bears

[Eric Bosworth]

I didn't check my hives this morning. Last night they were fine. Yesterday my neighbor was putting salt licks out for deer and found a stump that was clawed to crap by a bear. I know we have discussed this in the past I had a nuc a few years ago that was wiped out by a bear but I am looking at fence ideas. Any suggestions? thanks

[Caribou]

I keep my ladies behind a chain link fence.  There are bears around though I haven't seen one in the less than a year that I've been here.  The moose are a problem though.  While the moose don't care about the honey they also don't care about the hive.  When a moose bumps into the hive the ladies do not appreciate all their furniture being spread around the neighborhood.

[divemaster1963]

I have a yard near the river here that is a migration route that bears and pumas in the area like to use to travel a lot. tail cameras have gotten photos of some pretty good size ones. I have a battery/solar cattle fence around mine with 3wires tall to about four feet high. it has worked great. have had them hit the wire a couple times. but none have crossed into the yard. I tried to have a angle point towards where they traveling from  at both ends of the yard so when they hit the wire they have area to run without going more into fence. this has been working for me.


john   

[Eric Bosworth]

A chain link fence? You probably have more invested in the fence than I have in my entire apiary. I think an electric fence is probably a little more practical for me. I also don't have moose around here. Just out of curiosity how well do your bees overwinter in Alaska? Perhaps a better or at least as important question is where in Alaska? It is kind of a large state.

I like the idea of an electric fence. My biggest problem is where I keep my bees putting any fence in is a pain.

[Oblio13]

I have terrible problems with bears here. A friend and I built a chain-link "cage", complete with a roof, and bears pulled it apart. The same friend put a hive on his second-story roof, and a bear climbed up the side of his house.

Now I use an electric fence with four wires, the lowest being about 8 inches off the ground. Any higher, and they'll dig under. And put it far enough away from the hives so that they can't reach through.

It's important to use a powerful charger, and to ground it really well. Most problems with fences not being powerful enough are grounding problems.

Most important of all is to "train" bears by getting them to touch the fence with their noses or tongues. If they touch it with their fur, they'll just walk through it. And once they figure out that they can do that, they'll be back. They have a threshold of pain far higher than you and I do.

The best way I've found to "train" them is to use cat food or tuna fish cans. I get them from the recycling bin at our town dump. Form them so that they can be hung on the wire, and drill a hole at the lowest point so that rain water will drain out. Then once in a while, especially in the spring when bears are hungry and in the fall when they're trying to put on fat, put some bacon grease in the cans. The bacon grease persists for a lot longer than things like peanut butter, and bears can't resist investigating it. The aluminum cans are very conductive. Once a bear gets five or six thousand volts through the nose or tongue, they usually won't come back.

[Michael Bush]

Another grounding issue is dry ground.  Watering you ground rod from time to time is a good plan.

[Colobee]

Our bears climb 6 foot chain link with ease.

A 100 mile 110 V cattle charger, coupled to T-posts with plastic insulators is all that's needed here. The t-posts are enough of a ground. I started using twisted double strand 17 gauge e-fence wire after hearing multiple reports of a 600 lb boar in the neighborhood. Other reports of large old sows with cubs & yearlings are frequent. I got a pic of a 3 year old, 300 pounder a few weeks back - wandering about 50 yards behind the hives with no apparent interest in them.[attachment=0][/attachment]

IF any of them have come to visit, the fence has deterred them. Knock on wood. I find the wire "stretched" every now & then, and can only assume it's a nosy nocturnal bruin learning a lesson.

[Jim134]

This is kind of what you do. When you get sick of bear attacks. Electrified chain link fence.
https://goo.gl/photos/BZaF5vQvZyTdW2PE9


         BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[divemaster1963]

This is kind of what you do. When you get sick of bear attacks.

Huh! Invisible beeyards?   

John

Drulling with anticipation waiting see photo.

[Eric Bosworth]

Our bears climb 6 foot chain link with ease.

A 100 mile 110 V cattle charger, coupled to T-posts with plastic insulators is all that's needed here. The t-posts are enough of a ground. I started using twisted double strand 17 gauge e-fence wire after hearing multiple reports of a 600 lb boar in the neighborhood. Other reports of large old sows with cubs & yearlings are frequent. I got a pic of a 3 year old, 300 pounder a few weeks back - wandering about 50 yards behind the hives with no apparent interest in them.[attachment=0][/attachment]

IF any of them have come to visit, the fence has deterred them. Knock on wood. I find the wire "stretched" every now & then, and can only assume it's a nosy nocturnal bruin learning a lesson.

Nice bear in the background. I like that arrangement. I just need to get power to my bees.

[Caribou]

A chain link fence? You probably have more invested in the fence than I have in my entire apiary. I think an electric fence is probably a little more practical for me. I also don't have moose around here. Just out of curiosity how well do your bees overwinter in Alaska? Perhaps a better or at least as important question is where in Alaska? It is kind of a large state.

I like the idea of an electric fence. My biggest problem is where I keep my bees putting any fence in is a pain.

The fence was here when I bought the house it was just a good place to put the apiary. 

An electric fence is supposed to work for bears, not so much for moose.  Think of a moose as being a bumper car with antlers that is always eating plants. 

Near Anchorage.

Some of the experienced bee keepers claim a 70% to 80% hive survival rate.  This will be my first winter and I have two hives.  If I have a 50% survival rate I'll be happy.

[Caribou]

Our bears climb 6 foot chain link with ease.

A 100 mile 110 V cattle charger, coupled to T-posts with plastic insulators is all that's needed here. The t-posts are enough of a ground. I started using twisted double strand 17 gauge e-fence wire after hearing multiple reports of a 600 lb boar in the neighborhood. Other reports of large old sows with cubs & yearlings are frequent. I got a pic of a 3 year old, 300 pounder a few weeks back - wandering about 50 yards behind the hives with no apparent interest in them.[attachment=0][/attachment]

IF any of them have come to visit, the fence has deterred them. Knock on wood. I find the wire "stretched" every now & then, and can only assume it's a nosy nocturnal bruin learning a lesson.

Nice bear in the background. I like that arrangement. I just need to get power to my bees.

Try a solar powered fence. 

[Yukon Bees]

Hi,

You need an electric fence capable of pushing 2.5 joules to shock through the bears fur. My solar unit use for my bees gets 2.2J and my chicken coop uses a plug in one and it gets overs 6.3J. To maxime my solar unit I alternate between hot and ground wires on top of having grounding rods. 4 hot and 2 ground wires at about 6-10inch spacing. My dry sandy soil grounds poorly so if the animal touches both the hot and ground wires it gets the max output... Humans too!!!
We have an abundance of black/grizzly bears as well as curious dogs and foxes.... The pallet fence in the picture creates visual barrier as well as a wind block/micro-climate, no problems in the last 2 years.

[divemaster1963]

Like your setup. Gives great ideas for enclosing small bee yard in out yards. I may have to use the idea sometime.

John