The Everyday Food Scrap That Doubles As A Hummingbird Magnet

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There are several ways to attract hummingbirds to your garden, from hanging up a sugar-water feeder to planting nectar-rich flowers, such as honeysuckle and daylilies. However, there's another simple trick you can employ to draw these beautiful creatures to your outdoor space. It takes less effort and repurposes kitchen scraps that would otherwise be discarded. Try putting out bits of leftover apple peels.

Hummingbirds adore sweet foods because glucose is a fast-acting energy source that helps them to maintain their high metabolism. Their wings flap an average of 50 times per second, producing that signature hum, which is why they need plenty of fuel to keep them going. While the nectar from flowers provides them with glucose, they are also attracted to sweet fruits like apples. The only thing to bear in mind when placing apple peels out for hummingbirds is to make sure some of the flesh is still on the peel because this is where the majority of the sugar lies. When other sources of nectar in the surrounding area are scarce, apple scraps act like a hummingbird magnet. Better yet, repurposing apple skins that would otherwise have gone in the bin is a win for reducing food waste.

If you're peeling the skins off a batch of Golden Delicious or Granny Smith to prepare a classic apple pie, fried apple hand pies, or maple-glazed air fryer apple fritters, be sure to save them for your neighborhood hummingbirds. Aside from apple peels, you can also save and leave out soft fruits, like berries, pears, or oranges, for them. As these vibrant birds eat insects too, don't worry if your plate of apple peels attracts several other creepy crawlies to the yard. You'll be doing these colorful little guys a favor by making it easier for them to hunt for spiders, beetles, aphids, and gnats. In fact, a whopping 80% of a hummingbird's diet is made up of insects, so a garden that is home to an abundance of flies and other common arthropods is more likely to attract them than a bowl of sugar water alone. The birds also use sticky spider webs to make their nests, so a garden with insect life is highly appealing to them.

Along with your apple peels, you might like to make a batch of sugar water for your hummingbirds to sip on. This nectar should be made with one part sugar to four parts water. Once dissolved, place it in a hanging feeder, like this 10-oz sugar-water feeder for hummingbirds that's available on Amazon. As hummingbirds are naturally attracted to the color red, they're more likely to fly towards scarlet feeders.