Robber screen

[elvydas]

Hello
        Does anyone out there have any experience with a robber screen?  I have a weak hive with a fairly new queen that I am trying to feed with a top feeder. I have tried by reducing the entrance to a one bee width,and by placing twigs to reduce the size, and by placing obstacles to the entrance to no avail. I am now trying a robber screen plan that I found on the internet. It keeps the robbers out but it also seems to keep the natives from returning home. Do you know of any robber screen plans on the internet or do you feel this is futile since they will not build up a population and stores large enough to overwinter even though I am willing to feed? This is New England
                                                                              Thanks

[tillie]

I made a really easy to put together robber screen using small window screen inserts from Home Depot.  The directions are on this site under Hive Equipment  
http://www.beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=5431

It was really easy - I just had to nail a shim to the screen insert and put in screw-eye things to hook bungee cord to - nothing to it and I am quite constructionally challenged.

Linda in Atlanta

[qa33010]

Yep!  I used the plans Jon McFadden had posted last year.  Worked great!  I used it on my ferals and this year on a weak hive (my ineptness) I guess I should say workS great!   Here's a pic.  The far hive had it last
year.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j110/mydarlingheathens/Robbing%20and%20Others/330592d1.jpg


I used 1"x2" and black nylon window screen.  Took about an hour to get everything together, measure, cut, and screw together.  I removed it to measure for use with entrance feeder from Betterbee (not boardman) using 1"x1" wood when I had a robbing incident within a surprisingly short time.  A sprinkler helped stop it until I replaced the screen.

But it seems to work great for me.

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm