Bears in Connecticut?

[romduck]

I currently have two hives at my home here in Western Connecticut (Town of Sherman). Due to construction at my house I’ve been living elsewhere but I stop by every couple of days to check on the house and the critters (and bees) that I have.

On Tuesday, October 11th, in the pouring rain that we have been having lately, I stopped by the house to find both hives toppled off the hive stands, bees spilled everywhere, frames torn apart.  :!:

I quickly threw on a veil and some gloves and ran up to inspect the damage. Most of the bees were cold and wet, dead or dying. Then I flipped over one of the boxes.

Boy, were those bees MAD!  :evil:  I don’t mean bees in the rain mad, I mean kill you dead and then follow you home to kill you some more mad. :shock: Apparently some of the bees from each hive managed to find some dry space underneath the toppled boxes.

Nothing else in the garden or at the house was disturbed. I found no identifiable claw marks on the outside of the hive boxes but the frames that were pulled out were clearly torn apart by something. I found no identifiable tracks or scat.  :?

I mentioned this to my contractor and he mentioned his own black bear sighting a couple of days before in a nearby town (Danbury on the New Fairfield border).

Now this being a pretty rare occurrence in Connecticut to the best of my knowledge I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts or comments on bear problems this far South.

Other than righting the hives as best I could my plan for now was to wait for the rain to finally stop in a few more days and use a bee escape to move the remaining bees in each hive down in to one box. I’ll probably use a double screen board to over-Winter them together one atop the other.

Any other suggestions  :?:

[manowar422]

romduck,
So sorry to hear about your hives. :o

You just have to put things back the best
you can for winter. Don't throw anything
out that contain stores. if the frames are
not too busted up, put them in a box and
let the bees have some kind of protected
access to it.

Here's hoping you get some good weather
in the next few days to make repairs.

All that rain in your area has been
hard on the animals as well. Most of
them have probably been flooded out
of the normal places they forage and rest.

I'm sorry to say that what ever creature
trashed your hives, will probably return
for more honey.

[romduck]

Yeah, rare as they are around here, that's what I'm afraid of.

If that's the case, then it'll be then end of beekeeping here for me.  :(

[manowar422]

:shock:  :shock:  :shock:

Don't do that :!:

See this site for a thing that scares away animals.

http://www.amtekpet.com/crittergitter.htm

[romduck]

Thanks.

I was thinking of using something like that plus an electric fence. They're easy to set up and I've got a power source already near the hives.

I use a small fence around my garden and it certainly keeps the critters at bay!

We'll I've got a while to think about it.

I actually filed a bear report with DEP. The second sighting reported in my town this year, but several have been reported in nearby towns.

[bassman1977]

manowar, do you use this critter gitter?  How does it work?  Has it spooked away bears for you, if they did come around your hives?  PA is has been having a boom in the bear population in recent years, and there has been numerous sightings and apiaries damaged (one guy lost all four of his hives, another lost about 90).  Anyone else who has experience with this device, I would appreciate your input also.

[manowar422]

bassman,

I live in the big city and my hive is 25ft. off the ground on a concrete
building, no bears, no mice, no skunks, no nothin' 8)

My brother-in-law however, has been keeping bees for over 30 years
(in Michigan) and has dealt with all kinds of critters messing with his
hives, bears included.

His best success has come by laying down flat, a barrier of 4X8
plywood sheets, heavily laced with short sheet-rock screws. Hundreds
of them in each sheet.

This method went quickly by the wayside when his Grandchildren
came along a few years back. Now he uses this type of motion
sensored device with very good results.
Now, if he could only get the deer to stop eating his fruit trees...