I don't know, Becky. I sure had lots of ants even before I had bird feeders. Plus, I never seem to see any ants around my feeders. They seem to be in and around the house more. They start to come into the house when it gets dry outside, in search of moisture I think.
I agree about the hummingbird feeders, but does the sugar water leak out of yours? Mine always seem to be pretty well contained. Still I hang mine in a tree, not from the house. I don't see many ants on it either.
Fire ants really like very sunny locations for their nests. Maybe if you plant more trees you'll see less fire ants?
