Evaporation can account for the loss of an average of one-quarter inch of pool water per day, which, depending on the size of your pool, can add up to thousands – or tens of thousands – of gallons of water lost each year. Since we are generally in some state of drought here and are currently in a severe drought, everything we can do to save water is a step in the right direction. 

If you have a swimming pool and would like to save money and conserve water by reducing evaporation, here are six tips to try.

Get a pool cover. 
This one is too obvious to not be first on this list. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using a pool cover prevents up to 95 percent of evaporation. There is a variety of choices available, including manual and automatic options. Using a cover also keeps your pool cleaner, keeps the water warmer, and, depending on the type of cover you install, a cover can also make your pool safer. 

Try a liquid pool cover. 
Liquid pool covers (aka liquid solar covers, liquid solar blankets) create an invisible barrier on top of the water the reduces evaporation, heat loss, and chemical loss. 

Turn off water features when not in use. 
Waterfalls and fountains are beautiful and relaxing, but they also make the water in your pool evaporate faster. So, when you are not using them as a focal point during a dinner party or to enjoy the look and sound of moving water while lounging by the pool, turn them off. 

Lower the temperature on your pool heater. 
The warmer the water is, the faster it will evaporate. That makes simply lowering your pool temperature by a few degrees an easy way to reduce pool water evaporation this summer. You will also benefit from using less electricity to heat your pool. 

Add shade and windbreaks around your pool. 
Since heat and wind are two of the main causes of evaporation, reducing these elements around your pool can help you save water. Consider privacy fencing, trees and shrubs, or a shade structure to protect your pool from the elements. 

Maintain pool chemicals. 
Test the chemical balance of your pool regularly to ensure that you are maintaining proper pH and alkalinity. When chemical imbalances occur, the water is less stable, which increases evaporation. 

Using a local pool maintenance service is the best way to ensure that your chemicals are regularly tested and balanced. If you need a professional to help with any of these other tips, such as installing a fence or planting trees, make sure to use local contractors and vendors to support the local economy. 

If you would like to have a food garden but are not sure where to start or don’t have much room to work with, a patio herb garden might be a good first step. There are lots of options for herbs that grow well in containers and small spaces, and herbs generally require less care than other food plants. This makes them an appealing choice for busy people or folks who don’t think they have much of a green thumb. 

You can grow a variety of herbs for culinary, medicinal, or ritual purposes, or you can create a themed herb garden for specific purposes, such as a cocktail herb garden, herbal tea garden, pasta sauce herb garden, or space clearing herb garden. 

Here are some examples: 

Cocktail or Mocktail Herb Garden – Almost any edible herb can be used in some type of drink recipe, but if you would like to start a cocktail herb garden that allows you to harvest fresh herbs for cocktails and mocktails at your next party, some good options to start with are sage, basil, mint, and lavender. These herbs all grow well here and lend themselves well to an array of food and drink recipes. 

Herbal Tea Garden – Camellia sinensis (tea) takes too much space and too much time for most backyard gardeners to bother with, but you can grow herbs for herbal teas – more accurately called tisanes or herbal infusions – that you can harvest and enjoy for their medicinal properties or simply their taste. Herbs to consider for an herbal tea garden include mint, chamomile, lemon verbena, lemon balm, lavender, parsley, and coriander. Most of these herbs can also be used in culinary recipes, which makes this a versatile patio herb garden option. 

Pasta Sauce Herb Garden – If you love cooking Italian foods that include flavorful sauces, consider growing basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, and oregano. 

Ritual Herb Garden – If your goal is to grow herbs for cultural, spiritual or ritual purposes, the best herbs for your garden will depend on the practice or ritual for which you are growing them. For example, if the purpose of your garden is to grow herbs for space clearing, smudging, or saining, you might consider growing juniper, elder, rosemary, lavender, mugwort, thyme, or sage. 

I feel pretty strongly that anyone who has the ability to grow at least a small amount of their own food should give it a try. Even if it is just a single pot on a kitchen windowsill, it can at least help us stay a bit more connected and mindful about our food, can help children learn where food comes from, and reminds us to appreciate the efforts of the farmworkers who make it possible for us to have food on our tables each day. 

Herbs are some of the easiest food plants to grow, so if you are looking for an easy way to start or expand your backyard garden, give a patio herb garden a try. 

Well, here we are going into summer once again with the U.S. Drought Monitor map (droughtmonitor.unl.edu) reminding us that we are in a severe drought and the National Interagency Fire Center (nifc.gov) forecasting above normal significant wildland fire potential starting next month. 

According to California Water Watch (cww.water.ca.gov), our region has received about 43% of the average amount of precipitation for the current water year, which began October 1, 2024, and, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.gov), the wet season for this water year ended in April. Plus, our snowpack across the state is only at 13% of the average peak. If you are not familiar with snowpack, this is an important measurement that helps us forecast how much snow melt will be adding water to reservoirs and rivers this year. 

All of this means that we can expect that our drought situation and wildfire risk will not improve as we move into the hot, dry months of summer. This also means it is up to us to do as much as we can to conserve water and harden our homes to reduce fire risk. 

I have talked a lot about water conservation in this column over the years, and I know Ojaians are well-versed on this topic, so I will just mention a few water conserving efforts you might consider if you are not yet doing them. One of the biggest water-saving steps you can take is to replace some or all of your natural grass lawn with a no-water or low-water alternative, such as gravel, wood chips, mulch, decomposed granite, hardscape patios and walkways, or native plants. This, alone, can save tens of thousands of gallons of water per year. 

You can also save water by installing a pool cover to minimize evaporation, installing a gray water system to reclaim household water, upgrading older toilets to high-efficiency toilets to save as much as five gallons per flush, checking your irrigation system for leaks, installing a rain barrel, taking shorter showers, washing your car at the car wash instead of in the driveway, or skipping eating meat just one day per week to save hundreds of gallons of water every year. 

Ojaians are also well-versed in home hardening to increase the chance of our homes surviving a wildfire. Most folks know to create a defensible space around their home and other structures with hardscapes and fire-resistant plants, stack firewood at least 30 feet away from structures and to maintain a 10-foot, vegetation-free space around the firewood, choose fire-resistant textiles and outdoor furniture, follow weed abatement guidelines, and keep their backyard fire pits and fireplaces clean and functioning properly. 

One practice that I think we can still all get better at is regularly cleaning our gutters. Fire-resistant roofing materials are essential, but they are not enough to save our homes if the roof or gutters are cluttered with flammable debris. 

Everyone with a home in California should also spend some time on the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) wildfire preparation website, ReadyForWildfire.org, which has a ton of resources and easy checklists to help you get your family and property ready for fire season. This includes checklists for creating go bags, making sure your insurance is in order, creating an evacuation plan, and low-cost ways to harden your home, as well as an assessment to create a custom checklist for your home and home hardening retrofit guides in English and Spanish.  

I love seeing wild rabbits hop along the driveway or across the grass when I pull into a property. They are so cute when they are holding food in their front paws and making their little chewing motions. Of course, it is not quite as cute when they eat the food plants or flowers on which we have spent time and money to grow. 

While bunnies will eat plants any time of the year, many of us are currently enjoying the food plants we planted this spring, and we all know how much rabbits like to dine on  spring gardens. So, here are seven ways to deter rabbits from gardens naturally.

1. Tall Garden Beds – My preferred solution for keeping rabbits away from my food plants is to plant my vegetables and herbs in raised garden beds. To be an effective deterrent, your garden beds will need to be at least 24 inches tall, but you might want to make them even taller to keep out more pests and make gardening easier on your body. 

2. Rabbit-Proof Fencing – Putting a fence around your plants or garden beds is another way to keep rabbits away from your food plants or the flowers they love to eat. Hardware cloth, chicken wire, or other wire fencing in an effective deterrent if you bury it about six inches into the soil and have at least 36 inches above ground. You can put a fence around your entire garden or just around the individual plants you want to protect. Some folks recommend using bird netting to protect their gardens from both rabbits and birds, but keep in mind that birds can get caught beneath the netting and become injured or die trying to get out. 

3. Garden Cloches – I love using garden cloches on my new plants to deter all manner of small critters who like to eat them. The problem is, a single garden cloche can be about $25, which is cost prohibitive if you have a larger garden. Since cloches are so expensive, I like to make my own with trash cans and splatter screens from Dollar Tree. I know that might sound a bit odd, but they work! I get wire mesh trash cans and splatter screens that have the handles in the middle of the screen. I then unscrew the handles to remove them from the screens and attach them to the bottom of the trash cans. You can then use the leftover splatter screens for drying herbs. 

4. Owl Decoys – I have not had success keeping any type of critter out of a garden with a fake owl, but other folks report success with them, so they are worth mentioning here. If you decide to try owl decoys to keep rabbits out of your garden, make sure to move it around occasionally or to get a more advanced decoy that moves. 

5. Repellent Sprays – You can purchase all-natural rabbit deterrent at garden centers or make your own with water, cayenne pepper, and garlic. These repellents can be effective, but they need to be reapplied regularly, especially after rain and after you water the garden. Irish Spring soap has a strong smell that rabbits (and rats and mice) do not like, so you could also try placing shavings in mesh bags around your garden.

6. Rabbit-Repellent Plants – You can also try planting rabbit-repellent plants, such as basil, mint, lavender, or marigolds, around the edge of your garden. This option can be effective, but it is definitely not foolproof. These adaptable critters may start eating plants they usually do not like or get used to the smell of plants that they once detested. So, this one might work for you, but you may have to give a few different plants a try or swap out your rabbit-repellent plants as they get used to them and they lose their effectiveness. 

7. Sacrificial Plants – Planting a sacrificial garden to share with your local rabbits will not work as your only deterrent, since they will just eat the sacrificial garden, and then head over to your vegetable garden to continue enjoying the bounty. However, it can work when used with other methods and is a nice way to still provide food and get to enjoy having wild rabbits around while protecting your food garden.  

The recent fires and those currently burning across Southern California are a reminder that living here means always looking towards reducing fire risk as much as possible. While it is not possible to make your property completely fireproof and no amount of preparation can ensure that your home will survive a fire that comes through your neighborhood, there are steps we can all take to reduce the risk of losing our homes.

Here are five home-hardening options to reduce the risk of fire damage on your property.

1. Regularly clean your roof and gutters.
I cannot say this one enough: Cleaning your gutters is not just about making sure they are functioning properly if it happens to rain; keeping your gutters free of debris is an essential part of reducing the risk of wildfire damage to your home. Flammable materials on your roof or in your gutters can easily ignite if an ember from a nearby fire is carried to your home on the wind.

2. Follow Fire Hazard Reduction Program (FHRP) guidelines.
The Fire Hazard Reduction Program provides details on how to reduce fire risk on your property with weed abatement, tree clearance, and creating and maintaining a defensible space around your home.

There are several documents on the Ventura County Fire Department website (VCFD.org) that can help you better understand the guidelines.

3. Choose fire-resistant plants.
There are no plants that are truly fireproof, but there are many that are fire resistant. As part of the FHRP, the Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides their Plant Reference Guide to assist homeowners in choosing plants. The guide provides information on common ornamentals used in landscaping, including plants that should be avoided. The guide also includes information on each variety’s drought tolerance, which can help you find the best options for saving water and creating a beautiful yard that is fire resistant.

You will also want to refer to VCFD Standard 515 – Defensible Space and Fuel Modification Zones for spacing and maintenance requirements, as well as Guideline 410 – Prohibited Plant List to find out which plants and trees are prohibited in new required defensible spaces and fuel modification zones. The publication also encourages homeowners to remove these plants and trees from existing defensible spaces. You might be surprised at some of the trees on this list that are commonly found near structures here, such as olive and pepper trees, so this list is worth a look.

These publications can be found on the Ventura County Fire Department website at VCFD.org.

4. Use fire features safely.
Outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, chimeneas, and other fire features make for a cozy, inviting space to gather with friends or unwind with your partner at the end of the day. When well maintained and used properly, fire features are generally safe; however, it only takes one errant ember or a few logs haphazardly stacked against your home for things to go awry. Always keep your fire features clean, inspect them annually, always use a fire screen, maintain a 10-foot radius free of debris, and keep fire extinguishing supplies nearby. Make sure you are using the correct fuel for your fire feature and that you know how to safely store that fuel. And, of course, never leave the fire unattended and make sure it is completely out before going inside for the night.

If you are storing firewood for an indoor fireplace or outdoor fire features, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) recommends stacking firewood a minimum of 30 feet away from structures and maintaining a 10-foot, vegetation-free area around your firewood.

5. Look for fire-resistant patio furniture and textiles.
Wood patio furniture, rugs and doormats made from natural fibers, and cushions made from untreated, natural fabrics would naturally be the first choice for many folks, but if you are concerned about reducing fire risk, you are better off choosing fire-resistant options, such as metal furniture, flame-retardant fabrics, and rubber or metal doormats.

When I was looking up statistics for my New Year’s column for Ojai Monthly a couple of years ago, studies showed that folks usually give up on about 80% to 90% of their resolutions shortly after making them. While researching the column this year, it seems like not much has changed. It turns out that most of us still have difficulty maintaining resolutions because we often make the goals too ambitious, too vague, too focused on depriving ourselves of things we enjoy, or too divergent from our current lifestyles.

Respondents to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2024 (pewresearch.org) reported that most of their resolutions were focused on health followed by finances, and then dropping down to a bit more than half reporting that they wanted to work on personal relationships or hobbies and other interests.

These are all worthwhile pursuits, of course, and will surely be on my list of intentions for the coming year, but I always find that my intentions also lean heavily towards home improvement and organization, community involvement, and finding new homes for things I no longer need. If that sounds familiar, then here are a few more resolutions to consider for this year’s list.

1.    Improve the defensible space around your home.
The destruction caused by recent fires is a good reminder that we all need to keep wildfire risk reduction in mind throughout the year. One thing we all can do is create a defensible space around our homes or improve the defensible spaces we have already created. This might include choosing fire-resistant plants for landscaping, trimming trees away from your roofline, moving firewood away from structures, and using non-flammable hardscape materials like gravel, paving stones, bricks, and concrete.

2.    Commit to better home maintenance.
It is easy to forget regular home maintenance tasks like cleaning refrigerator coils and testing smoke detectors, but these tasks help keep our families safer, make our homes cleaner and more efficient, and help protect our investments. Set calendar reminders to clean refrigerator coils every six months, dryer vents at least once a year, and gutters at least twice a year. Reminders can also help you remember to have your chimneys inspected and cleaned before you start using them each winter, to change your furnace filters every one to three months, and to test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly.

3.    Support local businesses and contractors.
Home improvement and organization projects often make it onto our list of resolutions each year, so if you are planning renovations, repairs, upgrades, or big organizing projects, be sure to shop locally and hire local contractors to build community and support the local economy.

4.    Increase community involvement.
This can take many forms, which means everyone can find some way to become more involved in the local community or communities that are meaningful to you. This might include setting up a monthly donation to a cause close to your heart, checking out locally owned restaurants and shops, volunteering with community organizations in person or remotely, or joining local community groups.

5.    Clear clutter for a cause.
If clearing clutter is on your list of resolutions this year, consider donating household goods and clothing to local charities. One way to help locally is to donate items to 2nd Helpings Thrift Store (841 East Ojai Avenue). Making donations here provides a way for local families to acquire lower-cost necessities while also supporting the work of HELP of Ojai.  

Happy new year, everyone! May 2025 be filled with love, joy, prosperity, health, and adventure for you and your loved ones!

Many herbs are even easier to grow than vegetables and often take up less space, which makes growing herbs great for beginner gardeners, folks with small yards, and parents or caregivers teaching kids about growing food. Of course, growing herbs is also popular with anyone who enjoys the freshest possible herbs for culinary, medicinal, or ceremonial purposes.

Fresh ingredients make the best cocktails and mocktails, and there is nothing quite like cooling off beside the pool or on a patio with a cold, flavorful beverage. I had the most refreshing, non-alcoholic cucumber fizz the other night at dinner, which was the inspiration for this month’s column.

While I do enjoy a cocktail now and then, I am not much of a drinker, but I do very much enjoy a well-made drink with fresh ingredients. I also enjoy having a signature cocktail and mocktail to serve guests when hosting game nights and other gatherings. Incorporating ingredients right from my garden makes this even more fun.

Just about any edible herb can be worked into a drink recipe, so if you have favorites, that is a great place to start.

Here are a few more suggestions if you need a bit of inspiration:

1. Mint – Mint is so easy to grow it will take over your garden if you do not keep it corralled. Mint is best grown in a container or border to keep it from spreading. It is one of the most commonly used herbs in cocktails and mocktails, including mojitos, juleps, fizzes, mules, and spritzers, which makes it a perfect addition to a cocktail herb garden.

2. Basil – Basil is another easy-to-grow herb that has many uses in the kitchen. Aside from soups, salads, and pastas, basil can be added to pitchers or water or muddled or used as a garnish in cocktails and mocktails.

3. Sage – Sage pairs well with gins and bourbons and brings a distinctive flavor to non-alcoholic drinks. I have a huge pineapple sage plant in my garden that is one of my favorites for mocktail and cocktail crafting.

4. Lavender – If you have a garden in Ventura County, you are probably growing a bit of lavender somewhere anyways, so you might as well have some culinary lavender in your borders or right in your herb garden for drink-crafting purposes. Lavender is a pretty, aromatic garnish, but it also is perfect for infused spirits and makes a great addition to lemonade, sparkling water, and cocktails made with vodka or gin.

If you have space, you might want to consider expanding your garden to include other cocktail ingredients, such as cucumbers, jalapeños, tomatoes, limes, lemons, tangerines, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, and other herbs.

Harvesting fresh herbs from your potager to craft your own cocktails will make even the most consummate host just a bit fancier, so don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself referring to your covered porch as a veranda.

Fall is finally here, and I could not be more excited. If you also wait all summer for the return of sweater weather and cozy nights around the fire pit, then you are likely just as ready to transition into the fall entertaining season. Here are five things you can do to prepare your outdoor spaces for entertaining in the coming months.  

1. Transition your outdoor living areas.

As we move from summer into fall, the kids are back in school, pool parties are not as common, and the focus moves from keeping your guests cool to keeping your guests warm. Pool toys make way for portable heaters and signature cocktails at soirees transition from margaritas and mojitos to fall favorites with maple, cinnamon, pumpkin, and warming spices. To facilitate this transition, clear the summer clutter and stock up on fall entertaining supplies.

2. Improve your outdoor lighting.

Check your landscape lighting for any fixtures that are not working, bulbs that need to be replaced, or timers that need adjusting to accommodate the shorter days ahead of us. This is also a good time to assess your outdoor lighting to see if more path lights or task lighting would improve the safety or function of your outdoor living areas. To add soft light to create warm, inviting spaces, consider adding festive string lights.

3. Plant an herb garden for fall and winter cocktails.

Now is the perfect time to plant a cocktail herb garden with herbs you can use for fall and winter entertaining. Options to consider include sage, rosemary, mint, thyme, lemon verbena, and basil. Herbs are great for crafting cocktails and cooking and also make good ornamentals, so fill containers and borders to beautify your entertaining space and have fresh herbs close at hand.

4. Plan to keep your guests warm.

If you entertain often in the cooler months of fall and winter, consider installing a patio heater to help keep your guests warm. An outdoor fireplace or fire pit is perfect for creating ambiance and gathering around with friends, but they can only radiate so much heat in larger outdoor entertaining areas. If an installed heater is not in the budget or if it would be too challenging to run electrical for one, portable heaters that run on propane might be a better option. Another nice touch for cozy gatherings is to keep a basket of throw blankets near outdoor seating areas for your guests to use.

5. Prepare your fire features for fall.

With the weather finally starting to cool off, we are all going to be able to use our fire features more. That means it is time to make sure they are functioning properly and can be used safely. Before your next party, make sure your chimney, fire box, fire screen, and fire tools are clean and in good repair. If you do not have a fire screen, get one. There are plenty of attractive options and no excuse for not having one.

You will also want to stock up on the proper fuel and make sure you have fire extinguishing supplies nearby.

Fall home maintenance tip: Cooler temperatures and rain are likely on the way, so it is time to prepare our homes for the changing weather. It is time to clean your gutters, change your HVAC filters, and adjust your irrigation system. Remember: Cleaning your gutters is not just about reducing the risk of water damage; it is also about reducing the risk of fire damage by avoiding an ember carried on the Santa Ana winds igniting debris in your gutters. If you need assistance with any of these tasks, support the local economy by using local contractors.

Earth experienced the hottest day on record on July 21, 2024, and then broke that record on July 22nd. This comes after weeks of headlines reporting record-breaking heat in cities across the country and a climate scientist from the Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute noting a high chance that 2024 will be the hottest year ever recorded.

Of course, we do not really need climate scientists to tell us that it is hot and is going to get hotter in the coming weeks. Most of us have lived here long enough to know just how hot the summers get. Since this one could turn out to be one of the hottest summers ever, let’s look at a few ways to beat the heat.

Increase Shade
You, your family, your guests, and your pets are all going to need more shade for the next few months. The easiest ways to increase shade in your yard include adding umbrellas, installing shade sails, hanging patio curtains or roller shades, setting up portable canopies, or moving seating areas into shade created by fences or buildings.

Create Cooling Stations for Pets
Setting out extra water bowls is a good first step in making sure your pets are safe on hotter days. If possible, keep animals indoors in climate-controlled areas where they will be the most comfortable. When that is not possible, make sure there is plenty of shade and plenty of water. Consider cooling beds and bowls that keep the water cold to help them even more. Smaller animals, such as rabbits, chickens, or small dogs may benefit from mason jars filled with ice for them to lay against to cool off.

Service Your HVAC System
You are going to be using your central air a lot in the next few months. If you have not already, have your HVAC system serviced – or at least change the filter – to help keep your system running smoothly.

Weatherproof Your Home
While you cannot completely heatproof your home, there are several steps you can take to make your home more energy efficient and help keep it cool. Some ideas include replacing old weatherstripping and caulking, adding more insulation to exterior walls, hanging blackout curtains or roller shades, installing ceiling fans or setting up portable fans, upgrading exterior doors and windows, and installing heat-blocking window film.

Install a Drip System
When preparing our homes to beat the heat, we must not forget our plants. A drip system that delivers water at the soil level will help your plants survive the coming heat while conserving water.

Reduce Fire Risk
We are starting to see lots of headlines about wildfires across North America again, so now is a good time to make sure you are doing all you can to reduce fire risk on your property. This includes keeping your roof and gutters clean, trimming your trees, managing weed growth, moving wood piles away from buildings, and creating a defensible space around structures.

If you plan to implement some of these suggestions to keep your family and pets safer and more comfortable, be sure to use local contractors and vendors to help keep the local economy healthy and the community strong.

Watching vibrantly plumed hummingbirds flit between flowers is one of life’s little pleasures. We are fortunate to be able to enjoy this throughout the year here, but you may see fewer as spring blossoms subside and food sources become scarcer in the summer heat.

If you would like to attract hummingbirds to your yard for the colorful and entertaining show, their assistance in naturally controlling the insect population, their prowess as pollinators, or just to help them out as they adjust to warming temperatures causing flowers to bloom earlier, you can take several simple steps to provide a welcoming habitat.

1. Add a hummingbird-friendly water source.
Other birds may love bird baths, but hummingbirds are quite particular about many things, and stagnant water is one of them. An inexpensive, solar-powered fountain pump can turn your bird bath into a hummingbird oasis.

2. Create rest areas for travel-weary hummingbirds.
Even traveling from one yard to the next could be exhausting if you flap your wings somewhere between 75 and 200 times per second. If your yard has trees and shrubs with lots of branches, a clothesline, or a trellis, you may already have enough perching opportunities available for visiting hummingbirds. If not, consider adding perches to provide resting spots in your yard.

3. Make sure there are nesting spots available.
Remember how we said that hummingbirds are particular and don’t like stagnant water? Well, they also don’t really like birdhouses. So, no matter how many birdhouses you hang around your yard, it will probably not increase your chances of hummingbirds choosing to nest there. The best way to provide nesting options for hummingbirds is to plant native trees and shrubs that provide sheltered, safe spots for nest building.

4. Do not clear spider webs off your fascia and eaves.
Spider webs provide access to protein and nest-building materials, so leaving them intact allows hummingbirds to use them for these purposes.

5. Let native flora and fauna reign.
According to Audubon, hummingbirds “consume half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers per day.” (Audubon.org) Leaving spider webs intact is a start, but you can help hummingbirds even more by creating a habitat where beneficial insects, such as smaller pollinators, are also attracted to your yard.

One way to do this is to stop using pesticides to kill off bug populations. Another way is to plant native plants that attract beneficial insects to your yard. When selecting native plants, include options with bright, tubular flowers that produce a lot of nectar. Hummingbirds are particularly attracted to bright red, orange, and yellow blooms, so choosing plants that fit this description will attract both hummingbirds and the insects that hummingbirds like to eat.

6. Add a brightly colored hummingbird feeder to your yard.
Hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors and are most likely to use feeders that are easy to see when they are flying by, easy to access, and safely out of reach of cats, dogs, and other predators. Skip store-bought nectars and make your own sugar water by mixing one part sugar to four parts boiling water. Stir until the sugar dissolves, allow the mixture to cool, and then fill your feeder. Avoid adding red coloring, which might be harmful for the birds, and make sure you change out the sugar water at least twice per week and more often when it is especially hot out. You will also want to make sure that your feeder always has sugar water, since they will remember and will look elsewhere if this food source is regularly unavailable.

You might consider hanging more than one feeder in your yard, since one more thing hummingbirds are not fond of is sharing.