5 Best Double Screen Bee Escapes to Clear Supers Quickly

Harvest day is one of the most rewarding moments in beekeeping, but it can also be one of the most chaotic. Wrestling with frames covered in thousands of bees while trying to avoid stings and keep the hive calm is a challenge for any beekeeper. A good double screen bee escape board transforms this process from a frantic scramble into a quiet, methodical task.

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Why Use a Bee Escape for Clearing Honey Supers?

A bee escape is essentially a one-way door for your bees. You place the board between the honey supers you intend to harvest and the brood boxes below. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, worker bees travel down into the brood nest to tend to the queen and brood, but they cannot find their way back up through the escape’s valve-like mechanism. This method is exceptionally gentle, causing minimal disruption and stress to the colony compared to brushing bees off each frame or using a fume board.

For the hobby farmer, the biggest advantage is the calm it brings to the apiary. Instead of dealing with a cloud of agitated, defensive bees, you return to find nearly empty supers that are light and easy to handle. This is particularly valuable if you work alone or have limited windows of time. The double screen is a critical feature; it provides a physical barrier that prevents the queen from moving up into the honey supers to lay eggs if you happen to leave the board on a little too long, while still allowing hive odors and communication to pass through.

Using a bee escape requires planning, as it necessitates two trips to the bee yard—one to install the board and another to remove the cleared supers. However, this trade-off is well worth it. The second trip is fast, clean, and peaceful. You can often remove the supers without even using a smoker, making the entire harvest experience more enjoyable and far less stressful for both you and your bees.

Mann Lake Conical Double Screen Escape Board

The Mann Lake conical escape is a true workhorse and one of the most common designs you’ll see in an apiary. It features a series of small, plastic cones—typically eight of them—set into a double-screened board. Bees easily walk down through the wide end of the cone but are completely baffled when trying to navigate back up through the tiny hole at the tip. It’s a simple, effective, and time-tested design.

This board is for the beekeeper who values reliability and a proven track record. It’s not necessarily the fastest on the market, but it is incredibly dependable and clears a super thoroughly in about 24 to 36 hours under normal conditions. The double screen offers excellent ventilation and that crucial insurance against a wandering queen. If you’re just starting out or simply want a no-fuss tool that does its job without any surprises, the Mann Lake conical escape is an excellent choice.

Betterbee Rhombus Double Screen Bee Escape

Betterbee took the classic escape board concept and refined it with their Rhombus design. Instead of simple cones or a triangle, this escape uses a diamond-shaped plastic insert with multiple exit points along its sides. The theory is that this complex shape provides more opportunities for bees to find their way out, potentially speeding up the clearing process compared to simpler designs. The build quality is solid, and it’s set in a standard double-screened board.

This escape is perfect for the beekeeper who appreciates thoughtful design improvements and is looking for a slight edge in efficiency. If you’ve used a standard conical escape and wished it were just a little bit faster, the Rhombus is your answer. It offers a noticeable improvement in clearing speed without reinventing the wheel, making it a fantastic upgrade for someone managing a handful of hives who wants to optimize their harvest workflow.

Dadant Triangle Escape Board for Fast Exits

The triangle escape is a classic design, and Dadant’s version is a benchmark for quality and effectiveness. The board features a simple, large triangular channel that funnels bees towards two small exits at the points of the triangle. This straightforward path is highly intuitive for bees, allowing them to exit quickly and with little confusion. It’s an elegant solution that has been trusted by beekeepers for generations.

This is the board for the beekeeper who trusts in traditional, perfected designs. It’s fast, incredibly simple, and built to last. There are no complex plastic parts to get clogged with propolis or break over time. If you want a tool that is almost guaranteed to clear your supers quickly and will likely outlast most of your other woodenware, the Dadant Triangle Escape Board is the one to get. It’s a testament to the idea that sometimes the simplest solution really is the best.

Ceracell 8-Way Bee Escape: Maximum Clearance

When speed is your top priority, the Ceracell 8-Way Bee Escape is in a class of its own. This circular, yellow plastic escape is designed to be fitted into the oval hole of a standard inner cover, and as its name suggests, it provides eight separate exits for bees. This high-volume design allows a massive number of bees to leave the super simultaneously, dramatically reducing the time it takes to clear a box. It’s not uncommon for this escape to clear a super in 12 hours or even overnight.

This escape is built for the beekeeper who needs maximum efficiency, especially someone managing more than a few hives. If you’re pulling honey from five, ten, or more colonies, the time saved with the Ceracell adds up significantly. It turns a 24-48 hour process into a potential overnight job, streamlining your harvest schedule. For the serious hobby farmer whose time is precious, the Ceracell is the undisputed champion of speed.

Lyson Canadian Style Double Screen Escape

The Lyson Canadian Style escape board is built for durability and heavy use. This design often features a larger number of exits arranged in a specific pattern, set into a sturdy, well-constructed board. The "Canadian Style" generally refers to a robust design meant to withstand the rigors of larger-scale beekeeping operations and harsh weather conditions. It’s less about a single gimmick and more about being an all-around solid, dependable, and fast-clearing piece of equipment.

This is the tool for the beekeeper who is hard on their equipment or is scaling up their operation. If you see your beekeeping gear as a long-term investment and demand durability, the Lyson board delivers. It’s a bit overbuilt for someone with just one or two hives, but if you’re running a dozen colonies and moving heavy boxes around, you’ll appreciate its solid construction. This is the professional-grade choice for the serious hobbyist.

Proper Installation for Maximum Bee Clearance

Even the best bee escape will fail if it’s not installed correctly. The board must be placed between the honey supers you plan to harvest and the brood boxes below. The escape mechanism itself is directional; most are marked with "UP" or "THIS SIDE UP," which should face the honey supers. This orientation ensures the one-way exits are pointing down toward the brood nest.

Before you close up the hive, do a quick inspection to ensure a perfect seal. Bees will always choose an easy, direct exit over the escape tunnel. Check for any cracks in the boxes or gaps between the supers and the lid. If they can get out through the top, they will, and they’ll come right back in the same way, defeating the purpose of the escape. Finally, confirm there is no queen or brood in the honey supers. Bees will not abandon their young, and if the queen is trapped above the escape, the workers will stay with her.

Timing Your Bee Escape: When and How Long?

The standard recommendation for a bee escape is to leave it on for 24 to 48 hours. This window gives the vast majority of bees enough time to move down into the brood nest. However, timing isn’t an exact science and can be influenced by several factors. Strong, populous colonies will clear faster than weaker ones. Warm, sunny weather encourages bee movement, while cool, rainy days can slow the process significantly.

Avoid the temptation to leave the board on for too long. After about 72 hours, some clever bees may start figuring out how to navigate their way back up into the supers, especially if there’s still a strong nectar flow. The best practice is to install the escape in the morning or afternoon, then return one or two days later at the same time to pull the supers. For example, install it on a Friday afternoon and plan to harvest on Sunday afternoon. This rhythm gives the bees ample time without leaving the board on so long that they outsmart it.

Troubleshooting: Why Are Bees Still in My Super?

Returning to a honey super that is still full of bees after 48 hours is frustrating, but the cause is almost always one of a few common issues. Before blaming the escape board itself, run through this checklist to diagnose the problem. It’s the best way to figure out what went wrong and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

• Brood in the Honey Super: This is the most common reason for failure. Worker bees will never abandon eggs, larvae, or pupae. If you have even a small patch of brood in a honey frame, the nurse bees will stay to care for it.
• The Queen is Trapped Above: If your queen excluder failed or you never used one, the queen may be in the top supers. Where the queen is, the workers will be.
• An Alternate Exit (or Entrance): A crack in a box, a poorly fitting lid, or a screened bottom board left wide open can provide an easy way for bees to bypass the escape entirely.
• The Board is Installed Upside Down: It’s a simple mistake to make in a hurry. If the escape is facing the wrong way, you’ve effectively locked the bees in the super, not out.
• A Clogged Escape: Occasionally, a drone or a bit of propolis can block the narrow exit tunnels. It’s always a good idea to quickly inspect the escape mechanism to ensure it’s clear before installation.

Escapes vs. Fume Boards: A Beekeeper’s Choice

When it comes to clearing supers, the two main methods are bee escapes and fume boards. A fume board is a lid lined with absorbent material onto which you spray a bee repellent. The sun heats the board, vaporizing the repellent and driving the bees down and out of the supers in a matter of minutes. It’s incredibly fast and allows for a one-trip harvest.

However, the speed of a fume board comes with trade-offs. It relies on chemicals, which many hobbyists prefer to avoid in their hives. The process can be highly disruptive and agitating for the bees, and it only works well on warm, sunny days. Bee escapes, on the other hand, are a slow, gentle, and chemical-free method. Their main drawback is that they require a second trip to the apiary and 24-48 hours of lead time.

For most small-scale and hobby farmers, the bee escape is the superior choice. The calm, gentle process aligns better with a sustainable, low-stress approach to beekeeping. While a commercial operator might need the speed of a fume board to pull hundreds of supers in a day, the hobbyist can easily plan for the two-trip process, resulting in a much more pleasant and peaceful harvest day for everyone involved.

Ultimately, a double screen bee escape is a small investment that pays huge dividends in a calmer, more manageable honey harvest. By choosing the right design for your needs—whether it’s for speed, durability, or simple reliability—you can turn a potentially stressful task into one of the most satisfying parts of your beekeeping season. A quiet harvest with calm bees and heavy boxes of honey is the goal, and a good escape board is the best tool to get you there.