Should You Feed Sugar To Honeybees?

Should You Feed
Sugar To Honeybees?
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[@philjanikjr9805]

Well said David! Running 200 hives. I put them bees in that box, its my job to keep the bees healthy & fed. My investment in bees & equipment is substantial.

[@marklove2022]

I've found after 34 years of running over 100 hives each year that there are a lot of ways to lose bees. Starvation is the cheapest and most easily prevented one of all. Absolutely feed those hives that need it. They can starve remarkably fast this time of year in Indiana. That sugar will turn into bees not honey. Dead hives are not profitable or sustainable, keep em alive, just plain common sense. Love your videos David, keep em coming and God bless!

[@davidhaught84]

Perfectly said!!!

[@RippleAffect]

​@@kenalvyeah don't eat for 2 months fool

[@nikigores8774]

I believe our main responsibility as a conscientious beekeeper is to provide for the needs of our bees wherever possible-feeding when they need food, treating when they need treatments….

[@MrJim5280]

I’m in South Texas, and I bought some queens from you a couple of years ago. Last year, I grafted some of your queens myself to make splits. Your bees are so gentle compared to the swarms I catch around here. Slowly but surely I’m trying to replace all of my queens with grafts from the queens I bought from you. Thanks for what you’re doing!!

[@joecrawford9599]

This is my 3rd year with zero losses and I've fed sugar in several ways along with pollen

[@leslierowell392]

Live and let live. My way and your way may not be the same way. And that’s OK!

[@3boysbees]

Yes, feed. And thankyou for annual seasonal updates. We are near enough, our maples are shining

[@jamesodiear1030]

Amen brother.

[@QueenAnnesBeesoftheCarolinas24]

Dave, We’re close to Charlotte, North Carolina. We pulled the solid sugar off from the winter, and started feeding our bees sugar syrup a few weeks ago… and even done some early splits. The population is growing quick. We keep putting out sugar water, and they’ve been flying out to the pollen feeder. Definitely feed your bees if you can, it helps.

[@markbee5787]

Your spot on about those who believe their way is the only way to keep bees. I like to think we can learn from everyone. Keep an open mine.

[@Brett-cv3jq]

I'm a new bee keeper. Made it through my first winter with all 3 hives. I put dry sugar and fondant on my small colony, and my other 2 had a full medium of honey. Winters here in south AL are not that cold on most days.

[@lastphcm]

I feed sugar all the time. I am 100% for it, dry, 1:1 or 2:1 depending on the situation. It is part of animal husbandry to me.

[@mr.mclibtard5015]

What about powdered sugar?

[@allamericanstamping7579]

I just tried dry sugar for the first time. I put newspaper down and poured sugar on the newspaper.. nothing was left including the newspaper 😳 is that how you feed dry?

[@QueenAnnesBeesoftheCarolinas24]

@@allamericanstamping7579 during the winter, we use the same hive top (saucer type) feeders that Dave uses for dry sugar. They’re normally utilized for sugar water, but if you remove the inner cover to the saucer, the bees can just walk down onto the sugar.

[@lastphcm]

@@mr.mclibtard5015 I only use powdered sugar for making fondant. Not for feeding. Some beekeepers use it for checking varroa levels.

[@woodhippie9744]

Am about 30 mi. south of Lynchburg Va. It's been really mild this winter and the bees have been out at least a couple days every week this winter. I've been giving them sugar water all along. Most times they'll take it, sometimes not, I let them decide. Refined sugar isn't inherently bad. Usually, in my case, the bees will quit taking sugar water when the main flow starts anyway.

[@johniac7078]

I do everything necessary to get them through a hard New England winter. I have had barnyard bees for 4 seasons now. Apparently feeding sugar works!!!!! This time of year, I use fondant until I run out. Then its plain old granulated sugar with a little pro health in it to make is a cake.

[@aaronparis4714]

Yup winters are killers in Canada too any swarms that are not caught before winter they never make it and if they do make it one year they won’t the next I have 5 months were my bees are Stuck in a box

[@terrysmallwood7373]

Thank you for answering!

[@vincekeenan5919]

Yes, I agree with feeding sugar. I will be feeding this week because the temps are going be in the 60s in Illinois.

[@TomBean-qf6zv]

I've fed sugar water to my hives for 25+ years, never had a problem, and will keep feeding them as needed. Things starting to bloom out in our area of Texas now so I'll probably give them a round or two of sugar to get them going good.

[@jasonkendrick9663]

If I wouldn’t have fed my bees sugar water through the winter on the inside of the hive all my bees would be dead and I would be buying new bees from David. Thank you David for all the good advice.

[@davidgarner3071]

Some argue that nobody's feeding the wild bees and they get by. Well nobody's stealing 75 percent of their honey 3 weeks before winter sets in either.

[@davidhaught84]

Thats correct.

[@BlaineNay]

Here in the Rockies, each hive begins the winter with 60# of their own honey. I never need to feed them -- syrup or protein. So far this year, my wintering success is the usual 100% and all of my hives still have good weight and lots of activity on warm days. Dunno how the honey bee thrived for millions of years without human intervention -- until now. My success is NOT due to the usual panacea of feeding, wrapping, insulation, quilt boxes, a magic race of bees, or an exotic hive design. I simply keep the mite level below 2% ALL season long. The ONLY thing well-managed European honey bee colony needs artificial help with is coping with the Varroa mite - a threat they did not evolve with. This is where the overwhelming majority of beekeepers fall short -- they don't properly help the bee with the most deadly threat that cannot face alone -- Varroa. Wintering success is not rocket science or difficult.

[@JustBees]

I set out a centrally located feeder to attract swarms to traps in the perimeter. I also will fan lemongrass oil (artizen brand) into a flowering tree and put traps around the perimeter of the tree (20 yards away) and when its time to swarm, they swarm to traps like popcorn. The feeder or blooming tree drew a lot of foragers, and the scouts come look at areas around the perimeter. Not too close, but close enough. I cant make bees swarm, but I sure give them a reason to travel through my yard regularly.

[@brentdoogle]

Im natural, but absolutely admit I lose lots of hives and it is HARD. I had to use sugar one year during a hard dearth to keep from losing everything but used organic sugar which was expensive. Thankfully Im a sideliner otherwise I would probably go to traditional methods. I dont bash traditional beeks and get that if you are commercial its pretty much mandatory if you want to make a living. No reason to sling hate at each other but I am usually the one getting treated badly.

[@WaltersToyota-m1y]

You probably loose more to mites than starvation use natural treatments such as oxalic acid or thyme oil

[@PaulyPaulPaul]

Lets be honest. We take honey from the bees. Much of that is what they use to get through the winter. As long as sugar is cheaper that honey, thats likely to continue.

[@carolinasunfarms8562]

Yes definitely feed your bees if you want to keep them

[@jasonkilgore1977]

So I’m a relatively new beekeeper this is my fourth year. Till I started treating for mites and providing sugar syrup in the early spring or end of winter open feeding I was having a lot of trouble getting my hives to survive. With the syrup and the treatments I’m having a very good survival rate.

[@lt35phila]

I take all of my honey by august. The fall flow is for the bees. Near mid October i feed sugar water until Thanksgiving or so. I then put an imerie shim on and cover the top frames with 2 inches of fondant then close it up for the winter with a 1/2 inch insulation board under the top cover. I sleep at night.

[@johnchriswell8191]

your def right!

[@paulschaefer5241]

My first season I only fed when the hive was light. Starting this year, I plan on feeding any time I don't have the honey supers on.

[@davidbarrows6380]

We're in merica, I use sugar, know one has to like or dislike and if they do ,I don't care.

[@SIBEEMAN]

I feed different sugar 1:1, 2:1, Fondant depending on the season and their needs. It’s a must and necessary to keep bees alive until they bring in nectar.

[@gene-sloca]

I agree with what you saying

[@redmax3372]

Love the svc made a order on Friday forgot couple things added those on Saturday morning and received my order today. New to this waiting on a nuc for April pick-up. Now that is svc wat i mean yessir thanks a bunch will order again when need things. Wish me luck

[@Peter_Gunn]

Yes feed, not only will it keep your bees from starving in the spring, it also will give them that boost to get them going.

[@brianschrombeck7313]

It's agriculture.........take care of your bees......unless you like buying new ones lol. I feed feed feed in NW Indiana otherwise they starve. Thanks for all your work Dave. Been watching you for years

[@rontilby1600]

Absolutely feed sugar to hives strong or weak… 2/1 late fall and early spring regardless if they find other sources or they have honey reserves… If the bees don’t want it they won’t take it but like you say it’s an insurance policy… Start of winter we take the sugar water off and put straight sugar or fondant on all our hives… we’ve had dead outs in the past with strong and weak hives, dead bees just inches from honey… We find that during warmer spells during winter the bees will go straight up to sugar or fondant but won’t go sideways to the next frames of honey… And most likely the reason is because by going straight up to feed their still getting heat from the cluster… A lot less losses than relying on frames of honey! White sugar and fondant is also a lot easier on the bees guts than honey and less of a need to get out of the hive and clear their guts… Well never rely on just honey stores to get our bees through the winter and into the nectar flows…

[@c.joelummus8880]

I used to feed sugar like it was the true religion but now I only do it when I need to. I am trying to manage all my hives to work without feeding as much as possible. The guys I know that run 500 to 2,000 colonies that never feed sugar never get nosema. Is there a survival rate is a lot better without feeding sugar. If I have to do it I will but I am sick and tired of it

[@jameswoenker2659]

Snow still on the ground. 46* bees are finding pollen. Maples I think.

[@t288msd]

It all depends on your motivation for having bees. If its for your personal gain (selling bees, taking honey for home, or a business) you'll do anything to keep the bees alive (such as feeding). If you're doing it for the bees then you'll try to provide them an environment where they don't need feeding. Don't split them, don't feed them. Let the healthy surviveand breed more bees, let the weak colonies die. Propping up weak colonies only breeds more weak colonies.

[@BrianCooper901]

I try my best not to feed and let them use their honey stores if it is an established hive but I only have 6 hives and they all have scales so I know when/IF I need to feed them. I do recommend feeding to beginners because it's cheap insurance. Keeping them alive is important to keep people in beekeeping. The last video we put out showed they lost more weight in the past month than they did in the previous 2 months since they are starting to brood up. I'm in agreement with you and it's okay to keep bees differently than others but it's not productive to tell people they are wrong in how they keep their bees. Thanks for sharing! Our maples are blooming here as well in West TN.

[@jamesmartin450]

If you want to go all natural, don't take any honey from them and they want need sugar

[@GaryManess]

Im for keeping bees. No losing bees. So i feed when needed.

[@michaelrosawatkins3928]

Lost 10 hives last spring starvation thought they were ok and didn't feed. Had been a very hard winter in Oklahoma

[@johnl764]

I'm hands off and don't care how you raise your bees. I have bees just for property tax reasons and I leave them plenty of resources. So I don't have to feed but not trying to make money either. So apples and orange.

[@heavymechanic2]

I make sugar bricks, in January, I add a small amount of pollen sub. February, I add around 2% protein to start rearing brood as there are many warm days. I kept losing nucs before making a rim to feed and solved my issue of feeding liquid, this year I'm ready to feed nuc boxes.. My large colonies get sugar if needed as I keep some honey supers to put on if needed.. I get ill about the natural nuts who do nothing but whine about having no bees alive or wanting a NUC in early March.. I had great success with Barnyard Queens regardless of what others said.

[@chicken6946]

I can only speak for myself as a 4th generation bee keeper.my family has been raising bees/farming since the mid 40's.one thing thats been proven is what works for some may not work for others.not sure where the word"professional bee keeper" came from,but over time i've learned and still keep learning,just when you think you know all about honey bees,they go against the grain and do something totally different.but i keep water and sugar water on my bees all the time sometimes they take the sugar water and sometimes they just drink all the plain water

[@Peekul1]

I feed. My boxes feel pretty light every year. Idk. Them taking down sugar makes me feel pretty good.

[@victorkulynycz1397]

3rd year hobby beek here 24 colonies still alive lost 2. feed Hive Alive fondant to each at least 1 time or 2 on some weaker hives starting around Christmas now sugar bricks and dry or wet sugar(sugar brick recipe straight to inner cover or on empty HA packet 😂). Honey Bees not native to North America adapted well BUT not all feral hives survive every year just watch a bee tree for a few years. They often abscond or die out then get repopulated with swarms. If you want your bee yard to die out on occasion then keep it natural. I figure they're like livestock . If left alone some would prob survive depending on environment but i kinda like to keep my bees if I can and also like some honey. Now not a business for me just a hobby.

[@keithspillman]

Like fertilzer....use syrup as needed.

[@1stcowinabox]

I believe you can't know if all natural hives are robbing from a non-all natural hive.

[@ginacrist1789]

I thought it is 1:1 in the spring and 2:1 for fall?

[@jamesbarron1202]

The question is are you in-hive feeding or open feeding this time of year in USDA growing zone 7 or 8?

[@davidhaught84]

I do internal feeding this early.

[@EricDittmar-kp5hv]

I’ve recently split a hive hoorah style. I got 4 frames from a really established hive. I picked good frames. They have been keeping brood alive and storing nectar but I haven’t seen a queen cell. When should I worry about them becoming “hopelessly queenless.

[@TheToxicCamper783]

You should definitely feed sugar. The same people that say that you shouldn't, will suck down a Pepsi without a second thought. 😂 or a piece of strawberry cheesecake. When youre eating only like a tablespoon of honey a day, the sugar content is NOTHING compared to a soda

[@brucesouthernsassapiaries8316]

Sugar is a tool in the toolbox when it comes to raising and keeping bees. Most nectar producing plants produce a sucrose-based nectars. Bees are made to process sugars....just make sure not to feed during a nectar flow that you plan to harvest as honey.

[@RippleAffect]

You can have the best bee's in the world if they don't have food they die, just like any living thing

[@claybunner1059]

I think you are 100% correct! If your bees need sugar water or sugar bricks to make it through the winter it’s our responsibility to make sure we don’t let them starve out at the very end. I was at the local trash and recycling center this week and somebody’s bees were going crazy in the aluminum can recycling bins getting the sugar they need to survive. Like you said raise your bees how you want to raise your bees but don’t belittle someone that does it different than you.

[@bigarm439]

I'm a sugar feeder

[@johnc7512]

If your not feeding sugar your probably a new beekeeper that hasn't had bees long.

[@farmer998]

all of my bees were dry had to feed the only one that wasn't is the mean ones

[@birdnestfarms]

To me, Sugar water is like a toilet plunger. I’d rather not have to use it but if I need to, it’s effective.

[@RonKennedy-hp8rf]

We live in the California east bay 24 miles north east of SF the cold weather season is always above freezing and we feed our 4 hives sugar honey water almost all year only a teaspoon of honey per quart jar we’ve been raising bees about eight years and we only had them leave 2 times. My friend about a mile down the road has never fed his bees anything and they leave at least 2 times in the fall and spring every year. What’s going on???😮

[@aaronparis4714]

I say you better feed if you have too care about your bees is better then natural

[@jimhughes6794]

I use fondant and go to sugar when the fondant is eaten.

[@cainesrobertify]

Go sugar!

[@DialedN_07]

As a general rule I disagree with feeding sugar to bees. However, it's a necessity. The only time I'll have discussions with people is when they do it to every single hive. In my opinion it's a last resort and if you have 10 hives and feed all 10 of them sugar, then shame on you. If you have 10 hives and need to feed 3 of them, by all means, pump em up I support that 100%. Allowing any animal to die is cruel. Your opinion should not be the difference between life and death of an animal.

[@jodybreeze6893]

To the anti sugar folks, just because you don’t give it to them, doesn’t mean they aren’t getting it from a can of Mountain Dew in the trash or left outside 2 miles away.

[@davidhaught84]

Yes, absolutely.

[@WaltersToyota-m1y]

Don’t eat yourself or don’t treat your illness and see how long you live.

[@c.joelummus8880]

I used to feed sugar like it was the

[@johniac7078]

My rooster kills snakes........he is pretty mean. My german shepherd wants to eat him......lol

[@stevehall9256]

Isnt it true that feeding sugar would be unnecessary if a beekeeper just robbed less honey each year ? L simply leaving enough honey to make it through the winter

[@johnc7512]

Not always. There are so many variables.

[@sirmagnus99]

Some say a stocking them with sugar before winter is better than stocked up with honey. Honey has more impurities and the bees need to get out for potty breaks more often, is the theory. Personally, I am only on year 2 , repeated year one twice. I over fed sugar water my 1st year, they all died for lots of other reasons, mostly me. I harvested that "honey" and it tasted like sugar, not honey. I did lots wrong but feeding them was not one of them. I only avoid feeding when we will be harvesting.

[@waynelivernois5412]

That primarily would depend on what part of the world you live in if you live in a extremely North area area in the northern hemisphere or extremely South area in the Southern hemisphere, where it stays excessively cold for long periods of time then. You don't want them eating just honey because they have extended periods of time where they can't get out of the hive to have cleansing flights, and if they can't get out of the hive to have cleansing flights and they've only got honey, they can get dysentary. And that can Kill the hive Honey has too many solids in it where sugar does not. So it is best if you're in the colder climates to take the honey away from them and give them sugar or sugar syrup, so they can build up and maintain through the winter.

[@stevehall9256]

@@waynelivernois5412 thanks for the response but your saying processed sugar is better than honey for bees. Imo, that's illogical. Processed sugar is poison and addictive. That's not my opinion, that's just the way it is. Bees lived thousands of years without processed sugar and mine will consume honey. I really believe these behaviors have contributed to the weak Bees common now that can't resist mites and other maladies

[@ThomasMincarelli-fj8cu]

I give them both sugar water or honey..whatever they’re interested in..unless they know where to get natural resources. Past couple of days they’ve been bringing in something white or yellow on their pollen baskets. I’m in Black Mountain, North Carolina @ 3,200’ elevation on a mountain top.

[@bobyoung803]

Can I feed my old honey to my bee

[@pastormike1971]

You are absolutely right, if the bee dont want it they dont take it, feed them bees. Everyone would like to do natural bee keeping, I am to the point where I unsubscribe their to channels. Love your videos, keep them coming!!

[@allamericanstamping7579]

Did you use entrance reducers? And if so, have you removed them ? I only have the outside sugar water feeder and haven’t removed the entrance reducer yet. Waiting for the freak cold snap before Easter 😬🤣

[@tfosterjr1]

feed them if they need it

[@terrysmallwood7373]

How do you keep Sugar ants out of the hives and out of the sugar.

[@waynelivernois5412]

If you have your hives On a stand then you can use a product called never wet from rustolium and spray the vertical parts of the ants won't be able to get traction to climb. To the hive

[@ginacrist1789]

Some of my bee boxes are on cinder blocks that are sitting on a concrete pads. I use cinnamon deter ants.

[@brianhoffman500]

I heard that applying toothpaste on hive stand legs creates a barrier ants won't cross.

[@aaronparis4714]

Step on them shoes lol if you don’t feed your gonna lose them eventually people say natural but mites are gonna get them tell them how it is 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@DonnieGleaves]

To be good stewards of GODS creations, would you feed your dogs?

[@stevehall9256]

My wooden boxes are made of the same Substance as the wooden trees they live in naturally. The honey my bees are eating now is honey they produced last year. Processed sugar is like the chemicals used to treat for mites. It keeps weak genetics alive and weakens the overall population. It's better than dead bees but obviously not best practices. I have neighbors that feed honey all through the spring and summer then brag about a single hive producing 90 quarts of honey. The honey produced by these neighbors is crap and essentially junk food. Honey should be a healthy, healing Substance, not regurgitated, nutritionally empty junk

[@waynelivernois5412]

It doesn't matter if your boxes are made of the same material that the trees Are made of it's the fact that something naturand putting it in something man-made. Once you do that, you need to take the responsibility to care for the bees.because What is man made Is not always the same size of space that they have natural. And if you take any honey away from the bees, then you're being irresponsible if you don't feed them.

[@waynelivernois5412]

If you take the bees out of their natural environment and put them in man-made boxes, then you need to take responsibility for those bees. In the natural environment, they have an envelope of propose. Around The entire Hive, when you put them in a man-made box. They generally do not do that as a while for it to be done. In a tree , they usually have three or more inches of wood as insulation from the environment But in a man-made box, it's generally only 3/4 of an inch. And I'll bet you take away Honey every Summer for yourself. And when you do that, that is not natural.

[@stevehall9256]

@@waynelivernois5412 I leave 12 quarts of honey in each hive for winter. My experience says that's more than adequate. I incrementally provide additional insulation through fall into winter then incrementally remove it starting last week. I only open the hives once per year after the swarms. The only medication I provide for the bees, or myself, is from plants I grow. That's clearly superior to doping them with sugar and pharmaceuticals

[@WaltersToyota-m1y]

From July to April the bees don’t store honey they’re lucky to produce enough to live on. If you’re taking honey you are putting them in jeopardy. One medium super s not enough a lot of the time. They will eat a lot more if you have a warm winter. You need to build your hive 3” thick if you want to be more natural. Cut a bee tree and you’ll see.