Hive inspection

Last weekend we inspected the hives. They are taking 2 gal of 2:1 syrup in less than a week. The top feeders we bought run dry and bees hang out I'm the syrup well waiting for a tsunami of sugar to come down them. The frames all seem well drawn out in both boxes. Saw brood in hive 1 but did not check in hive 2 due to aggression, we saw no reason to press the point.
3 weeks ago we treated with half dose of mite-away strips. We started feeding protein patties and doubled the syrup strength after that treatment, and we added the top feeders from Virginia bee supply in Remington.
His trick of scrubbing pads as a beetle trap seemed to gather beetles but we had to catch them. We tore the pad a little to see if that helped beetles get in it. I wonder if we need to put some sugar syrup on the pad so the bees tear it.