Why You Need Hummingbirds More Than They Need You

Is a garden truly complete if it isn’t a welcoming environment for hummingbirds? After all, who can resist the brightly colored little birds, their aerial acrobatics, and their happy little “chip chip?”

The charming little birds are entertaining, but that’s just one of the many reasons to invite them to your garden.

Hummingbirds are nature’s pest control agents, and the more hummingbirds you can attract to your garden, the better. The little birds thrive on nectar, which provides energy for their extremely high activity level, but that’s not all they need. Like most living beings, hummers also need protein, vitamins, minerals, oils, amino acids, and fiber, which means they power through an all-you-can eat buffet of bugs every single day.

When you notice hummers hovering around plants, shrubbery, tree bark, branches or in shady corners, chances are good they’re on a bug-catching expedition. Because hummingbirds fly so fast and dart from place to place so quickly, pests don’t stand a chance.

If you have a mosquito problem, hummingbirds may not provide 100 percent control, but they’ll do their best to keep skeeters in check. Other pests that provide tasty feasts for the little birds include spider mites, aphids, gnats, and flies.

Hummingbirds are also powerful pollinators. Every time a bird visits a flower, pollen sticks to its head, neck, and beak. When the bird moves on to the next plant, some of the pollen sticks to the bloom. And on and on it goes.

My next few blog posts are dedicated to hummingbirds – how to attract them, what to plant, and how to keep them happy. Give it a try. I promise you won’t regret it.