Are plastic Hummingbird feeders safe

Its fair to assume plastic can give off an odor or bleed into sugary water, in which would be ingested by delicate hummingbirds, but there's no concern if its a well known brand.

No concerns have been raised in respects to plastic hummingbird feeders, with their safety record remaining sound. No chemicals or toxins can bleed into the nectar mixture, as the plastic in use is non-toxic. Feeders can deteriorate rapidly if not cared far, with notable signs of odor in the nectar remaining harmless.

What you put in a plastic hummingbird feeder must only be homemade nectar, with sugar being the prime ingredient.

Plastic hummingbird feeders can just about deal with sugar but it can damage the interior in due course. Similarly, to use red coloring in the feeder or too much sugar can not only kill hummers, but the feeder will be a write-off, as its beyond repair.

Cause of that is plastic becoming soft in the interior, thus sugar or food dye can leech on to the plastic, and therefore bleed into the nectar - with the latter staining red the clear plastic bottle interior.

Plastic is the cause of this because it can rapidly deteriorate if not cared for - whereas its glass hummingbird feeder counterpart can be a better option over plastic models.

Safety of hummers must be your only concern, with any signs of microplastic filtering into the water, the feeder must be condemned to the trash. In which can happen with a poorly made feeder, or one that has an unexpected fault.

Made in plastic hummingbird feeders must be cleaned with a solution to remove sugar, plus bacteria off the plastic bottle interior, as often as you can.

Hummingbird feeders remain safe to use now and for the foreseeable future, whilst you remain mindful of things unexpectedly going wrong in the process.

This can be cheaper plastic hummingbird feeders being more prone to leaks, or indeed the plastic prone to deforming or fading with use.

None of which effects the safety of our hummingbirds, but it can lead to issues later on.

Feeders made in plastic safe

Hummingbird feeders made in plastic have had an unwavering history in the US, with no signs of plastic leeching, or bleeding into the nectar.

Feeders made in plastic remain safe to use while continuing to be highly recommended by wild bird conservationist, including Audubon.

Whilst always advocating plastic hummingbird feeder when demonstrating to bird lovers how to feed hummers in a safe way - in no way do any of these organisations have any doubt over made in plastic hummingbird feeders.

Made in plastic feeders continue to use a well established, safe durable plastic with some flexibility, with all chemicals used to make it, never seen to effect the sugary-water.

Although I will say a glass hummingbird feeder can be easier to clean over its plastic counterpart... but more of that later.

With plastic any build up of grime can filter deep into the interior plastic, as it softens up with long use - when this happens its time to replace the plastic hummingbird feeder with a brand new one.

Don't believe plastic chemicals of sorts can filter into hummingbird feeder nectar, because it can't - in using a plastic hummingbird feeder by a well known brand, you'll be in good hands.

Glass Hummingbird feeder benefits

Having said all that, I will say to make use of a made in glass hummingbird feeder does have far safer features over the plastic models.

What happens to plastic storing up a sugar water mixture over a long period can in due course see damage to the interior walls. Be it the port wells or the plastic bottle where the sugar water is stored.

Sugar can damage plastic in a way that would rapidly speed up the hummingbird feeders life expectancy, as it fades in color before causing a funky smell.

All of this continues to remain safe for hummers to feed out of, but it can be something hummingbirds, and other species - would prefer not to feed out of at all.

Unlike plastic feeders, made in glass hummingbird feeders have their advantage in that glass doesn't degrade like plastic.

Sugar in plastic water bottles can begin to smell quickly, whereas its glass equivalent can maintain water for longer.

Both plastic and glass hummingbird feeders are still safe to use, but glass feeders do tend to last far longer.

Plastic can require deeper clean

While plastic drinking bottles remain safe for use by people, so does sugary nectar drinks in plastic bottles, attached to a hummingbird feeder - continue to be safe for use by hummers.

Plastic can be used to store all kinds of weak or strong liquids, while the part-one to part-four sugary water doesn't effect the feeder as much.

With that in mind, plastic hummingbird feeders over the year can see it begin to show signs of failure, with it giving off cheap plastic smell, caused from the interior.

What has happened is the sugary water as dissolved the plastic interior, thus the smell is obvious. Plastic hasn't bled into the water hummers drink in this time, only the plastic as simply melted to itself.

Its therefore possible plastic hummingbird feeders, still remaining safe to use always; will require a deeper clean to remove sugar that has bled deep into the plastic mold.

You can avoid this if cleaning the hummingbird feeder more often, whilst continuing to replace the nectar within it, with fresh nectar once or twice a week.

Soon as you setup the hummingbird feeder for the first time, it would only be a few days before the nectar must be emptied, sterilized with a vinegar solution to clean off any remaining sugar or bacteria, with a long soak.

Mold can form within a feeder if not cleaned very often, thus its vital you continue to clean feeders knowing dangerous bacteria will form inside.

Lightweight, more motion

Plastic hummingbird feeders are safe to use then with no possible chance of hummers ingesting plastic or any dangerous chemicals bleeding off the feeder, as it can't happen.

What I will say is not safe about hummingbird feeders, is that the lightweight models do have a tendency of swinging more.

Plastic is lightweight so therefore so are the plastic hummingbird feeders; unless its mounted or put on a table top to feed hummers, a hanging hummingbird feeder can be made vulnerable to bumps and bruises.

Result of that is the plastic hummingbird feeder whilst hanging off its bracket, can indeed fall to the ground - while unoccupied or worse still, as hummingbirds are feeding.

Absolutely then can plastic hummingbird feeders be unsafe, but anyone committed to the cause of taking care of the well being of hummers in their yards - are sure to have a plan in place to stop their hummingbird feeders moving.

It can be to anchor the hummingbird feeder with a rope, tied to an additional object; or simply use an hummingbird feeder that uses a bar to hang - with no sign of wire or chains to hang.

Weight of the nectar load can help to balance the feeder well it hangs, but it won't hurt to place the feeder in a way that doesn't rely on counter-balance alone.

Quality can quickly decline

I must admit I really don't like to drink out of plastic bottles, not for environmental reasons, though I do care a lot about such issues - its just I feel like I can taste the plastic in the water.

Be it bottles of spring water or sparkling, I just feel the quality of the water deteriorates rapidly in plastic drinking bottles.

I therefore believe this to be true for hummingbirds, as the freshness of the nectar deteriorates, thus the taste of plastic odor shines through.

Quality of nectar will quickly decline in only a day or so in hotter months, when hummers come to feeders - thus its then when priority must be on maintaining nectar quality. To avoid this, you can replace hummingbird nectar in feeders more often.

Taste of plastic in water won't do hummers any harm, because really its only odor and not any plastic bleeding into the water, as I've previously established.

Hummers can continue to happily feed out of plastic tasting nectar, but you must continue to offer them fresh nectar every day or two.

Conclusion

Plastic hummingbird feeders will cause no harm to hummingbirds, either now or seen to in the past.

Much like those of us who drink water out of plastic bottles, there's really never been any concern about dangerous chemicals in the plastic bleeding into the water. Reason being is plastic made in feeders, uses non-toxic chemicals.

Feeders remain safe to use out in the yard, but as with most plastic items, the quality can show signs of weakness in due course.

Sugary water can be the cause due to it being in contact with the plastic hummingbird feeder interior the whole time; so can be harder to clean, or avoid the plastic odor that is often noticeable in the smell of the nectar.

Hummingbird feeders made in plastic would in turn require a deeper, thorough clean over its glass hummingbird feeder counterpart, to clean off nectar bleeding into the plastic, rather than the other way round.

Lightweight hummingbird feeders of the plastic kind can be a nuisance to feeding hummers if they move, while the possibility of a feeder dropping to the ground can happen if it continues to move, with simple solutions to fix that.

Quality of hummingbird feeders can decline, in that it can fade, crack and leak; none of which are safety issues, but more so a reason to replace a plastic feeder.

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