In cold climates, winter feeding of honeybees can help increase your chances of over-wintering success. Here is our recipe for sugar bricks that are fed in a top feeder/ quilt box in the winter months in Michigan. Make these bricks and allow them to harden and dry fully before feeding.
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It is well known that varroa borne disease is the number one reason that bees don’t survive the winter. That being said, running out of food is another possible reason that your hives may not make it from one season to the next. The good news is that with a little planning and preparation, you can prevent your bees from starving.
I leave 80-100 pounds of honey in each of my hives as their main food source during the winter. However, as a safe guard, I also make sugar bricks and put them in the quilt boxes when I winterize the hives. This way, if they run out of honey, they will have something to eat while they wait for spring nectar.
The recipe I use is simple, with only 4 ingredients. You can whip these up in just a few minutes, but make sure you factor in the drying time (24 hours). If you rush it and try to feed the bricks before they are fully hardened, you might end up with a crumbly mess!
Materials for Making Sugar Bricks for Bees
I recommend using the biggest mixing bowl that you have for this job, a 5-quart bowl works great! You also need something to stir the mixture, choose a spatula or spoon.
I bought disposable, aluminum 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch pans because they are semi-flexible and it is easier to get the hardened bricks out of them without causing breakage. Even though they are “disposable,” I don’t throw mine out. I have used the same ones for several years, I store them and reuse them for this annual activity.
The oven is used to jump-start the drying process. You could make these without an oven, just allow for several days of drying instead of just 24 hours.
Ingredients for Making Sugar Bricks for Bees
- 10 lbs. sugar
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar (ACV)
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp Honey-B-Healthy
Use only regular, white granulated sugar, without any additives, for making bricks to feed your bees.
The addition of apple cider vinegar is thought to lower the pH to slightly acidic (below 7), which is what natural, floral nectar usually is. Plus, the ACV can help prevent molding if the sugar brick takes on moisture over the winter.
Water is added to make the sugar packable, don’t add more than what the recipe calls for or the bricks won’t harden properly.
I use the original Honey-B-Healthy formula. This product is a feeding stimulant that contains essential oils. Its distinctive odor attracts the bees, making the sugar bricks easy for your bees to find- I find the smell pleasant myself! The essential oils also help to preserve the bricks and keep them from molding.
Directions for Making Sugar Bricks for Bees
- Put the sugar into the large bowl
- Add apple cider vinegar, water, and Honey-B-Healthy to the sugar
- Mix thoroughly- the sugar should be slightly moist and packable
- Fill pans half way with the sugar mixture, pack down to a maximum height of approximately 2 inches
- Put pans into the oven
- Preheat the oven to 240 degrees F (with the sugar pans inside)
- Once the oven reaches temperature, turn it off and leave sugar pans inside for 1 hour
- Remove pans from oven and let them sit out (uncovered) for 24 hours
- Carefully remove sugar bricks from pans
- Feed the sugar bricks to your bees!
How did this recipe work for you? Did you tweak it at all? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Mother, farmer, author, and teacher by trade… She loves tending to things and watching them grow!