Hi everybody,
Brand new member here and quite new to beekeeping in general as well.
I went to the county bee school last March then started with a Langstroth hive- just building and staining the hive itself and building the frames was such a joy! Bought a bee package in April, colony was doing great, but by early June I had a bear pay a visit and as a result I lost all bees.
Needless to say this Spring I will start again, I will build an electric fence this time around. I am thinking of adding a second hive and I'm contemplating getting another type of hive just to experience something different. Really considering a National with a deep brood box and a standard brood box (here in New England most everybody seem to have two brood boxes, I believe because winters being harsher than down south, they want the bees to have adequate food stores for the winter- I am mentioning this as I did notice that a standard National comes with only one brood box).
Anyways, I really enjoyed the short month or so of beekeeping last year and I'm really excited to start again and to become an active member of this community- I am sure I will be soaking up the wealth of knowledge on this forum as needs will arise along my beekeeping adventure.
Welcome. Have fun with it. And enjoy some of your own honey. It always tastes better.
Welcome :happy:
Welcome to Beemaster.
Jim
Welcome and I am sure that you are glad the Patriots won. Enjoy your celebration.
Welcome, some of our northern beeks can probably give you some tips on bear protection.
Hello. I'm a new member and a new beekeeper from MA as well. I'm thinking of joining the Essex County Beekeepers Association, because it seems like I could participate in selling my honey at the Topsfield fair with these guys. Apparently each city/town in Essex County has an average of 8 resident beekeepers. Very neat. I had no idea beekeeping was so popular.
Welcome Thousandwords,
Lots of bears here also. I build my electric fence with sturdy posts every 4 feet and 54" corral panel. Drive a good deep ground stake and ground the corral panel. Then run one hot strand 6-8" above the corral panel and 1 "scare wire" about 18" of the ground.
Since you know there is a bear in your area, and he knows where you are, he'll be back. I would hang strips of bacon, just a few on the top and scare wire. When he takes a taste it will make an impression.
Good Luck and hang in there. :smile: