bear issue in orange county ny

[wood4d]

Got a call and photos today of a few trashed hives at my sons house. Bear issue he said... The hives have been there for two years with no issues until now. The DEC said if I saw them (the bears) trashing the hives I was within my rights to

off them. The real question is , is it too late to put up an electric fence (like tomorrow) or should I pull the hives. My two small grandchildren live there so we dont want bear attractants but its a great place for bees. I live

100 miles from them so its not like I can just run over there. If it isnt too late for the fence I will try that. I need some input here. They are putting in fruit trees and a garden now, are we just setting the table? I live in the woods but have

never lived in bear country.

[enjambres]

I think a sturdy, electric and temporarily baited, fence will do the trick if you already are having bear visits. The new trees and gardens won't attract bears, but bird feeders - and garbage cans - certainly will.

The bear may come back tonight or tomorrow, though, so the hives are at serious risk until the fence is up and energized. A good fence with a powerful output is effective against bears, even ones that have had a taste of honey.

I wish you good luck. I am north of Oran,ge Co. and bears are reported near me occasionally, but so far no issues. I probably ought to do something preemptively.

I am sorry your hives were damaged. It's a pain to sort out and the bees are really cranky for awhile.

Enj.

[Banemorth]

+1 for the electric baited fence.

I live in prime time black bear country. I run a Parmak Solar Fence (you can find them on Amazon) and use binder clips to hold little bits of bacon on it. Bear's fur and hide is so thick they'll walk right through the fence unless you bait it and get them to lick / nose it first. Don't forget to get the wire, gate handles, and fence posts as well. Also you need a grounding kit.

The idea with the bacon isn't to attract the bears, you don't put giant slabs on there. Trust me the hives will attract them from WAY further away than a couple bits of bacon. The bacon is just to get them to stop and respect the fence before plowing into your bees.

[wood4d]

I wish I could figure out how to upload photos... The bear solved the problem last night. I had a solar charger shipped overnight but dont need it anymore. I am going to put up the fence and protect some empty boxes this year hoping to discourage the bear. I may try again in a couple of weeks depending on what happens.

[enjambres]

Oh, dear I was afraid of that!

Did she/he wreck all the boxes, and everything? If you can salvage some of them, you can still get some new bees and frames and get started again. It will be easier because you have some experience and may be able to save some of the drawn combs to give the new bees a head start.

Sometimes, too, even really trashed hives still have enough bees and brood and queen to get them restarted again. But be aware that they will extremely HOT while you try to sort them out. Your grandchildren should probably stay far away from them for the time being. Given the temps we're having, any remaining bees won't have died from the cold last night, so you have a shot at salvaging them, perhaps.

To post pictures, use the image icon (third one in from the right in the header bar above each thread/post box). Click basic uploader - if needed -(make sure the "from computer" box is toggled). Click choose file, find the image on your computer, click it open, click upload image in the BS box. Check that the image is in the post in the Go Advanced setting for a preview and you're good to go. Some images from phones are too large and need modification in size, which I can't help with. But I think there is a recent thread about posting pictures that may help. I don't have a smart phone.

I am so sorry about damage to your hives.

Enj.

[Rader Sidetrack]

>> I wish I could figure out how to upload photos...

See this FAQ thread:
https://www.beesource.com/forums/show...o-uploading-**

[wood4d]

IMG_4637.JPG

[wood4d]

There are two more hives but you get the idea. I got all the fencing stuff in todays mail. Maybe if I lived there it would be available in brick and mortar stores. Expensive lesson.

[wood4d]

After picking up the boxes we put them in the barn overnight IMG_4643 bear.JPG

[Hoot Owl Lane Bees]

I live in bear country.
You need to do something drastic or it will be going after other things food wise you have around.
I have seen were one did the same thing to a metal barn and the chest freezer was ripped open for a bag of cat food.


I had one last year and it got a butt full of buck shot. ( after contacting the conservation dept.)
It has not been back since.
The next time I will be using one bullet closer to the nose.

[wood4d]

end result... We pulled what was left of the bees. We put up an electric fence and are going to wait a few weeks and try the bees again. The bees were grouping together on a few frames in the barn and a softball sized swarm on the hive stand outside. We took all traces of the bees away and left only new equipment in the barn. I was there all weekend prepared to do whatever was neccessary to stop further damage. The bear was a no show. I brought two hive remnants home and gave them each a frame of eggs and a nuc box. I will update this in the future to let you know if it works.

[NYBeeGuy]

I am in Sullivan County NY, and have Bear issues. I had a very sturdy electric fence build (post cemented into the ground) with a Parmak Magnum 12 Solar Charger on it. Happy to give you the name of the guy who installed my fence.

[gtwarren1966]

end result... We pulled what was left of the bees. We put up an electric fence and are going to wait a few weeks and try the bees again. The bees were grouping together on a few frames in the barn and a softball sized swarm on the hive stand outside. We took all traces of the bees away and left only new equipment in the barn. I was there all weekend prepared to do whatever was neccessary to stop further damage. The bear was a no show. I brought two hive remnants home and gave them each a frame of eggs and a nuc box. I will update this in the future to let you know if it works.

What charger did you get, they really need a powerful charger not just a run of the mill charger used for goats or something. I believe minimum is 1.0 joule.

[NYBeeGuy]

Magnum Solar-Pak 12

http://parmakusa.com/product/magnum-solar-pak-12/

3.1+ joules

[gtwarren1966]

Magnum Solar-Pak 12

http://parmakusa.com/product/magnum-solar-pak-12/

3.1+ joules

Good job that's the one I run

[wood4d]

Its august... I bought the parmak, not cheap put up a 20x30 box fence. Put 2 hives in it in early june, a neighbor posted a bear photo on facebook last week with a bear in my kids front yard. No hive issue. I think bears in populated areas go to fence school, all you have to do is build one.

[ericweller]

I got hit by a bear 5 days ago. It just knocked over one hive and didn't really tear the frames up. A fellow beek said it was a young one who was probably spooked by getting stung. It was in a new outyard that I am trying this year.
Instead of expensive and cumbersome fence chargers, I am strapping the hives down very securely with the ratchet straps (400 lb strength). I secure with two straps per hive on both the long and short side of the hives. They are secured to a bench that is dug 2 feet into the ground. The straps are wrapped around the bench instead being attached to eye bolts. Eye bolts could probably be ripped out of the bench.
So far, the hives are standing, strong. Another yard that had a bear attack last year has the same setup and there hasn't been any problems. I seriously doubt a black bear would be able to move these hives with them strapped down. If I was dealing with brown bears, this probably wouldn't work but black bears are smaller.
I will say that it is a pain dealing with these straps when having to perform inspections tho but at least I don't have to put up a fence and buy charges and batteries.
FWIW.

[billabell]

I live in bear country. Your fruit trees will be at risk from the bears once they start bearing fruit. I have fruit trees and they are protected from the bears and the deer with an electric fence 2 strands offset about 3 ft high in front of a 5 ft fence (deer have poor depth perception). I assume you have deer everyone does they are like rabbits around here. They, in a poor mast and forage year, will eat your garden and fruit trees even if they are not bearing yet. My neighbors farm just had a bear attack on his peach trees (unfenced). Bears do not have good table manners. He/she ate everything on the ground and the lower limbs and then worked his way up several of the trees ripping limbs down as he/she went. Totally destroyed 3 trees. He and 3 other bears then started on the apple trees before the property caretaker got a load of bird shot into their backsides. That was about a week ago and they haven't been back yet.
My hives are protected by a separate fence using cattle panels electrified. This is what I did easy to set up. http://www.kencove.com/fence/76_Bear+Fence_resource.php
If you can get 110 ac/dc it is a lot better than solar IMHO. Solar did not work out for me and I lost some hives to a bear several years ago. Good luck.