>What are you using now, Bob, that works better?

I have been using apiguard as far as a thymol application. Like Randy
described but on top with a spacer.
I do not open the middle but do all patty feeding, meds and treatments from
the top. I leave the spacers on year around except when honey supers are on.

When my help places a patty or treatment we politely use a little smoke to
keep from mashing bees.  Tilting a brood box (when perhaps the nest is in
both boxes and cramming a 1-4 pound patty in does not seem like the way to
keep bees.

I was like most beekeepers and fought making spacers but after using for a
few years now I like the spacers. Bees will build comb in the space if
supers are not placed on time. I used to take off in winter and replace in
spring but do not now. We do not send hives to almonds with spacers.
I think I may simply stack the spacers on a pallet in the honey production
yard so sitting at the place needed when supers are pulled.
I thought of maybe leaving the spacer on and converting the spacer to an
George Imirie. type shim if I had a way to open and close an entrance on the
spacer giving the bees an upper entrance between supers but bur comb will be
a problem if the supers plug out with honey.
What keeps the bees from filling the imirie shim with bur comb those on the
list which use an swear by the shims?

bob

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