[deepster]

Hello everyone.
I go through winters with a shim on top of all my hives to accommodate 2 1/2” blocks of sugar. I consider this essential for survival success and of course shims help when feeding baggies early season. I don’t pick up the sugar block while I start feeding syrup in case it gets cold and they won’t be able to consume the syrup, not sure my theory is correct or not!. All my strong hives use this opportunity and build drone comb in the shim, I clean them every now and then as I feed syrup. In some cases it is multiple cleaning and quite bit of comb!
Of corse this year where I am here in CT it warmed up early, then cold them warm again, not sure what is the answer?
Those of you who use shims how do you handle this when do you pick them up and sugar blocks?

 

[podunk]

I install shims/spacers for sugar bricks every fall, usually in Nov. Haven't had to do any baggie feeding last few yrs. I remove the shims early spring with the first pollen flows. This year it was March 30th when the got removed.

 

[dekster]

I place shims on top of inner cover and they have to get through inner cover hole to reach sugar/syrup there, they much less likely to build comb that way. They have no problem consuming sugar that way, lick it clean. Meanwhile below inner cover it is solid packed with drone brood in every available space between the frame tops and inner cover.

 

[Jack Grimshaw]

I'm in CT also and I try to remove the shims on red maple bloom when egg laying starts to ramp up.Of course I miss a few and have to scrape some comb but I scrape all the top bars then anyway.

I don't like baggy feeding for exactly that reason.Each colony has a frame feeder year round.I use the new style cap and ladders and have had zero issues with comb in them and they are a cinch to clean compared to the feeders with the stupid round holes.