# Robber Bee's Helllp **URL:** \ **Category:** General Bee Chat\ **Created:** [February 21, 2020, 8:46am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731 "2020-02-21T08:46:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wandjina](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/wandjina/32/20860_2.png) [@Wandjina](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Wandjina)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/21 "2020-02-22T00:35:20Z")
Bummer you called my bluff Dawn. I can’t really draw. I tried my best: does this illustration make any sense? ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/3X/5/2/526f1bdfb5d82628f0964487ec2cdb3e1f693148.jpeg) It can be further improved by placing a couple of entrance reducers as normal in the entrance, one on each side to leave an opening in the centre of the entrance ---
**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/22 "2020-02-22T02:11:34Z")
That might work. I haven’t used anything like that myself, so you would have to try it and see. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Wandjina](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/wandjina/32/20860_2.png) [@Wandjina](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Wandjina)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 11:43am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/23 "2020-02-22T11:43:51Z")
> [@Dawn\_SD](#): > > so you would have to try it and see. My suggestion above was mainly as a quick fix for anyone wanting to put on a robbing screen really quick, without having to make a frame for one, though I see no reason why it couldn’t be used on a longer term. Works same principle as any robbing screen. The one I’m currently using is not much more complex than that, but you have to lift the brood box to install it. It can be stapled to the box too. Same piece of mesh the width of a brood box, by 12cm or so. I have a slatted rack, so I hold one wide end of the mesh screen between the slatted rack and brood box, and the other end of the mesh is just left hanging below the landing board. I do not fix with staples so if I want to adjust the entrance, I just lift the screen from the bottom. My entrance is reduced to around 10cm in the centre most of the time. This one stopped my robbing pronto when I noticed it, so I left it there. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/3X/e/f/efd04ac3f53831d48dc037b25f3fca2176d0631b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Eva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@Eva](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Eva)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/24 "2020-02-22T16:13:01Z")
Pushpins are great if the screen needs anchoring and you need to still adjust easily 📌 ---
**Author:** ![Zzz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/zzz/32/20813_2.png) [@Zzz](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Zzz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/25 "2020-02-23T01:44:28Z")
> [@Wandjina](#): > > With the above design, the bees are able to cart their rubbish through the sides. I like the simplicity of your robbing screens. I have to give it a go. ---
**Author:** ![Janet\_Hedger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/janet_hedger/32/20543_2.png) [@Janet\_Hedger](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Janet_Hedger)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 11:18am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/26 "2020-02-23T11:18:48Z")
Thank you all for your help and I have followed through and made 2 DIY’s that you suggested. This morning it seems to have died down heaps and my bee’s seem to be holding their own now. Thank you ---
**Author:** ![Peter48](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/peter48/32/14625_2.png) [@Peter48](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Peter48)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/27 "2020-02-23T13:43:04Z")
Thanks for the update Janet, I would leave them in place till the hive is so strong it can defend itself. Don’t put the super on till the hive is ultra strong and well able to defend the extra space. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Zzz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/zzz/32/20813_2.png) [@Zzz](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Zzz)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/28 "2020-02-24T12:21:07Z")
> [@Peter48](#): > > I would leave them in place till the hive is so strong it can defend itself. Hi Pete, one of my strong hives is constantly being robbed. Yes they defend themselves, but a lot of bees die, and a lot of their time is wasted defending. Why not leave the screen there permanently? What harm can it do? I removed mine because I’m having a flow, but I have to put it back on (as Dawn suggested to me sometime ago), possibly something similar to the ones above so the bees can still get rid of their rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![Janet\_Hedger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/janet_hedger/32/20543_2.png) [@Janet\_Hedger](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Janet_Hedger)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/29 "2020-02-24T12:31:16Z")
Hi Peter, sorry about the late reply, I have a funeral to deal with. Thank you, I will ---
**Author:** ![Peter48](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/peter48/32/14625_2.png) [@Peter48](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Peter48)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/30 "2020-02-24T23:59:29Z")
There is no reason to do away with the robbing screen and it will do no harm providing there is a way for the bees to remove debris from the hive, so if they can remove a dead bee from inside. A well thought out swarming screen won’t stop the bees from the hive coming and going. It is about confusing the robbing bees. They tend to attack a weaker hive normally because it is more vulnerable and more likely to happen if the flow of nectar has stopped. Reducing the entrance will be a big help. Hope that helps. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Janet\_Hedger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/janet_hedger/32/20543_2.png) [@Janet\_Hedger](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Janet_Hedger)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 10:35am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/31 "2020-03-01T10:35:20Z")
Hi all, my apologies about my silence for a while, I had to lay my daughter to rest, suicide. I am finally rid of the robbers and now see my bees bearding which is a good sign? ---
**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/32 "2020-03-01T17:04:06Z")
Bearding means that there are plenty of bees. Yes, usually a positive sign. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Peter48](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/peter48/32/14625_2.png) [@Peter48](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Peter48)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/33 "2020-03-01T21:16:36Z")
Really sad to read of your loss Janet. I have no problem in seeing bearding on my hives, it generally means an increase of bees in the hive which is a good sign. It is also sometimes a signal that the bees might benefit from an extra super or that all the frames are full of honey and need extracting. It can also mean the the temperature in the hive is getting high from the extra bee numbers so some will move outside to help with temperature control. Giving the hives better ventilation by adding a roof vent at each end of the roof can help. Cheers ![IMG_0021](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/3X/4/3/43b20bccaa1bc11bc36dcc7c14ad13508d7cf256.jpeg) ![IMG_0016](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/3X/e/7/e708b49075ff8a85240cfee839efbe8caa571d89.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Janet\_Hedger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/janet_hedger/32/20543_2.png) [@Janet\_Hedger](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Janet_Hedger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/34 "2020-04-26T01:09:32Z")
Thanks Peter, This is such a learning curve lol. Janet ---
**Author:** ![Peter48](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/peter48/32/14625_2.png) [@Peter48](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Peter48)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731/35 "2020-04-26T01:24:24Z")
Lots of experienced bee keepers on this forum who are happy to help with issues and advice Janet. There is a lot to learn and usually at a faster pace than we would like, but that is bee keeping. 😃 Cheers [Previous page](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/robber-bees-helllp/24731.md?page=1)