Birdfeeders

No, please don’t use unrefined sugar in your hummingbird feeders. Almost all of our white sugar is produced from crushed sugar cane or sugar beets. The resulting liquid  is separated into molasses and raw sugar. The raw sugar is refined to remove impurities and contaminants that were in the plant matter. Therefore, the unrefined sugar sold here is really “less refined”. The impurities it contains may cause faster spoilage of the nectar solution which can cause illness or death in hummingbirds. Commercially made white sugar is almost pure sucrose which is the most common sugar in flower nectar. Therefore, a solution made of one part white sugar to 4 parts water is very similar to natural nectar. Any trace minerals or nutrients found in unrefined sugar are of negligible benefit to hummingbirds who get most of their proteins and other nutrients from the insects they eat. Hummingbird feeders filled with a plain white sugar solution will keep the hummers healthy and coming back for more!