View Full Version : Bear damage
berkshire bee
05-06-2007, 08:50 PM
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x222/berkshirebee/bear%20damage%20to%20honey%20bee%20hive/IM000540.jpg
How awful. Didn't leave much, did they? Is that an electric fence I see in the background?
nursebee
05-07-2007, 07:15 PM
Yes, please explain the fencing. I see 2 strands too far apart and maybe a ground not in the ground enough. How much power?
bluegrass
05-08-2007, 07:49 PM
I have said it time and time again.....Electric fences do not stop bears......bait or no bait and anybody who thinks that they do is just kidding themselves......And it has nothing to do with wire spacing or grounds. With the fencer that close to the site the ground does not have to be much. At least the boxes are still in one piece; I have seen worse.
Jeffzhear
05-08-2007, 10:00 PM
Sad, sorry it happened to you.
Sorry to hear about it. Was the fence "on"?
What are the options? Maybe not all fences, stop all bears all the time but here you can see mine in the background of the two TBH's (under their winter insulation.) The strands of wire are about the same and I live in the same general area as BerkshireB (I live just south of the Catskills in NY)
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d60/Oarceas/bees/cergi.jpg
Between my family and immediate neighbors we 've seen a pair of bears (sow and cub? cub was bigger than Moma) on a daily basis for two weeks straight last summer. On first sighting they were about 50 yards from the hives. The fence went up that night and kept them away since. I've heard stories of them breaking through, especially if the fence was off at first and they had already got a taste of honey.
berkshire bee
05-10-2007, 01:06 AM
Well, the picture was taken after she had started picking things up. Nothing was actually left on the platform. The picture doesn't really show the fence very well. She had four strands of wire. The fence is powered by a 12 volt car battery which is charged with a solar charger.