diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index bbc61a3..387842e 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -77,7 +77,9 @@ let _cache = null, _cacheTs = 0;
 // and batching the cleanup.
 
 const PRUNE_AGE   = 30 * 86400; // 30 days in seconds
-const PRUNE_BATCH = 2000;
+const PRUNE_BATCH = 200; // 2000 was still multi-second per batch on production
+                         // hardware (10x slower than the box this was tested
+                         // on) - small enough here to actually stay responsive
 
 const stmtCountOld = DB.prepare('SELECT COUNT(*) n FROM bots WHERE received_at < ?');
 const stmtSummarizeBatch = DB.prepare(`