# Beehives being stolen



## sunnyann (Apr 8, 2011)

My friend in Greece has lots of beehives in wooden boxes. Many of them are being stolen.

He has tried branding the boxes, he has tried a camera in a nearby tree.

Does anyone have any other suggestions as to what he can do to track the stolen beehives?

I have heard about a gps but am told it does not work so well.

Thank You


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## ccar2000 (Aug 9, 2009)

What a drag! That really is terrible. Is there a state or county inspector to notify? They could keep an eye out for the brands in other bee yards. How a bout fencing? electric or razor wire? Whatever he does I hope it works out.


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## concrete-bees (Jun 20, 2009)

find a hive that has AFB in it and set it out for them to steal - they will get what they diserve 

wish it what just that simple !!!!


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

sunnyann said:


> My friend in Greece has lots of beehives in wooden boxes. Many of them are being stolen.


 Dadburn crackheads are everywhere


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## rand (Nov 14, 2009)

Here in Israel we suffer from hives stealing for many many years

beekeepers that can efford this, installing Gps tracking devices 
on one hive in a group. The goverenment participate in something like 30%
of the cost.

This solution works well and we here from time to time about
catching these nice guys.


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## mariovides (Oct 4, 2011)

Hi Rand.

I am working here in my country in a project where we will make geopositioning on the Apiaries of all the country, could you please give me information about:

What company in Israel sell the equipment for gps tracking of the beehives (name, website).

What government institution in Israel at the Agriculture Ministry is the responsible to make the gps tracking of the apiaries and if is possible some contact person (e-mail, website..

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best regards.

Mario Vides.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I was thinking you could install a pressurized can of banana juice in the hive and trigger it by the lifting of the hive off its base. Something like an inhaler canister. If you needed to move the hives yourself you could disarm the canister by some secrete method and then rearm it when it gets set in place.


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## Jim 134 (Dec 1, 2007)

Mann Lake

http://www.mannlakeltd.com/ProductDetail.asp?idproduct=1050&idCategory=8


BEE HAPPY Jim 134


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2011)

I believe some third world countries make their top bar hives out of concrete to prevent stealing.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

I would distract the thieves with a pretty goat!


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

hmmmm. oh, that was bad.


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## lazy shooter (Jun 3, 2011)

Mbeck said:


> I would distract the thieves with a pretty goat!


The post of the week. Thanks for a great laugh.


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## ShaneVBS (Aug 22, 2011)

if its not bolted down or locked they will steal it lol. How many cars get stolen in an minute. cant exclude hives. There worth a couple hundred bucks a piece. easy money with screen, strap and a stapler


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm not sure what kind of camera he is using, but we have what is generally referred to as a "game camera" that deer hunters use to figure out game trails and where there are deer. They have gotten cheap in recent years and are motion activated. Of course there is branding (I would brand every frame and ever box and every lid and every bottom and every stand). And I would invest in GPS if I had a regular problem with stealing. I don't know how direct the line of sight is for there, but I have bought "foaling alarms" for horses that basically measure that they have been turned on their side. It would send a signal to a receiver that could set off a pager and, if a phone line was connected call a series of phone numbers... if one were to set that in a balance position where any movement would cause it to fall and hang in a sideways position, it would page you, call your, cell, call your home phone...


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## ShaneVBS (Aug 22, 2011)

they make battery powered GPS boxes, about size of your hand, but how you can hide and they not find it, dont know. maybe you can catch them quick enough, you pay a fee per month and you check anytime with your computor, a camara wont help you unless you know them or they have a record. Game camaras make noise when they take a picture and the thief could find it. At least mine does. Or you put it far enough away the pic quality is poor.


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

I have read that thieves in some places in Europe have started shaking out the entire hive and leaving the equipment to get around branded equipment.

Hard to believe that theft doesn't occur in the US more often with the value of a pollination contract. The value of the bees in many places is only in the honey crop and they have hives being stolen right and left.


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## beeG (Jun 18, 2011)

You can always get a dog. Many of your gaurdian breeds get well over 100 pounds and can be trained to protect property. Many are white with thick coats like the pyrenese, komondor, akabash so the bees wont bother them as much. 

This looks like show dogs many show dogs are not good workers but maybe in other countries they work them? I would be very particular you are getting a working dog not a pretty one that is over priced. and unless the parents have been proven good for work don't let a good sells man con you. Some of those show people believe their dogs can work without having proof. I would want to know the parents worked not pranced around. 
http://hellenicgiantstar.gr/

here are more web sites
http://www.eurobreeder.com/breeds/chien_de_montagne_des_pyrenees.html
The komondor tends to be a more serious contender then the Pyrenees unless you get the right genetics

If I ever have issues with someone stealing my hives I would have a huge big white dog living near them very fast. 
Looks like Greece has its own 
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/greeksheepdog.htm
It just seems some of them are small I would want something that would intimidate and stand up to a grown man. They would also keep vermin away. Breed is not as important as effectiveness. 
Most your guardian breeds use their size not their teeth but will if they have too.


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## beeG (Jun 18, 2011)

PS neat blog of a bee keeper that uses Gaurdian dogs
http://brookfieldfarmhoney.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/livestock-guard-dogs-and-honeybees/


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I think a dog is too easy to neutralize for protecting bee hives. Like most guard dogs, their value is in notifying the owner that something is different around their house by barking.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Hard to believe that theft doesn't occur in the US more often with the value of a pollination contract.

Probably because it's work to shake bees and it takes time which increases the chances of getting caught. My grandpa used to say a thief wouldn't steal tools because they were used for work. Apparently pawn shops weren't popular "back in the day".  But there is some logic (however flawed) in what he said. A thief usually isn't looking for work...


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## Mtn. Bee (Nov 10, 2009)

I would be setting some old school bear traps and blending them in near the hive boxes!   
You skin thieves pilgrim?! :thumbsup:


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## Paul McCarty (Mar 30, 2011)

You could do like Dr. Russell and use bottomless hives.


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## lazy shooter (Jun 3, 2011)

I guess bees make an easy target because in many instances they are in remote locations. It appears that thieves will always be among us, and I don't think there is a cost effective deterrent to safe guard your equipment. Some type of GPS would assist in the recovery of the equipment, but the most desirable thing in prevention. For the suburbanites among us, there are still lots of cattle rustlers out there. The Southwest Cattleman's Association has a large force of range investigators out and about recovering stolen cattle.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Print up a whole bunch of signs warning that these hives are imbedded with GPS chips and leave it up to the thief to decide if it is a bluff or not.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Bluffs don't work. If you say you have camera surveillance and you don't within a week a crook will know. Most thieves steal something that is easy to sell. Could it be that hives are easy to sell?


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Acebird said:


> Bluffs don't work. If you say you have camera surveillance and you don't within a week a crook will know. Most thieves steal something that is easy to sell. Could it be that hives are easy to sell?


Who says its a bluff? Would you risk felony theft charges if one in a hundred hives were tagged?


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## Paul McCarty (Mar 30, 2011)

There are being stolen because honey is 10$ a lb and 3 lbs of bees are easily 150$ or more.


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## beeG (Jun 18, 2011)

Acebird said:


> I think a dog is too easy to neutralize for protecting bee hives. Like most guard dogs, their value is in notifying the owner that something is different around their house by barking.


Any deterrent including the hive owner can be neutralized. Even with a gun. A dog is deter a thief. an extreme thief would take extreme measures


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Paul McCarty said:


> There are being stolen because honey is 10$ a lb and 3 lbs of bees are easily 150$ or more.


Really? Wow! I can't find anyone that will pay me $2.00


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Most thieves don't steal my tools from the back of my truck, because the resale value at the pond shop would be low, and actually using them would require effort. Some days cleaning them would take hours. (hand tools that are pawnable I've had stolen) A bee thief would be a very specialized thief. Either he's got a buyer for them or he is willing to do a LOT of work to keep them up, and probably has an apiary. So if you are looking for a thief, look at the selling end. Do they have Craigslist over there? Because that or the equivalent would have to be where to get rid of a stolen hive.

I raise some fancy fish I have to keep hidden, and I provide plenty of cover for them in their pond, I can't catch them without days of planning and help. The fanciest are in the back yard with my dogs, locked gate. 

Gypsi


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Well we broke the vandals and thieves with nail boards camoflauged with grass, sticks and leaves in the bee yards and where they were driving up and parking the vehicle. You either puncture their feet or the tires on the vehicle they are driving. If you get the tires, you get the thieves with evidence on the truck....Good luck, their is nothing more I can not stand than a thief...TED


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

You are lucky that ended well because it is illegal to booby trap when humans are involved even though they are doing something illegal themselves. Using an electric fence is iffy in some states to keep Vandals out for instance. Vehicles are fair game...


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## jtow (Mar 30, 2011)

You could always leave a gas can full of gas out near the hives "by accident" that happens to have some sugar spilled into the gas. Can you say 'oops'?


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

jtow said:


> You could always leave a gas can full of gas out near the hives "by accident" that happens to have some sugar spilled into the gas. Can you say 'oops'?


Now that is sneaky. As long as the bees don't smell the sugar and go swimming. That is REALLY sneaky.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

That is not sneaky that is cleaver. Excellent suggestion.


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## rand (Nov 14, 2009)

Hi Mario,

The name of the company that sells these gps devices is "Ituran".
As i know from the field and other beekeepers stories, there devices are highly reliable.

They work in the states and there web site is: http://www.ituranusa.com/

There is no government institution in Israel that produce these gps tracking devices
and they just have an comercial agreement with Ituran company and participate in something like 30% of the price
with beekeepers.

Beekeepers that can effort it, had good apiary security
with these gps tracking devices. 

Good luck,
Randi


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## NY_BLUES (May 14, 2009)

Acebird said:


> You are lucky that ended well because it is illegal to booby trap when humans are involved even though they are doing something illegal themselves. Using an electric fence is iffy in some states to keep Vandals out for instance. Vehicles are fair game...



No, you got it all wrong. The nail boards were put out to deter skunks and other "vermin" from bothering his hives, not to deter humans from taking the hives!! If someone steps on his nail board, how are they going to report it??

Thief--" I stepped on a board full of nails that was covered with grass".
Cop--" Where were you when it happened"?
Thief--" In the woods, you know, by some bee hives".
Cop-"When did it happen"?
Theif--"This morning, about 3 am".
Cop--"Why were you in the woods by bee hives at 3am"?
Thief--"Cause I was trying to steal them".

A posted or keep out sign would also help to cover someone from liability law suits, if someone did step on a nail board and tried to sue. 

I am going to put up a sign near one of my yards that reads: "These bee hives protected by a shotgun 3 nights a week, you guess the nights".


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I am going to put up a sign near one of my yards that reads: "These bee hives protected by a shotgun 3 nights a week, you guess the nights".


Great sign.

I live in Texas. I posted "No trespassing, hunting, trapping, etc." Standard sign.

Translated it means, stay off my land, I shoot first, ask questions later.

But actually posting would be an invitation for gun thieves. The sign is enough to cover my liability.


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