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| My beekeeping just got more complicated.
I have heard talk of two cubs and a mother bear in our area. Last friday the top brood chamber on my newly split 3rd colony had been knocked off and licked clean. I have now put up a high voltage electric fence around all 3 hives. Yesterday the fence had been tampered with by a bear, who fled the scene. The fence wiring was all loose and shorted out when I found it with one wire pushed under
I have now set it to the highest level which will mean charging the small battery every two days. The surrounding indications lead me to believe it is bears not cows, coyotes, deer, raccoon or the neighbours dog. Will they learn their lesson soon anyone? |
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| Whether or not they 'learn their lesson' may depend more on the local environment than the fence. If the area you live in provides more delectable options for the bears to explore, they may shy away from the hives. But if your hives are the best 5 star restaurant in town, the bears will likely find a way, albeit painfully at the start, to get by the fence. Sounds more like you'll have to be vigilant and not depend completely on the fence. Good luck. |
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- Posted by sideliner01 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 8, 05 at 14:37
| There are other methods to deter the bears also. Try laying human hair around the fence.You can also get some thin strips of plywood and hammer nails threw them so they poke from one side, lay them around the fence with nails pointing up like a bed of nails. |
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- Posted by MountainMan_BC z6 Canada (My Page) on Sat, Jul 9, 05 at 15:53
| We live in an area with many bears, make sure your ground is working. Make sure your charger is as strong as a plug in one. You can bait the fence with a piece of tinfoil crunched up with sardine juice. They lick it with their tongue (only that and nose is sensiive as they have a good coat). They won't come back if the charge is truly good. Don't leave unnecesary supplies, sugarwater, scraped brood etc etc etc out. Don't leave compost, pet food, garbage etc around. It's a heck of a lot easier than fighting them. I was recently told that chicken wire/mesh layed on the ground around the pen will allow an even better grounding, when predators step on it. Don't have the bears shot, they are just doing what is natural- easy food source. Make it harder than the wild berries. |
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