# Bears Got Me - Again!



## Bodo (Mar 11, 2008)

Have you tried wire mesh on the ground (just in front of the fence) that is tied into the ground of your charger? I also used to alternate hot and ground wires on the t-posts when I had questionable grounds. That way, the critter HAD to complete the circuit.

Good luck.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

I've been told by old time mountain beekeepers that once the bears know what is in those boxes....and electric fence will no longer stop them. You may need to move them or come up with a more substantial defense.


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## Beagler (Aug 18, 2008)

"I've been told by old time mountain beekeepers that once the bears know what is in those boxes....and electric fence will no longer stop them. You may need to move them or come up with a more substantial defense."

They're wrong I had a yard where I loaded out several pallets of bees for pollination early A.M. and when I returned for my loader in the daylight bear had been there less than a hundred feet from my equipment. I am using a Parmak 6 volt solar with alternating hot and ground on T-posts and have not had an issue since. I also have photos of bears on bait 50 yards from that yard.


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## FlyboyBBQ69 (May 19, 2017)

I am in the mountains and have been told that bears WILL eventually visit. The Division of wildlife in CO. will either pay for electric gear, OR pay to replace damaged hives. You should check with your game department, because you are probably not allowed to shoot THEIR bears to protect YOUR hives (whether or not you would want to). Free call might get you some money to cover your losses.

Just ordered my electric fence.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Beagler said:


> bear had been there less than a hundred feet from my equipment.


Did the bear get into your hives? They get close to mine all the time. Bear scat outside the fence. But until they've actually gotten into the hives and discovered the treats there.... I use a Parmak 12. I'm pretty confident that a determined bear would go right through it.


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## Bodo (Mar 11, 2008)

FlyboyBBQ69 said:


> I am in the mountains and have been told that bears WILL eventually visit. The Division of wildlife in CO. will either pay for electric gear, OR pay to replace damaged hives. You should check with your game department, because you are probably not allowed to shoot THEIR bears to protect YOUR hives (whether or not you would want to). Free call might get you some money to cover your losses.


It's different out East:

North Carolina General Statute 113-274 (c)(1)(a) allows landowner or lessee of property to kill bear in the act of destroying or damaging the landowners’ property. The bear must be in the act of destroying property, and the kill must be reported to a local wildlife enforcement officer within 24 hours.

NH:

https://www.animallaw.info/statute/nh-wildlife-damage-wildlife-damage-control


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## FlyboyBBQ69 (May 19, 2017)

Bodo said:


> It's different out East:
> 
> North Carolina General Statute 113-274 (c)(1)(a) allows landowner or lessee of property to kill bear in the act of destroying or damaging the landowners’ property. The bear must be in the act of destroying property, and the kill must be reported to a local wildlife enforcement officer within 24 hours.
> 
> ...


And it looks like you can be compensated for your losses as well. I have no desire to shoot the bears if they stop by my place as it would require me to be home, awake, and aware of the intrusion. Not to mention my neighbors (on the other side of my hives) might not like the noise and new holes in the drywall.


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## Hoot Owl Lane Bees (Feb 24, 2012)

I had a bear get in to some of my hives last year as I was relocating my hives in my back yard.
I had pulled the post and wire to move the yard to a better location and increase the size so 4 of the hives were not protected.:no:
It came back the second night and I heard it knock over a bucket I had placed on the reassembled hives.
I went out to chase it and as it headed back in to the woods it got a load of bird shot from a 20 gauge in the butt.

I had informed our conservation officer and was informed that the state of Missouri does not reimburse for bee hives only live stock?:scratch:
I then informed him if it goes through my fence it will receive a much larger piece of shot and I will contact the local news station about thousands of live stock killed in a single attack.
That bear was relocated later that week as almost all of the bear's in Mo. are tagged and tracked with chips.:applause:

We had one walk right past the fence and 15 hives yesterday and never looked twice at them.
I was camping so my son just reinforced the ground rules with the 20 gauge over his head.

Yes we keep loaded guns in the house as I have a picture of a young male at our back sun room door one Saturday morning as we were eating pancakes with the windows open before I started beekeeping here.


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## currier1 (Apr 14, 2013)

Thank you for the link, Bodo. Somewhat encouraging to know there's a potential for recouping my loss. I will definitely call NH Fish & Game today to find out more. My biggest concern (as some have pointed out) is stopping the determined bear once it knows about my 'free lunch counter'...another topic of discussion for NHFG.

As for shooting my intruder(s), I have no problem doing that, but I don't own any guns or know how to use one so I think I'll pass on that. Besides, as pointed out by FlyboyBBQ69, I'd have to catch em in the act...

Bodo, I have not tried using mesh on the ground, but will throw that into the discussion too once I decide whether to continue or not.

At the end of the day though, the basic reality is that I am keeping my bees in their habitat. As upset as I am, I can't really blame a bear for adding my apiary to its foraging circuit.

Fingers crossed they didn't come back last night...


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## Delta Bay (Dec 4, 2009)

You should bait the fence with bacon or peanut butter. Tin foil rapped around the wire and bait with bacon and/ or peanut butter will get the bear to lick the baited tin foil. It may take a few times but the bear will learn about the live wires and give up. Sometimes if the ground is very dry the ground rods are not grounded well and you won't get the full charge. Some suggest to water the ground were the grounding rods are placed. A grounded metal mesh around the fence on the ground is a good way to insure the bear is grounded to the live wire.


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## Tucker (Jun 8, 2017)

Dang, really hate to hear that! Hopefully all these ideas passed around will keep you going - I would also be just devastated, Sorry to hear man.


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## currier1 (Apr 14, 2013)

Bodo,
I contacted NHF&G and they confirmed that they do indeed reimburse for losses due to bear attacks.
I am submitting my claim to them today...thank you for sharing the link to our RSA on the issue.


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## currier1 (Apr 14, 2013)

It's been two weeks since my bear attack and believe it or not, he/she/they have not been back.
I inspected all three hives a few days ago and I still have 2 that are viable and doing OK...unfortunately, the 3rd hive was completely empty.
Remaining queens are alive, well and laying eggs, so for the moment, I'm still in the game.

As I noted in my reply to Bodo's post about NH's RSAs regarding loss reimbursement, we do in fact have a program and I am submitting a claim today for this year's and last year's losses.
If successful, that will certainly help to lessen the pain of dealing with my bee eating neighbors. As part of the claim review, I'm told that they will visit my apiary to document my situation.
During that visit, hopefully they can suggest effective ways of preventing another visit...I'll update my post afterwards to let you know what they say.

So, all in all I'm happy that things did not turn out worse...onward and upward now with routine beekeeping tasks...so relieved to still have these two hives to take care of.
I must admit though: Every night I go to bed wondering if I'll find a bear mess in the morning...

I have a related question now: I added the super/frames that got licked clean by the bears to the hive that needed more space. The plastic foundation still had smeared wax on 70% of the frames. My thought was that the bees would make short work of cleaning that up before drawing more comb. I almost put a fresh set of frames on, but didn't. I'll check to see how they're doing in a week or so...if it's still messy, I suppose I should put the new frames in... Wondering if any of you think I should have done that in the first place.


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

beemandan said:


> I use a Parmak 12. I'm pretty confident that a determined bear would go right through it.


So do I - got hit by a bear at my house, put up an electric fence with the Parmak, bear came back [game camera] but the fence turned him


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

You are not going to like this. But if you live in bear country and are not willing to put out the funding for a good bear fence system, then you may as well prepare to buy new bees and equipment occasionally Or constantly depending. the other option is to get out of beekeeping. I live in bear country. As such I do not entertain setting up an apiary without first planning my bear fence. I do not play with them All my bear fences are designed to detour them the first time. I do not bait the bear to the fence in hopes they will get zapped on a sensitive part of their body to "teach them what the fence is". Instead I construct fences that will detour bear. I use heavy posts with high tensile wire strung tightly no more than 10 inches apart, and place a ground web around the perimeter of the fence. I use 110V 6+Joule fencers. when In remote locations where 11. line current is not readily available. I use 3 deep cycle batteries and a power inverter I place solar chargers sufficient to maintain a full charge in my battery bank. A 6 joule fencer will power 200 miles of fence and maintain voltage in the 8500V range at the furthermost point of the fence. It is devastation on a 5 strand fence measuring 32' X 32' I have videos of bear getting zapped while wearing a full winter coat. The arc can clearly be seen and the bear do not stick around to be recognized so I can't tell if they ever return. No it is not cheap But neither is this!


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## currier1 (Apr 14, 2013)

Tenbears said:


> the other option is to get out of beekeeping.


 You hit the nail right on the head. Exactly what I said in my OP. If the buggers come back and wipe me out again (which I have no doubt they eventually will) I'll have no choice but to quit. Unfortunately, my resources are limited. So as much as I'd like to build a Jurassic Park T Rex pen (and I do realize that's what I need) it ain't gonna happen. 

I know... Maybe I can get Mexico to pay for it &#55358;&#56596;&#55357;&#56833;


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

I do not know how far from your House your apiary is. But a good 6 joule fencer will carry voltage several hundred yards with little current drop. and power an adequate bear fence. Although we build our own, they can be bought from pioneer for around 150.00. If the old bruin finishes your hives off. take some time off slowly build up a good bear fence system and you may be able to go to it again at a later date.


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## rjwil24600 (May 24, 2015)

I had a close call but my Anti Black Bear fence stopped it. My power system is a 12 vdc battery with a 5 watt solar panel hooked up to the biggest 12 vdc fence charger you can buy. I hope this helps it sure worked for me....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOxBr09O84w


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## MimbresBees (Sep 22, 2016)

my parmark 6 stopped the moose and bears from hitting my apiary in the Rockies, after the first time we got hit in the 90's.
moose are worse than bears. friggin dinosaurs
now it's the bears, and we haven't had one problem in all the years here in bear country.
parmark 6 stops them, and I use a 48" 5 wire predator width fence setup at 4,6,10,12,14
6ft t post, and yellow horse wire, insulators, gate all easy to set in with 4hrs easy work.
cost $350.00US tops.


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## Bodo (Mar 11, 2008)

currier1 said:


> Bodo,
> I contacted NHF&G and they confirmed that they do indeed reimburse for losses due to bear attacks.
> I am submitting my claim to them today...thank you for sharing the link to our RSA on the issue.


Glad I could help! Let us know how you do.


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## roberto487 (Sep 22, 2012)

Let me ask you, have you baited an electric fence with bacon or peanut butter on aluminum foil? Last summer, a bear kept me up for 3 nights straight. It was destroying 3 nuc hives that I had in the open. I noticed that he was not bothering the fenced hives. So I literally threw a flimsy fenced together without any juice and place the nucs in it and the bear did not touch them. This year, i left a couple of empty hive boxes in the open and the bear got to it. Did not due too much damage, as it was empty of bees. So the moral of the story, once a bear knows a fence gave it a shocked he will leave it alone, even if you take the juice off, but we aware a new bear is another thing and you will have to teach him that the fence is electrified.


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## currier1 (Apr 14, 2013)

So far so good...bear(s) haven't bothered the hives again, even though we sighted two bears yesterday (one outside our kitchen window in the AM, and again later in the day about 100' from the hives - probably the same bear). Maybe the fence is doing it's job? 

As for baiting, I'm going to try a version of roberto487's idea and use 2 or 3 tunafish cans with the lid still hinged...put 'whatever' inside (PB, tuna, bacon, etc) to bait them in...the can will be attached to a post with the fence looped over the can lid...that should electrify the can and any offending bear's tongue...one or two licks of the bait and he/she should get the message.

As for loss reimbursement from the state of NH, my claim was approved, but only for my current year losses...and they don't compensate for labor or loss of income from not having any honey. For this year, that only amounts to $200, but every little bit helps. 

So. For the moment, i'm still in the game. From now on, I'll stop worrying about the bears and continue on with caring for the bees as if I'd never been hit. 

Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions on fencing, baiting, etc. It helped me a lot.


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

I love bear tamales


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## FlyboyBBQ69 (May 19, 2017)

I finally got mine. Wife woke me up Sat morning at 0500 saying she heard a noise. By the time I got out the door, one hive and a nuc were scattered, but no bear in sight. A couple hours later, I got up and reassembled the hive and the nuc. Fortunately the queen in the hive was ok. No sign of the nuc queen. That night, about 2030, the bear tipped over the metal waste can I put on top of the hive and I bolted out to see. The same hive was scattered, but no bear in sight. I had placed some very heavy rocks on top of all my hives because I got to thinking it might be *****, but I don't think it was ***** because the metal can would have to go before the rocks could be removed and in my experience, ***** don't run immediately. The bees sat out the rest of the night in a light drizzle because wife didn't want the bear that nobody has seen to come after me. The next morning, the frames were all found stacked like a fanned out deck of cards. The deep super had no frames in it and was about ten feet from the bottom board which had not moved. Bees were covering the brood. I rebuilt the hive again and found the queen once again. I can't believe she has made it through two attacks.

The hives have been screened up and moved to my garage for the last two days. The electric fence will be completed today. 

A couple things I noticed and am puzzled by: the hive next to it (2 feet away) was not touched, other than the deep that protects the top feeder jars. None of the frames were torn up. No bite marks or scrapped off brood. The brood on the exposed frames has not been removed by the bees, so did they survive all night in the drizzle? At night hundreds of bees were clustered at the entrance on both hives (the one scattered by the bear and the one that only had the top deep pushed off. The inner cover was intact). I assume it is because the pheromone from the bees suffering attack has the next door hive excited. 

Are the bees at the entrances of both hives a beefed up guard bee batallion?


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## FlyboyBBQ69 (May 19, 2017)

The bee yard is done. Hopefully, I will not have any more bear problems. I put up a 5 wire electric fence.


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

FlyboyBBQ69 said:


> The bee yard is done. Hopefully, I will not have any more bear problems. I put up a 5 wire electric fence.


Bear hunting started last Sunday.

In the district of Northern Karelia they have so far got 66 bears (in three days).


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I've been through more than a few bear attacks. They're all different. In most cases, the bear will pull a box apart and tear out the brood frames. Often, the bear will pull the box or frames near a woodline for cover and then come back over and over to get more food. I've had some attacks where boxes are scattered everywhere and I found that this is common. Other times, one hive is devastated while others next to or nearby are left alone. I think a lot depends on the bear. Three years ago a pair of cubs (second year) kept coming in and tipping hives over doing little physical damage but making life miserable for the bees and myself.

Brood left overnight, especially in the rain, is likely to be pulled out by the surviving bees in a couple of days unless the nighttime temps were real warm. Don't underestimate the effects of chilled brood on hive strength. I've had cases where I thought I got by and the colony dwindled quickly. In the fall that's a death sentence. For multiple colonies attacked by bears you may want to assess the total yard strength given that you've lost bees, brood and food. Combining hives may be a solution if you don't have the time to get the colonies strong again. 

Bees cluster at the entrance naturally when disturbed. I think it's a defense mechanism. It's amazing how quickly they'll settle back down though. 

Finally, here's a trick you can try. If you respond to a colony or yard that was attacked by a bear and have to put it back together quickly you can leave a battery powered radio on top of the hive. I've tried this and it seems to work. Of course, I can't promise that the results would have been the same either way but having human voices and music nearby seems to spook the bear long enough for you to get back out and make things right again.


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## FlyboyBBQ69 (May 19, 2017)

It has been a full month since my electric fence has been installed. I don't think that the bears forgot about my hives, and assume that they have tried out my fence. The meter shows over 10,000 volts guard charge. All hives are undisturbed as of this time.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Keep the efforts up. The bears are very active this time of year. Saw one this morning on the drive into work. It's a bear I've seen before. Quite healthy and roaming...as usual...fattening up before the cold weather hits.


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