacks. Vacuum twice a day if you have to. Empty the dust bag into a small garbage bag and seal it. I think you will notice a serious decline in a short period of time. The only other solution would be to get a pet bat.

Zoe and Bailey would have lots of fun chasing a bat around the house.

You need to plant flowers that they like in the summer and have bird feeders out for them in the winter.

Plants like penstemons, carnations, bee balm, lilies, etc. There are whole sites on this.

We have about 5 or 6 every year. The babies are so cute.

We bought several hummingbird feeders - you can get the type that attach to the outside of your window so you can watch them. Or hang them from the eaves or from trees. They are territorial and will fight (supposedly) when trying to feed at the same feeder so you're supposed to place your feeders at least 12 ft apart. You don't need to colour the syrup red, either, but it helps to buy bright feeders. And clean the feeders and replace the syrup weekly.

4 water to 1 c. sugar, if I remember correctly, is the syrup ratio.