Amish Country
Well-known member
How to keep bears from distroying bee hives
Ok by now you all know I have a few issues that maybe most preparing for a pandemic flu don't have to deal with.... like bee hives. We finally got a hive that survived winter! Now I find out I have to protect it from bears. Bears are notorious for loving honey. Cute cuddly Winnie the Poo is nothing like dealing with the reality of a black bear tearing a hive a part. Not only are they attracted by the honey but also the protein rich bee larvae.
According to some bee keepers in black bear country to protect their hives from honey loving bears they surround them with an electric fence. There are a few tricks one needs to know. First: a solar fence is a must for dealing with power outages. Second: the solar collector has to be properly orientated toward sun. Third: it has to have enough battery storage capacity to allow it to operate through the night and extended cloudy periods. Fourth: this is a sizable animal and can be very determine when food is involved. It has to make enough of an impression to be a deterrent. Lastly the metal fence conducting the electricity has to be made of barbed wire. The bear's fur can act as an insulator protecting it from the discouraging zap. The metal barbs combing through the bear's thick fur allow the zap to be a more effective deterrent. Once I put a several strand eclectic fence (straight wire no barbs) a few inches off the ground around my garden hoping it would deter the rabbits and ground hogs. No such luck. Their fur was too thick and insulated them from shock. It did deter our retriever who touched it with his nose, once.
For those annoyed that I would consider shocking Poo Bear please remember in reality Black Bears can weigh in at 57–250 kg (130–550 lb), one recorded specimen tipped the scale at over 409 kg (900 pounds)*, have impressively long sharp claws and teeth, run 30 miles an hour, climb trees and have been known to attack and kill humans. I respect these omnivores and know that they have a right to live in the wild and a place in the food chain. I just do not want them coming to my place for dinner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear
Ok by now you all know I have a few issues that maybe most preparing for a pandemic flu don't have to deal with.... like bee hives. We finally got a hive that survived winter! Now I find out I have to protect it from bears. Bears are notorious for loving honey. Cute cuddly Winnie the Poo is nothing like dealing with the reality of a black bear tearing a hive a part. Not only are they attracted by the honey but also the protein rich bee larvae.
According to some bee keepers in black bear country to protect their hives from honey loving bears they surround them with an electric fence. There are a few tricks one needs to know. First: a solar fence is a must for dealing with power outages. Second: the solar collector has to be properly orientated toward sun. Third: it has to have enough battery storage capacity to allow it to operate through the night and extended cloudy periods. Fourth: this is a sizable animal and can be very determine when food is involved. It has to make enough of an impression to be a deterrent. Lastly the metal fence conducting the electricity has to be made of barbed wire. The bear's fur can act as an insulator protecting it from the discouraging zap. The metal barbs combing through the bear's thick fur allow the zap to be a more effective deterrent. Once I put a several strand eclectic fence (straight wire no barbs) a few inches off the ground around my garden hoping it would deter the rabbits and ground hogs. No such luck. Their fur was too thick and insulated them from shock. It did deter our retriever who touched it with his nose, once.
For those annoyed that I would consider shocking Poo Bear please remember in reality Black Bears can weigh in at 57–250 kg (130–550 lb), one recorded specimen tipped the scale at over 409 kg (900 pounds)*, have impressively long sharp claws and teeth, run 30 miles an hour, climb trees and have been known to attack and kill humans. I respect these omnivores and know that they have a right to live in the wild and a place in the food chain. I just do not want them coming to my place for dinner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear