Newbie with Bears

[Lazer128]

Hi ya'll! You don't get much more "newbie" than me. Been wanting bees for the pollination benefits in the garden. There are NO bees here in the mountains of SC but there are black bears. I know I have my work cut out for me between now and March 30th (bee pick up day) and hope you can offer.

I want to install an electric fence around my garden to slow down the deer anyway so I plan to use that to protect the hives also. Best way? Any ideas will be appreciated.

Anyone near Pickens County, South Carolina?

[Rader Sidetrack]

Welcome to Beesource!

There are quite a few threads on bear fences that you can find with search, here's one:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...-Bear-Problems!

The most effective search of the Beesource forum is on the home page, here:
http://www.beesource.com/
Look for the Google Custom Search box on the left. Type in bear fence and enjoy!

Note that the search function available on each Forum page (top right) is not as robust as the search on the home page.


And you can search the member list by location here:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/memb....php?do=search
I see 8 members from Pickens.

[EastSideBuzz]

Double barrel 12 gauge with slugs I find is the best way to protect your hives and carry extra slugs for it.

Where there is one there could be more.

[Lazer128]

Double barrel 12 gauge with slugs I find is the best way to protect your hives and carry extra slugs for it.

Where there is one there could be more.

Oh there are many! The nearest one is on the wall above my head as I type this. lol I prefer a 270 however. :-)

Just thot I would try it without wasting meat at first. Still got bear in the freezer.

Just need to figure out what Joule rating is adequate to discourage them. I think the hives will be visible from the front porch and it will be within the working range of a wireless driveway alarm. Plan "B" (your idea) is worked out already. Works for zombies too.

[beegeorge]

Many beekeepers in your area,,

Oconee County Beekeepers Association

www.clemson.edu/extension/county/oconee/programs


Cherokee County Beekeepers Association
www.cherokeebeeclub.com

Pickens County Beekeepers Association

www.pickenscountyscbeekeepers.com

I am sure one of these can help you

[EastSideBuzz]

I just put up a fence at 6 inches and 12 inches.

I use these. http://www.amazon.com/Fi-Shock-SS-44...+charger+solar

This one looks cool also http://www.amazon.com/Zareba-B10LI-B...d_sim_sbs_lg_6


"Whoever said nothing is impossible never tried slamming a revolving door".

[ryandebny]

I had bears eat two of my hives this spring. Heartbreak. I have since installed an electric fence. It has worked well, but the bears have tested it, and broken the wire. Fortunately they took off, and I found the damage before the next bear came. The first post was a good one. It had a link to a previous post. Using chicken wire on the ground, connected to your ground wire is a great idea. When it gets dry the ground connection is weak. Maybe weak enough to breach the fence. I accidently touched my fence during the drought and didn't get a shock.
Bears can be persistant.
I've seen a conductive ribbon that you can use with your fence. Looks like a good idea. It's visible, and stronger than the wire.
The rule is 1 ft wire 2 ft wire and 3ft wire. Anything above that isn't necessary, because the bears can't jump over it, so they will make contact regardless. I have a 4 ft wire anyway. Keeps the dears out. ( I have fruit trees in the bee yard)
The only problem is. When you put an electric fence in you have to avoid grass and weeds growing up to the one foot wire and grounding it out and draining the battery...if its solar.
I found this out the hard way. I made a large enclosure and had to lay landscape cloth and mulch to keep the grass from growing.
Anyway the electric fence worked for me. I am worried that it may be breached so I built a solid 2x4 fence inside the electric. Then I wired it too. If they breach the outer fence, the inner one is charged and ready.
Overkill maybe.
Use a strand of the ribbon at the 3 ft level. Bears feel and test with their snout.

[Rader Sidetrack]

Ryandebny, I sure hope your bear enclosure is at a rural outyard. Your location says Brooklyn, NY! While Brooklyn may have challenges for a beekeeper, hopefully bears is not one of them.

[ryandebny]

Yeah it's rural LOL
I have 7 hives on my rooftop in Brooklyn, so I really don't have any worries about anything. Even SHB larva can't reach maturity, since they can't find any dirt to burrow in.
I've only been bekeeping a few years and love it.
I bought a small piece of land in the Catskills to put more hives. Lots of bears there. Too many.
Even though I put up an electric fence, my neighbors say, " that should help, BUT nothing keeps bears out."
So my paranoia lead to overkill.
Hopefully I'm smarter than the average bear.

[beehonest]

Lazer128 go to Virginia.gov and look under bears general they have guidlines in PDF. WWW.dgif.virginia.gov/wildelife/bear/fencing.pdf You want a Low impedance charger of at least one joule as high as you can afford, Patriot makes a good one that can be run ac or dc. Everywhere I have looked recomends a low impedence and aluminum wire when practicle for preditor fencing as aposed to a fence to keep livestock in. Hope that helps it did me.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome L128!

[Lazer128]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! I am really excited about getting my first bees this spring and finding this site! So much to learn! I bought BK for Dummies yesterday. My library is growing,

[New Ky Beekeeper]

I have 280 acres that I have farmed over 20 years - I will tell you there is nothing like a Gallagher Fence charger! It gives me 7,000 volts at well over a mile away. I also suggest if you have deer and bear that will test your fence, you must use bob-wire instead of regular electricity wire- it breaks too easy. Good luck!

[Lazer128]

I have 280 acres that I have farmed over 20 years - I will tell you there is nothing like a Gallagher Fence charger! It gives me 7,000 volts at well over a mile away. I also suggest if you have deer and bear that will test your fence, you must use bob-wire instead of regular electricity wire- it breaks too easy. Good luck!

I just checked the Gallagher Fence Charger web site. Those are MEAN! And expensive. What model do you have? Joule output? Right now I am planning on using a high tension wire (12.5 ga) system 6" apart and 5' high around the boxes. A more conventional double (two parallel fences) around my small vegetable garden. Any and all advice is appreciated.

[Lazer128]

Update! I contacted a couple of local bee keepers that serve as mentors. I am meeting them after lunch today. They are close enough to me that they have to deal with probably the same bears as I do. I have high hopes that many of my questions will be answered and I can start building the "bear proof" bee yard soon. After that I will have a few hundred bee related questions!

[BGhoney]

Welcome, Its a catch 22, the more you learn the more questions will pop up. good luck with, da bears

[newbeeDelia]

[QUOTE=Lazer128;875576] Been wanting bees for the pollination benefits in the garden. There are NO bees here in the mountains of SC but there are black bears. I know I have my work cut out for me between now and March 30th (bee pick up day) and hope you can offer.
I want to install an electric fence around my garden to slow down the deer anyway so I plan to use that to protect the hives also. Best way? Any ideas will be appreciated.QUOTE]

Lazer128-
Great question. I too have bears. Not just any bears. We have black bears here but at our 40 acres we have Grizzly Bear. When you walk the hillside you see tonnes of droppings. This concerns me a lot. Grizzly are mush harder to run off. I wonder what the other Beeks do around my neighbourhood? I will have to talk to some and see. I am reading and learning. Thanks for all the great info.

[Lazer128]

[QUOTE=newbeeDelia;882014]

Been wanting bees for the pollination benefits in the garden. There are NO bees here in the mountains of SC but there are black bears. I know I have my work cut out for me between now and March 30th (bee pick up day) and hope you can offer.
I want to install an electric fence around my garden to slow down the deer anyway so I plan to use that to protect the hives also. Best way? Any ideas will be appreciated.QUOTE]

Lazer128-
Great question. I too have bears. Not just any bears. We have black bears here but at our 40 acres we have Grizzly Bear. When you walk the hillside you see tonnes of droppings. This concerns me a lot. Grizzly are mush harder to run off. I wonder what the other Beeks do around my neighbourhood? I will have to talk to some and see. I am reading and learning. Thanks for all the great info.

Let me know what you learn. I started dropping trees on the property this weekend to make "sunshine" for the bees and the garden. As soon as this phase of the plan is complete, I will auger holes and start installing posts for a high tension electric fence around the bee yard. I am planning to start with a wire 4" from the ground (skunks) and ending about 48" high. I will be using a AC unit producing 12,000+ volts (6-7 joules). My plans are to have it complete by the middle of March and baited with bacon two weeks before I pick up my bees. I will be building my stands with galvanized pipe legs with inverted grease cups to deter ants and mice. I am anxious to hear about what the other bee keepers in your area are doing. Thanks!

[Lazer128]

UPDATE: Ant-rat proof stands are anchored in the ground. Bear fence posts are in and braced. I strung the grounded wires yesterday and plan to install the hot wires today. If I have time I will start running the wiring for the DC controller and drive the ground rods in. I need to build some sort of weather proof box to house the controller and battery. (I am going DC because of the distance from a AC power source.) I hope to have the fence charged and baited with bacon strips before I pick up the bees on the 30th. I can't wait!

[ryandebny]

Your fence sounds great
I just built a box for my charger and vented the bottom
Why bait the fence with bacon
Is that so the bears learn before you put yourbees in