I made my boards as per this video last fall and all my ten hives survived the winter! However, I had read on another KZfaq candy board video that during the winter some of the sugar in the board above the bees granulated and fell into the cluster. He lost his bees. Feeling insecure about my board consistency, I wanted something below the sugar. It is clear from this video's experience that newspaper isn't OK. What I found that did the trick and had no sugar sticking was parchment paper. The parchment paper from your grocery store comes in 15" wide rolls that lays perfectly into the board. It worked perfectly and, in the spring, no sugar stuck to it at all.

first time beek and I used this suggested method this year (2023-24) to feed my bees. I went to check today (end of Jan) after we had a few very cold days and the hive was doing well and also feeding off this sugar board. Thanks for this guide. I am over-wintering in a single 8-frame deep box and have a cluster that is about 3 to 4 frame. Hive also have 4 frames of honey.

I couldn't get a hive to live through winter till my 4th year of beekeeping, and it was all thanks to this video, answered every question I had about wintering honeybees and helped me out a lot

Best simple winter prep I've seen. Worked wonders for my hives. Awesome feeders for spring, too, BTW.

It's nice to a see a veteran in the field talk about protecting the bees during winter! Thank you for sharing this valuable info! We use the same method except for the shavings we use burlap! Thanks again! Subscribed.

These boards are great! Saved my bees from starvation three years in the row. Thanks Rob

We made a candy board this way and also placed the top insulation on our hive last fall as he described. Our bees made it through the winter, and this year we have two hives. Great advice and products. Thank you!

This worked for me and my bees consumed about 2/3 of the candy boards over the winter here in Indiana. Thanks for this video.

My bees have made it through two winters using this exact technique. Thank you for making this video. This method really works through even harsh winters here in Utah.

I ordered these for my hives and just made my first candy board! Happy to see that the frame comes with the block and slats shown in the video! Thanks Weller Bee Supply!

Very excellent video, new beekeeper. Here, and I think i'm gonna follow most of your suggestions for this winter

Awsome this is by far the most comprehensive winter prep for bees I have ever seen this should be the standard across the world.

Well this winter I did exactly what you did in the video, but, I doubled it. This worked and in the spring 1/2 the sugar was gone. This method saved 9 hives this year that started out as very weak nucs. Thank you!

Hi Mr. Rob, Wanted to take a moment to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! We made our candy boards from your video here and thus far it seems they have saved or honey bee colonies this winter. Some of the colonies has consumed some of the candy board and some are not up to it yet. Those who has not made it up to the candy boards yet are still using their winter stores it may not consume the candy board, but as you mentioned it can be fed back to the bee's and also as you mentioned it's added INSURANCE! Your candy boards also completely rid our colonies of moisture issues when combined with proper top ventilation. As long as the GOOD LORD see fit for us to keep bees these candy boards will be a major part of our beekeeping. Thanks so much, GOD BLESS and GOD SPEED to you sir and yours!

Love the candy board and "feeder/insulation box" corner ventilation details. Great ideas! Thanks

Thanks for this video of preparing your bees for winter. I know the video is already 4 years old, but I just got into bee keeping this year and have watched many videos on preparing your hive for winter. Your video was the best one I found and I made my candy board this morning and will be putting it on my hive on Wednesday, along with the quilt box. Now I will go watch your other videos to see what you do in your bee yard. Thanks!!

I tried it last year and it worked great! 9 out of 10 hives survived.

Did it your way every year (5 years) and never a problem but success for sure! Didn't change anything! Thank You!

Excellent video. I searched several on the winterizing of hives and found yours to be the best!!

That is very simple and I'm sure it works really well. Thank you. Greetings from the Blue Mountains outside Sydney Australia. I will give it a try . We don't get snow here, further up the mountains they do. I get to just below freezing here. Your system prevents excess moisture build up

That was 20 minutes well spent! Thanks for taking the time.

This is probably the best video I've seen with a concise list and methods of how to winter your hive. Other than the mouse guard, which is probably store bought, have a great and inexpensive method for doing everything. Very much mirrors a talk I just heard from my local beekeeping organization.

I was breathing at the same rhythm as the bird chirping in the background. I thought my nose was whistling so I held my breath for a second. Hahahaha

Thanks for this video. It perfectly describes exactly what I want to do for the bees this winter! Great info!

Thank you very much for your time and knowledge. It helped me a lot. I am a first year beekeeper. This will be the bees first winter. I have two brood boxes full of honey. I am still feeding the bees. I live in MA. I will be adding a candy board and top entrance. Thank you again.

This is just an excellent video. Thank you very much for sharing. As a new beekeeper, this has given me some great info on how to set up my hive for the winter!

Great video. Thanks so much.

Well done. Very informative and helpful. I really appreciate that the presentation was spoken clearly and at a pace I could easily follow. Two new hives this year. I failed miserably 10 years ago, but with daughter"s and son-in-law"s help we can make it through this winter.

Well done video. Straight to the point, easy to follow instructions.

You have a wonderful voice! Lovely his and lows in your speaking pattern

Loved the video.This method couldn't be simpler. I did incorporate the shims into the design of the box and it worked out great for support. I was worried about the sugar falling through the #4 cloth....but just used a flat surface so it didn't fall through until they hardened (over night). Made up 2 of these for my hives this year and they are working great. My smaller hive hasn't eaten much but my larger hive has almost eaten half.

This is the 2nd year using your sugar board recipe and I’ve cut down of my winter loses!

Great video, I learn more every day and this helped.

Wow on the saw dust. First I've seen like it. 👍

I've had good luck with your candy boards also put them on all my hives, thanks. Question ever thought of making a video on best way to split a hive. You explain everything so good!

I have put these candy boards on all 6 of my hives in hopes to get them all through our cold, Wisconsin winters! Thank you for a well explained video.

Thank you from Down Under! Your explanation is refreshing.

Im a novice beekeeper and like many others, trying to winter bees in cold climate has been a challenge. I'm hoping what Ive learned in this video will up the anti of getting bees through the winder. Fingers crossed. Bee back in March

Great video!!! To the point and easy to follow instructions. 🐝Thanks so much for sharing.🐝 Regards from Silvana from South America Uruguay 🇺🇾

Nice video. Enjoyed learning. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.

Awesome video. Great tips. Thank you!

Sorry you just answered my question. Thank you.

Thank you Sir

I sure liked your video sir! Greetings from the Netherlands! (I am a beekeeper myself)

I appreciate your video I learned a lot from it I am a new Beekeeper in West Virginia

excellent! Thank you for all the details!

Thanks.

Very informative. I like this winter prep and will try this process this upcoming winter. Thank you for the video.

Thanks again!

Holy heck, what a fantastic video. Great information and easy to watch. Thankyou for filming and posting this. Will be sharing this vid to my other beekeeper friends. Here in Australia we just came out of winter but going to rewatch this vid next autom

Very appreciative for what you do Mr. Rob for all us new beekeepers! Built my shims just like y'all's with half inch mesh. This is our second season in our colonies praise the GOOD LORD car so heavy they feel like they're glued to the ground. But I'm still going to use the candy boards as you said it's CHEAP INSURANCE and a moisture magnet! THANKS again!

Very good. Thanks

Hello, I just found your video thanks for all your informative information. Great ideas . I going to do my hive like this also on the sugar but I going to do mine just a little different because of another video I had watched, I went to the dollar store an got some of there aluminum pans maybe 4”x 6” and put my damp sugar in them . After I packed it in tight I put them in the oven for around 1.5 hours at maybe 150 degrees. Then pulled them out an let cool then removed sugar from the pans so I can use for a later date . Then I put two of the sugar bricks on top of hive like you did . That still lets air flow and the sugar is hard so it does not fall in . Thanks for your video’s I will find others video of yours . Keep them coming

thank you for thks cleaver video.

Awesome video, thanks for sharing all your knowledge, I will start my bee keeping on the Spring of 2017, but I'm already collecting info for the winter 2017/2018, THANKS!!

Very good video. Thanks much from north of the boarder. Found it looking up candy board ideas for late winter feeding in Northern Ontario. Winter temps at 10-14F here last week. Warming up soon though I hope to do a quick check and add a version of your candy board. I like you using the feeder as an insulator also.

man why with so much info that you provide do you only have 4000 subscribers so far. would have thought you have way more by now. well in any event i hope that grows fast for ya. thank you so much for all the info and showing us how to make this to help our bees.

Thank you, that was so helpful and easy to understand.

Thank you! Very informative!

I love your videos! I am getting my first hive delivered next March, so I am trying to learn as much as I can beforehand.

Thank you. Interesting video

i just saw your video about feeding sugar in the winter. It was very interesting. i am planning on doing that this year. also went to your web site.

Great video bud. Thanks for all the great tips.

Thank you very much from Australia sir.

Thanks Sir

thank you!😊 Great information.

This was great! Thank you!!

You must be way up north with long winters for so much food.

Thanks for the upload. You have a new subscriber!

Great VIDEO thank you for taking the time to teach!

Many thanks, I had cut down some deeps to make mediums and kept the cuttings to make feeders. Hate to throw things away.

Very informative. Thanks for posting Thumbs up for sure

I did this last year and both my hives survived the winter.. Here in Atlanta. Now I have 8 hives...

Thank you for such an instructional video!!

Thank you so very much for passing on your knowledge. Now excuse me, I have work to do!

Great video!!. Thank you, Sir!

Epic Beard Sir,

That candy can get 50% of Ultra bee or Probee.Why ? Let"s not forget,bee they feed themself, with beebread ,not only with plain sucrose(candy is sucrose).So bees need polllen,proteins and mineral to make the bee bread(ultra bee got them all) so guys use probee or ultra bee.Aiso add little lemon grass esential oil or piperment esential oil.

Good job I use #8 hardware cloth,but I have a square hole in center and small one in each corner,I lay blocks over(or just pack around holes) and pour sugar snow consistency and pack it down then remove blocks to expose access holes.I use on ALL hives,Nucs too, can't imagine any other way..my hives go through 19,20 even frames in southern Missouri

My friend I have been watching the KZfaq channel called Lumnah acres and your video poped up and we are so glad that it happened we are very interested in bee's for honey and wax we just like the entire process of being a bee keeper but before we just jump into it we are going to learn as much as we possibly can and like yourself we also are in cold climate we like your entire process and care of your bee's so we have subscribed to your channel and we are gonna share your channel with all to see we thank you for sharing your unbelievable amount of knowledge for that again thanks so much for sharing all of your invaluable information your blessed thumbs up my friend

Brilliant! Thank you.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you Sir, this video is very helpful.

Thanks for the vid. I live about an hour east of you in ytown, and it helps knowing the weather is very similar whe im looking at how-to’s. Ive had three hives (im new) none made it through winter and im convinced its moisture, but im gonna make these candy boards as well as install some kind of layer of pine shavings

Great video!

Your a genius

Thanks I live in central nc I probably not frost until late November love your videos

Thanks for this very good and instructive video.

I just love this site...wonderful information and so clearly explained...thank you

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Thank You, that was a great help!

Informative Video

I did this last year and had a plug in the vent hole for the winter. Another keeper told me I should open the vent in the sugar board, so I did. We had some heavy driving rains in the late fall and I ended up with a soggy pile of dead bees at the bottom of my hives. Completly lost the hives. When the vent hole is not protected by the telescoping cover (as it would be without the quilt board), it is a way for rain to get in. I like the coroplast squares for ventilation but I will never leave the vent hole open unless it is protected by the telescoping cover.

Great job. very well played

What A Great Video..!!.....Thank You...!!

Jenn Miller here you go

Thank you sir, well explained.

Hey Rob! We ordered 2 of these from Weller Bee Supply for both of our backyard hives! They shipped fast and look well made! Just wondering when to make these up and install them on the hives.

Just saw your great video and learned a lot! Thanks!

Excellent Video, great advice, thanks!