Bacon Grease and Bird Feeder
 

Does anyone know if it's o.k. to line an Oriole Bird Feeder with bacon grease?

A new style feeder I made has an open bottom and am finding this new one has turned out to be an ant haven. :frustrated: (picture below....)

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I was thinking of placing a jar lid filled with bacon grease inside the bottom of the feeder sitting on the post. I was also going to cover the underside of the plastic container that the Orioles eat out of so if the ants try to climb up and in, they would hopefully slip back down onto the post. :shrug:

There shouldn't be any bacon grease exposure to the orioles but if the ants bring it into the jelly, will this harm them? :shrug:

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="Red"]Note to self....make another feeder like the old ones. :thumbs up[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Bacon grease might just attract more ants--grease ants this time. :o I can't get a feel for how big your feeder is... Is the plastic jelly container almost as big as the inside of the feeder? If it is, I'd put a small amount of water in the bottom of the old jelly holder, then put a smaller dish (holding jelly) inside the larger container. The water will act as a moat to keep the ants off the sweets as long as the smaller container doesn't touch the edges of the larger. You don't even need enough water to float the smaller container--as long as water laps up around the bottom on all sides, it'll keep the ants out. Just make sure the water doesn't evaporate during the day...

I use bacon grease to make suet, takes a lot of seed!!!

O.K....I think I know where you're going with this Hazel! :lightbulb: Can you see the smoke over there!? :laughing:

The jelly container is 3.5" x 3.5". I have a couple of those ceramic melter things that you use for melting butter & dippin lobster. If I put the ceramic dish inside of the plastic container that's filled with water, it would be weighted down enough and wouldn't float off to the sides. Now I have to find the butter melters and experiment. :highfive:

I think I'm going to make another batch of the old feeders like I made last year, with the base. I didn't have any ant problems with those ones. :frustrated:

Can you just add a bottom piece to this feeder?

Ants have a nasty habit of remembering where something is--it's those dang trails they put down. A bottom might deter them from finding it as easily, but they'd just end up going over the sides and down at this point. :frustrated:

Someone told me about rubbing chalk around the feeder so I unhooked it tonight and scrubbed the bottom and insides of the feeder with children's sidewalk chalk.

I also used the moat idea today Hazel and it seemed to help a bit but a few still found their way into the ceramic circle. :frustrated:

[B]Grower;[/B] I made a spare bottom with the last batch of feeders and I think I will ulimately glue a bottom to this new feeder. Unfortunately, that would mean my feeder wouldn't be out there for a couple days until the glue dries. :(

If the feeder's not out for a couple days, would the orioles still come back? :shrug:

I figured it out....I think!
 

Used the chalk last night but I also took strips of packing tape and crumpled them then placed them inside the hollowed out part of the feeder.

Checked this morning...no ants. :thumbs up Came home from work and replenished the jelly with a fresh batch and still no ants in the container! :clap:

I'll give the wooden post another rub of chalk tonight but with this and the tape, the ants seem to have gone onto other things. :thumbs up

Yay for the chalk!!!! :D