6 Best Candy Boards For Emergency Winter Feed That Keep Your Hive Dry
Winter moisture can be as deadly as starvation. These 6 candy boards provide vital emergency feed while absorbing condensation, protecting your hive.
You’ve done the hard work of getting your bees through the season, and now the cold is setting in. You heft the back of the hive and it feels a little light, sparking that familiar winter worry. A candy board isn’t just about feeding; it’s an insurance policy against starvation and the silent killer of winter hives: condensation.
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Why Candy Boards Are Crucial for Winter Survival
Winter kills bees in two primary ways: starvation and moisture. A candy board directly addresses both. It provides a large, solid block of sugar directly above the cluster, offering an emergency food source if the bees consume their stored honey and can’t break cluster to reach remaining frames.
Think of it this way: liquid feed is a terrible idea in the cold. It adds moisture, can freeze, and forces the bees to break cluster to consume it. A candy board, however, is a solid carbohydrate source that bees can access easily without leaving the warmth of their huddle. The real magic, though, is its secondary function.
The solid sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it naturally absorbs moisture from the air. As the bees respire, they release warm, moist air that rises. When this air hits the cold inner cover, it condenses and drips back down on the cluster, chilling and killing the bees. A candy board intercepts that moisture, absorbing it into the sugar, which keeps the bees dry and makes the sugar easier for them to eat.
Mann Lake Candy Board: A Beekeeper’s Staple
If you value convenience, the Mann Lake Candy Board is a go-to option. It arrives ready to use, a pre-filled board you can place directly on your hive. For busy hobby farmers, this eliminates the time, effort, and mess of cooking sugar and pouring your own boards.
This board is a proven, reliable design that simply works. It often includes a pollen patty placed in the center, giving the queen a protein boost for early brood rearing as spring approaches. This helps the colony build up faster once the weather turns.
The main tradeoff is cost and reusability. You’re paying for the convenience, and while you can technically refill the wooden frame, it’s often a sticky, difficult job. Most beekeepers treat them as a single-season product, making it a recurring annual expense.
Betterbee’s Vented Board for Moisture Control
Betterbee takes the moisture problem seriously with their Vented Candy Board. This design incorporates specific ventilation holes, enhancing the natural moisture-wicking properties of the sugar. It’s built on the principle that absorbing moisture is good, but letting it escape the hive is even better.
This board is an excellent choice for beekeepers in particularly damp or humid climates where winter condensation is a major concern. The vents, often combined with an upper entrance, create a chimney effect that pulls moist air up and out of the hive. This active ventilation system provides an extra layer of protection against deadly moisture drips.
Of course, there’s always a balance. Some beekeepers worry that extra ventilation can lead to excessive heat loss. However, these boards are designed so the vents are away from the main cluster, minimizing the impact on the colony’s core temperature while maximizing moisture removal.
The Hive Butler Feeder for Superior Ventilation
The Hive Butler isn’t a traditional candy board, but a modern, multi-purpose feeding system that excels in winter. Made from durable, food-grade plastic, its design offers some of the best ventilation available. The entire system is built to promote airflow, which is a massive advantage during the damp winter months.
You can pack hard candy into its feeding compartments, essentially creating a candy board within a highly ventilated shim. The integrated, molded vents provide a clear path for moisture to escape without creating a direct draft on the bees. This makes it a powerful tool for maintaining a dry interior environment.
The biggest hurdle for some is the material and the initial investment. Traditionalists may prefer wood, and the upfront cost is higher than a simple wooden board. However, its durability and year-round versatility for feeding syrup, pollen, or water make it a solid long-term investment for those willing to embrace a modern design.
Ceracell Top Feeder: The Multi-Season Solution
The Ceracell Top Feeder is another premium, multi-season tool that can be adapted for winter use. Known for its robust construction and clever design that prevents bees from drowning, it’s a favorite for spring and fall liquid feeding. In winter, you can pack its reservoirs with your own hard sugar candy.
This is the "buy once, cry once" option. The initial cost is significant, but you get a piece of equipment that serves multiple purposes throughout the year. Instead of storing separate candy boards and syrup feeders, you have one unit that does it all. Its plastic construction also means it won’t rot or warp like wood can.
The downside is that it requires DIY effort for winter. You have to make and pack the candy yourself, unlike a pre-made board. It also has less passive moisture absorption than a solid board filled entirely with sugar, relying more on the hive’s overall ventilation setup. It’s a great choice for the beekeeper who wants high-quality, multi-functional gear and doesn’t mind a little extra prep work.
Dadant & Sons Simple Sugar Board for Feeding
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Dadant offers a basic wooden rim, often called a "shim," specifically for this purpose. It’s just a shallow wooden box that sits on top of your hive. You buy the rim, make your own sugar candy, and pour it in. It’s the foundational, no-frills approach.
The primary advantage here is cost-effectiveness and control. The wooden rim will last for many years, and making your own candy is significantly cheaper than buying pre-made boards. You also get to control the recipe, whether you prefer a simple sugar-water mix or want to add supplements like Honey-B-Healthy or pollen substitutes.
Promote healthy hives with Honey B Healthy, the original essential oil feeding stimulant. Use seasonally or during nectar dearths to build up colonies and calm bees.
This is fundamentally a DIY project. It requires you to have the time and space to cook hot sugar and pour it safely. For beekeepers who enjoy the hands-on aspect of the craft and want to manage expenses, this is the perfect middle ground between a fully pre-made board and building one from scratch.
Build Your Own: The Ultimate DIY Candy Board
For the ultimate in customization and the lowest possible cost, nothing beats building your own candy board. All you need is a simple wooden frame (a shim) built to the dimensions of your hive boxes. You then staple a piece of hardware cloth or screen to the bottom to hold the sugar.
The process is straightforward. You build the frame, attach the screen, and then pour in your candy recipe. Many beekeepers favor a "no-cook" method where you just mix sugar with a small amount of water to form a damp, packable brick. This avoids the potential hazards of working with hot sugar. You can also drill a small hole in the side of the rim to provide an upper entrance for ventilation and cleansing flights.
This approach gives you total control over every variable: the depth of the board, the recipe, and the amount of ventilation. It’s incredibly satisfying to see your bees thriving on something you built and made yourself. The only real investment is your time and a few basic materials, making it ideal for the self-sufficient hobby farmer.
Installing and Monitoring Your Candy Board
Installation should be quick and efficient to minimize heat loss. Pick a calm, sunny day when the temperature is above freezing, ideally in the 40s (4-5°C). Don’t use smoke. Simply crack the outer cover, lift the inner cover, place the candy board directly on the top bars of the uppermost box, and close everything back up. The whole process should take less than 30 seconds.
Monitoring is a hands-off affair. Do not open the hive to check the candy. Every time you break the propolis seal, the bees have to expend precious energy to re-seal it and re-establish the hive’s climate. Instead, you can get a good idea of their food stores by gently hefting the back of the hive every few weeks. A light hive means they are consuming their stores.
On a mild day, you can quickly peek under the outer cover. You might see bees on top of the candy or notice that a significant portion has been eaten. You might also see some moisture on the underside of the outer cover, which is a good sign—it means the board is wicking moisture away from the bees below. If the board is empty by late winter, you can add another or use fondant as a supplement until natural forage is available.
Ultimately, a candy board is a simple tool that solves two of winter’s most complex problems. Whether you buy a convenient pre-made board or build your own, you’re giving your bees a fighting chance against both hunger and moisture. Making the right choice for your setup ensures you’ll have strong, healthy colonies ready for the first nectar flow of spring.
