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HiveAlive Reviews

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HiveAlive Supplement Reviews

Donald Tweeddale, Commercial Beekeeper (20,000 hives), New Zealand

“We have been using Hive Alive for three years now and have found it to be very effective in bee health. We operate 20,000 hives in around the center of the North Island, producing Clover, Bush honey and manuka honey. We feed Hive Alive in the Autumn around the months of April and May. The population increases rapidly and honey production increased. On average production per hive is approximately 25% more and the hives are more consistent in the production. We test our bees for Nosema ceranae during spring and have found that it has a very low or non-detectable level. To summarise we would recommend using Hive Alive to beekeepers because honey production per hive far exceeds the cost of the product.”

Nick S., 1000 colonies, New York, USA

“The colonies we fed with HiveAlive last year have had only 15 percent losses so far, compared to 25 percent for the rest. They appear to have built-up very well. There were 75 colonies that we started from packages in early April and we split them into 300 in mid-June. My close beekeeper friend who runs about 300 colonies bought the same packages of bees in April. He also split them, but he didn't experience the same buildup that I saw in my bees. He did not use HiveAlive, and he has since seen losses of about 35 percent, so far. He plans to buy some HiveAlive this week.”

Michael, 4000 colones WA, USA

“I try any new product that has enough merit and there has been a lot of investment in Research & Development on HiveAlive.We take 100 (control hives) and use the supplement on 100 which is our procedure to test how it works....The 100 hives that got the HiveAlive supplement built up way faster and I had no nosema in those hives versus the ones that weren’t fed HiveAlive, where they suffered nosema and built up way slower - And some didn’t build up at all.....We teach classes in beekeeping and apprenticeship programs and we recommend HiveAlive in them. HiveAlive is very affordable, so whatever type of beekeeper you are, you can't go wrong with HiveAlive. It is the best insurance you can have when you need some help to build up the colonies."

LM, USA

“We had a very wet Spring and had to feed longer than usual since the bees could not get out. So instead of just syrup and pollen patties we used HiveAlive this year in our syrup to help boost our hives. It has really made a Huge difference in our brood production. Our hives are full and we are seeing an astounding difference in our honey production this year already. I will definitely will be using when we feed over winter to help keep the colonies healthy."

Chris, CA, USA

“The climate is temperate here so I use Hive Alive mainly for varroa control. Feeding it a few times a season causes a substantial amount of varroa to fall off DEAD within 24hrs and indirectly addresses the many diseases they cause. Hive Alive also boosts brood production by a massive amount; a test colony was split twice and yet still produced 7 basketball sized swarms!!"

Steve S., 200 colonies, Michigan, USA

“I have been very impressed with the product so far. I work closely with another local beekeeper and we generally follow similar treatment protocols. Early in the fall, both of us had losses of around 20 percent, but by late November, we noticed his hives were not as strong as mine, and he has since incurred greater losses. The one main difference in our operations: I use HiveAlive.”

Elizabeth B, USA

"I swear by this product for building strong healthy hives. My mite counts have been extremely low as well on all my hives. This is the only product I have fed my bees for the past 2 years and will continue to do so going forward."

Kristi, USA

"First year beekeeper. I have an Apimaye hive and put regular sugar water in one of the top feeders and sugar water mixed with HiveAlive in the other top feeder. The bees LOVED the HiveAlive mixture and ate it twice as fast as the regular sugar water. They built out comb quickly and the population exploded. Now going into winter I have a strong colony and will be feeding them HiveAlive fondant patties over the winter. I love this stuff!"

Mike Martel, Backyard Beekeeper, Massachusetts, USA

"I am having great results with HiveAlive last winter and now this Spring. The results are dramatic, as my hives are growing like never before."

Pat Donohue, Colorado, USA

"I use both the fondant and the liquid supplement. All 8 of my colonies came through the winter and are strong going into the spring. My bees and I love Hive Alive."

Peter Lyttle, Beekeeper & CEO of New Zealand Beeswax Ltd

"If there is a ‘perfect’ Spring you may not see a dramatic difference between hives fed it and those not fed it. However, if it is a cold wet Spring and the bees can’t get out, you will probably see a big difference. Problem is that when you need to feed it at the optimum time in Autumn, you don’t know what the Spring will be like so it is really an insurance policy. It is widely used by commercial operators in NZ including two of NZ’s largest beekeeping operations - draw your own conclusions. Also of note is that HiveAlive has been developed specifically for honey bees”

James, Texas, USA

"Mixed Hive Alive into syrup and did not use all of it so left several gallons forgotten in an outside shed. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the syrup did not ferment after several months. Have not really evaluated bee population but I think have had almost no loss this winter. I will continue to use and recommend Hive Alive."

Kelby, OH, USA

"Love the products, I use both the supplement and the fondant and my hives have never been stronger going into winter and during winter. I’ll continue to keep using hiveAlive for years to come. Thanks hiveAlive"

Kathy, Ohio, USA

"So I read about this last fall and had a newer hive that needed some help growing late in season. I added Hive Alive to sugar syrup. It was the only one I supplemented Hive Alive to. Of my 3 hives that 1 has survived a cold Ohio winter."

Daz and Mandi, New Zealand

"Gidday Team, from Canterbury New Zealand. We were kind of skeptical before trying Hive Alive because of our past experience with other supplements and substitutes, plus the Hive Alive, on the surface, is a little pricey compared to others, however, we gave it a go and here are our findings. You only use half the amount that you use of the others so Hive Alive actually works out cheaper. Super Strong, super productive, healthy colonies so higher profits for the season. We have struggled to find any Varroa Mites since we started using Hive Alive. Oh they are still there we're certain but in far less numbers, no deformed wing virus and no other mite related issues so the mites are far more manageable. The girls love the Hive Alive in the sugar syrup, they really suck it down. we are hoping our New Zealand supplier will be selling the Hive Alive Fondant also as we approach winter. We teach and mentor new beekeepers here in Canterbury, New Zealand and throughout the world with our online Distance Mentoring Program and because of our experience with Hive Alive we push the benefits of Hive Alive with all of our students worldwide."

John, Michigan, USA

"Before trying HiveAlive, I went into the 2019 winter with 57 hives and spring 2020 had 15 survive. Mites were good, stores were good. I took those 15 survivors and grew them back (not buying Queens or Bees) to 60 hives going into the 2020 winter. In the process I was feeding syrup with HiveAlive and continued right up to winter. My Feb. 24th check revealed I have only lost 2 out of the 60 and that is in Northern Michigan."

Peter Dickey, Commercial Beekeeper, Ontario, Canada

"My colony loss rate during last year's brutal winter was about 10-15 percent of our entire honeybee population. While that may seem high, it was far less severe than other beekeepers in the province, who had over-winter losses of at least 50 percent in their colonies. I use it in sugar syrup form, but we've actually taken it a step further by incorporating HiveAlive into pollen patties. We have done comparison tests with competitive pollen patty products, but there's really no comparison between the HiveAlive Pollen Patties and the others. The bees devour the HiveAlive patties and don't even touch the others. Prior to using HiveAlive, I would mix my syrup and put it in the feeders. When I'd go back later to refill the feeder, I'd find that the syrup had gone bad with green mold. Since I have been incorporating HiveAlive into my syrup, none of it has gone moldy. I was kind of shocked. Even unused syrup from the spring will last into the fall with HiveAlive in it. That was a totally unexpected development. I think beekeepers recognize the benefits of HiveAlive on the gut of the bee. It's getting a good reputation for helping the bees' digestive systems and getting them through the tough Canadian winters. My bees are alive, they're healthy, and we're definitely not having the losses that everyone else is suffering. HiveAlive is really paying off for me."

Ian, Ontario, Canada

"Last season was the second season that we used HiveAlive. As small hobbyists, we drastically increased our apiary, doubling our hive number to 23 last year with a number of purchased nucs and older hives. We fed them well with HiveAlive and by the end of the season, the hives in general were very, very strong and productive. Our honey production was substantial and very delicious. We have purchased the larger bottle and will be using it this year as we expand to 35 hives. Thank you again for your product and detailed research supporting it. Cheers,"

Dennis Wood, Canada

"I believe in this Product and just started using it last year...my bees were wintered indoors for over five months and came through the winter literally full of bees in two brood chambers and look so healthy. Now I am feeding it in the springtime and my bees are healthy and the colonies are growing dramatically...I now put HiveAlive in all my feed and my bees love it. I am in no way associated with this company and receive no compensation...this is just a comment from my experience. Thank-you to you Dara and your team for developing this amazing product for the bees!! I think it is an absolutely amazing product. Beekeeping in Saskatchewan Canada."

Kyle Glendenning, Commercial Beekeeper, Saskatchewan, Canada

"We're happy with the product- it definitely works. Out of the beekeepers in our local area, we've had higher than average yields."

D.M., Beekeeper, Colorado, USA

"I contacted some of the bee keepers in my area (Southern Mountains of Colorado) to see how their colonies are building up. No one is seeing the colony build up like I am seeing with my colonies. But then again, no one else in the area is using HiveAlive."

Clarke, Georgia, USA

"I add HiveAlive to all my sugar syrup and have seen an increase in bee numbers, health, and resistance to disease. HA is a permanent part of my feeding protocol."

David Stapleton, Commercial Beekeeper, Owner of Apitree & Head of Apiculture, Senior Tutor for Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand

"I am now running 1000 Langstroth hives and 300 five frame Nucs. I have been using HiveAlive for the last two seasons and I have noticed a huge build up difference in our colonies since adding HiveAlive to our syrup. Also loving the longevity added to the premixed syrup as it doesn't tend to ferment for ages."

Chris, Beekeeper, Maryland, USA

"When I first used it, it worked. I saw an eruption in hives the first spring I used it. Life expectancy is longer, they're stronger and they build up quickly. I'm using it 3 years."

Willie O' Byrne, Beekeeping Lecturer, Ireland

"I was sceptical of HiveAlive initially but I’ve been using it the last few years and now I feed any colony that does not show the same progress as others. Most recently, in one of my apiaries I had a few colonies that were so weak I thought I was going to have re-queen or kill off but I took a chance and fed and sprayed a few of them syrup with HiveAlive once a week for three weeks. The HiveAlive fed colonies exploded and ended up giving me two supers of honey each. Very impressed."

Milcamp65, USA

"I feed hive alive In fall to boost hive size going in to cold weather. It seems to strengthen the hive to handle colder weather. It’s important to make sure that the varroa count is at an acceptable level."

Russell, IN, USA

"Great Product. Can definitely see an increase in brood production."

Eric T., MD, USA

"I'm a first year bee keeper having started two hives last spring and just getting through my first winter with bees. Knock on wood... both hives are going well. I used Hive Alive in the fall to boost them up before winter. Both hives have been very healthy!!"

Jason, MI, USA

"Bees really like the fondant and the HA supplement added to syrup. Overwintered great. Spring build up was phenomenal this year"

Tim, VA, USA

"I use the Supplement in early Spring and the fondant during the winter months. My bees love it. A+++Product."

Roy, Ohio, USA

"This is my first season using Hive Alive. I can’t give long term effects as of yet. But the bees seem to really love this stuff. They are devouring the fondant patty’s. I also used the liquid supplement in my sugar syrup for fall feeding. Got some 50 degree day in January and had to replace some of the patty’s already. Seems to be way more bees in the winter cluster than expected. We will see what the spring brings us. So far so good. Thanks Hive Alive I will certainly buy again."

Logan, Georgia, USA

"My bees - 40 hives - have been on HiveAlive for about a month now, and they absolutely love the stuff! I open a package and let them go to it, and they clean it out in no time. I have never used a supplement before, in over 40 years of beekeeping here in Georgia, but am loving both the palatability (there is no waste) as well as the improvement in the strength of my bees, and will definitely get more. It really seems to be worth the cost, and is not difficult to utilize. Thanks much!"

Kathryn, Texas, USA

"Started some new top bar hives from swarms and they've really taken to the High Alive fondant! The health of the colony is tremendous! Highly recommend!"

Nelda, OR, USA

"Two colonies exhibiting lagging early season build-up were turned around in 2023 following HiveAlive supplementation. The first colony was purchased in May 2022 as a 5-frame "nuc." This colony exhibited signs of sick bees shortly after purchase (dwindling bee numbers, poor brood pattern, and bees on the ground under the hive entrance crawling up blades of grass before dying). This colony continued to dwindle throughout the entire 2022 season despite support (with donations of brood, bees, and food reserves) from another strong colony in my apiary in addition to supplemental syrup, a competitor's feeding stimulant, and a different competitor's pollen substitute. The colony was noted to be above my treatment threshold for varroa in June and was treated with formic acid. The colony's varroa load was even higher in July and the colony was treated with thymol. The colony was very small going into winter but was not a candidate for combining with another hive due to the possibility of transmitting sickness. Unexpectedly this colony survived overwinter but the nest did not start to expand as the days lengthened and the weather improved. On March 19th (2023) I counted less than 3 "seams" of bees on standard Langstroth frames. Having recently learned at a monthly online Western Apicultural Society mini-conference that HiveAlive is proven to improve measures of colony outcomes, I provided this colony with one bag of HiveAlive Fondant and one HiveAlive Pollen Patty. The colony had very few bees at that point so consumption of both was initially very slow. Within 30 days (April 10, 2023) the colony had expanded to 6 "seams" of bees and was targeted for queen replacement. Surreptitiously, no queens were available so support was continued while a waited for a queen to become available. By May 25, 2023 (25 days into our nectar flow) the entire package of HiveAlive fondant had been consumed, the bees were voraciously consuming the remaining HiveAlive pollen, the brood pattern was observed to be excellent (!), the colony had expanded to 10 "seams" of bees (with an increase from 7 to 10 "seams" in just 7 days), and the queen was taken off my list to replace. All-in-all a remarkable recovery for a colony that arrived sick. I will do my June 2023 mite count this morning.

My second colony supplemented with HiveAlive Fondant and pollen also recovered from a lagging spring build up. This was an 2022 walk-away split that took several rounds to successfully raise a queen and so lagged behind in development and required supplemental feed throughout its first season. This colony survived the winter with a very small cluster and was very slow to start building up 30 days before the 2023 spring nectar flow began. One bag of HiveAlive Fondant and 1/2 of a HiveAlive Pollen patty were added on March 28th and were observed to be ~50% consumed when checked again on April 29 (1 day before the nectar flow stated). On that day 5 "seams" of bees were counted. Marginal improvement was observed in this hive on May 19th but 10 days later, on May 29th, the colony was finishing up consuming the HiveAlive supplements, had expanded to fill 2 deep 8-frame Langstroth boxes. A 3rd box was added to the stack as honey (not intended for harvest) was increasingly being processed and capped. One gallon of sugar syrup containing HiveAlive was provided to support comb building on the 8 undrawn (foundationless frames) in the stack. Based on this colony's growth trajectory, it is projected that a honey super will be added to this colony by the end of June (2 weeks after the last of the hive alive supplements are consumed) and I am hopeful that a late season surplus honey crop may be available for harvest.

Thank you HiveAlive. My first experience using your products has proven to me that your supplements really can improve colony outcomes and are cost-effective for continued use in my "side-liner" operation (30 currently thriving colonies)."

Steve, Commercial Beekeeper, New Zealand

"I currently run 2500 honey production hives, 500 of which are used for kiwi fruit pollination. Additionally, we have another 100 hives and 600 baby nucleus colonies for queen/cell production. We mainly concentration on bush and pasture honey and we operate primarily in an area south of Auckland and north of Rotorua. I have used Hive Alive for 2 seasons now and first saw the product in the brochure sent out by NZ Beeswax. I have noticed we have had a lot healthier colonies coming into Spring and I don't believe we have been seeing any problems with Nosema so far. If this season is anything to go by, most beekeepers are complaining of a poor honey production but so far (still a long way to go yet) I think we will still do OK. I will continue to buy any product if I think it is a benefit to our bees health."

HiveAlive Fondant Reviews

Frederick Dunne, PA, USA

"This is a little bit premature to be posting a review, but there is enough of a difference in the apiary for me to report positive results. Of 20 colonies of bees going into the winter of 2021/2022, 10 of them received the Hive Alive Fondant Patties. The remaining 10 received dry sugar as emergency rations. Today, the weather was warm enough to have cleansing flights. It appears that the Hive Alive provisioned colonies have fewer dead bees on their landing boards than those with sugar alone. In addition to the Hive Alive Fondant, and Sugar respectively, all colonies had stored honey and pollen going into winter. I will know more in spring, but at this point, I am comfortable endorsing Hive Alive Fondant for wintering bees as their emergency backup resource. All colonies are consuming the fondant. It was placed on top of the insulated inner covers of each colony. I definitely recommend it."

Sante, NY, USA

"I have 15 colonies fed with hive alive fondant they love it and are very healthy I highly recommend it."

Susan, WI, USA

"We had half sugar cakes and half hive alive fondant on our top feeders. Our bees went for the hive alive more than the sugar cakes. Very easy to use and the bees basically stay under the package compared to the sugar cakes where they are on every surface when you open the top to check on them. All our hives have survived the winter/spring season and appear to be thriving. We will definitely continue to use this product and check out the others offered."

Bob Leathers, USA

"Last year was my first year as a beekeeper. I used HiveAlive Fondant on each of my four colonies before coming out of Winter. Since it was my first year all I can say about HiveAlive now is that I went into Winter with four colonies, I used the HiveAlive Fondant and the HiveAlive Feed Suppliment, I now have 4 strong colonies. So I plan to use HiveAlive again because something certainly helped me to not loose any colonies over Winter. And I'm thinking something worked, so keep doing it. My bees really liked the HiveAlive Fondant. They ate it all as opposed to a different brand I tried to use last Spring when I first got my bees. Thanks HiveAlive."

Sam, VA, USA

"The bees are very aggressive in eating the Hive Alive Fondant Patties. They favor them over any other fondant I’ve used in the past."

Pat, USA

"I and a few other beekeepers in my club started using hive alive fondant patties last fall and carried that through the winter and into this spring. I can’t believe how strong my colonies are right now and how much honey they still have in the hives. The others are reporting the same. Another beekeeper who has hives just about 100 yards away did not use hive alive and their colonies are weak. They are ordered a box of patties so we’ll see how the bees respond. Not a scientific study of course, but I really think it’s the hive alive. The bees love it. Thanks again."

Laura, FL, USA

"The bees love it, I could tell a huge difference in colony health. I could tell they just needed a little something and this was it. Going to order more for sure."

Neal, Pennsylvania, USA

"I purchased the fondant based on a podcast I was listening to. I also us regular fondant, so I just ordered 1 box. After 4 weeks, whenever the bees break cluster, they jump right into it. And much faster than the regular fondant. So now I'm waiting for my second box."

Larry, NC, USA

"WAS IMPRESSED BY THE WAY THE BEES ACCEPTED IT"

James, VA, USA

"I bought the product for late winter / early Spring feeding. The bees ate it extremely well and are building up well. This coming winter I will purchase more for their winter feed source. I would recommend this product and they customer service is great."

Philip, MA, USA

"This fondant has been a big hit with our girls...they love it and I like the see-through packaging! It's one of the best new products on the market today!"

Harvey, NJ, USA

"I currently hive 7 colonies on a roof. Last Winter (2021-2022) I tried the fondant for the first time and I was amazed at how my colonies ignored their honey stores and went right for the fondant! They devoured it! They came out of Winter very strong!
This Winter I decided to try something different.

I run two eight frame deeps with a honey super on top. Instead of giving the Girls syrup, I put on the fondant beginning in the middle of October. In the beginning they were going through 1 patty a week. That lasted through December. Now we are in the middle of January and they are taking a little over 2 weeks to finish off a patty. I live at the New Jersey shore and except for the Christmas freeze, we have had a mild Winter. On 50 degree days all the hives are very active and landing boards look great! Very happy with Hive Alive Fondant and will continue to use it through the early spring! Great product!"

Craig, USA

"First winter using HiveAlive fondant (WOW! ) it has proven itself to be true to what the science says."

Mark, Indiana, USA

"Great product and easy to feed. First time using the fondant, but it was highly recommended. Bees seem to be doing well on it. I’m trying the pollen Pattie’s and supplement for early spring feeding."

Claude, NC, USA

"My bees love it. Has helped on colonies that were low on stores"

Katie, NC, USA

"Ease of use and bees like this, are 2 plusses. I use both products. The fact that I re-queened this Fall, and not Spring, has led to very large hives going into Winter. I have to feed them, due to the warm weather, and lack of forage-able foods. Patties now, with a plain 1 to 1..are lending strong, happy, healthy soccer ball sized clusters. This is larger than normal, and will see what size makes it to Feb. 30th , when the average size cluster would be about a softball. Thy are eating a patty every 10 days, and almost a half gallon of syrup. So, year 9 might 'bee' looking good!!"

Paul, PA, USA

"The supplement is a very good product , very impressed with the fondant too"

Jane M, NH, USA

"I really think that the fondant helped my bees get through a NH winter. I am in love with the stuff. Can’t say enough good things about it. I highly recommend it for all bee keepers."

Leann, Michigan, USA

"I installed 2 new package of bees in May/June and fed them Hive Alive fondant and syrup until August 2022. I did a varroa mite check and was under 3%. My bees have 1 brood box and 2 honey supers full and bees look excellent and happy. I am in the middle of a mite treatment for winter and will continue to use this wonderful Hive Alive product for all of my hives. Would recommend Hive Alive."

Jack, Wisconsin, USA

"I’m a first time top bar beekeeper. We had a cold spring. My bees were having a hard time. Started using Hive Alive supplement & hive took off. Healthy w lots of brood & now honey. Appreciate the great product."

Jason, MI, USA

"I gave two packs of fondant to my bees coming out of a Michigan winter and they ate it up quickly. Helped give them a great start before the spring nectar flow. I’ll definitely be doing this again next year"

Regina, NY, USA

"We had a very warm winter in New York and my bees were breaking cluster on many occasions. They were under stress and ate most of their winter store. I feel that the Hive Alive fondant patties helped them survive the winter and thrive in spring."

Phillip, IN, USA

"I knew my hives were light going into winter and wanted something more convenient than a candy board So I decided to give hivealive a try. I’m very pleased with this fondant. The bees devoured it. Definitely will buy again"

HiveAlive Pollen Patty Reviews

Jason, USA

Phillip, MA, USA

“Earlier this spring I put Hive Alive pollen patties in several thriving hives and then put a leading competitor patty next to each of them…10 days later, the Hive Alive patties were nearly fully consumed while the other patties were hardly touched…that convinced me! I will always use Hive Alive pollen patties in my hives…nothing but the best for my bees!”

Mike, USA

"Your choice of patty is excellent. I like the softer/gooey paper wrapped patties. I fed the pollen patties in 3rds along with winter patties (half patty) on 3 pound packages. I fed the patties along with 1:1 sugar ratio (hive alive in syrup) on top bottle feeders....It really did not matter if the "hole side" of the patty was up or down. The bees ate them, and ate from the sides also. A friend of mine ordered a pallet of them for his hives that were put on blueberries, using half a patty at a time. To make a long story short he and I were happy with them. Our bees look great. The one thing we noticed this year is very little swarming with our hives. He runs 2000 hives to my 200.....On inspections we have not even seen alot of swarm cells."

Janel, IN

"Tried 2 different protein patties and Hive Alive (pollen patties). Bees only took HA."

David, AL

"The bees could not wait for me to completely put patty on frames and they were starting to consume so I hope that is a good sign."

Alan, CA

"Very impressed with how strong both my hives are I used both the patty’s and the Supplement my bees hit the ground running in the early spring with great strength and zero signs of disease."

Remzi, NY

"Love the pollen Pattie’s I recommend hive alive to all my bee keeping family"

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