Dave and I were having a hard time this year getting our bees to 'remove'
or 'use' the extender patties when we placed it on the inner cover or as a
single patty over the frames.  Sure can't help the bees if they don't touch
it.  Tried an experiment.
 
We took the same amount of sugar/grease mixture that we would normally put
into a patty.  We put it into a plastic baggie and cut a small hole in the
corner of the baggies.  Then we squeezed the mixture out onto the top of
each frame in the brood box (similar to applying a small 1/8" bead of
caulk).  We also add a small amount of the bees' own honey to the mixture.
 
Don't know if it was the timing or the new application, but the bees
removed all the mixture within one week each time we used it.
 
Comments?
 
Judy in Kentucky, USA