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Robbing screens on for two weeks now — verdict thread. The first three days were chaos

Promised the club I'd report back, so here it is. Put robbing screens on all seven hives in mid-July when the dearth hit here in Oregon. Fair warning to anyone installing them for the first time: the first 48-72 hours look BAD. Returning foragers pile up on the screen face trying to walk straight in where the old entrance was, and you will absolutely question your choices. By day 3 mine had figured out the offset entrance at the top, and the robbers largely hadn't — you could watch would-be robbers bouncing off the screen sniffing the old entrance while the residents walked around them. Two weeks in: zero robbing incidents, including on my weakest nuc which got tested hard last year. Only downside so far is slightly more congestion at the entrance during orientation flights. Anyone had drone issues with theirs? Mine seem to squeeze through fine but I've heard mixed things.
#robbing-screen#dearth#gear#robbing
▲ 10 votes 💬 3 replies
3 replies
SkaneBees · Aug 11, 2026
Matches my experience exactly — the panic phase is real and it passes. On drones: cheap screens with a too-small top gap do trap them, and you get a sad crowd of drones inside at midday. If yours are getting out you're fine. I widened mine to about 10mm and the problem vanished.
AbejasCarla · Aug 11, 2026
Ten years in Andalusia, dearth is basically my whole summer. I leave screens on from June until the autumn flow. One tip: resist the urge to "help" them during the confused phase by opening the screen up. People do it on day 2, robbers find the gap, and then you have taught the whole neighbourhood where the door is.
VTBeeHannah · Aug 12, 2026
Thanks for posting this MayaBees — I installed mine yesterday after reading your first thread and was about ready to rip them off watching the pileup this morning. Sitting on my hands until Thursday.
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