I am thinking of getting a flow hive but I wonder what you may have done or heard to do about keeping bears out of the hive. We have several large apple trees and garden that the bears always visit in the late summer. Some say a solar electric fence some say a chain leak fence with top. Anyone have any thoughts?
Don’t know where you live but here in Colorado the dept of wildlife will supply you with an electric bear fence and charger. They work well (neighbor without one got destroyed by bear. My fence went down (due to charger problem) and before I got it replaced bears got into my hives. THe fence is a woven wire about 4 feet high with a strand of barbed wire around the top.
I am fortunate not to have to deal with bears, but I’m in correspondence with many beekeepers who do. They tell me a good electric fence is about the only useful method. It needs to be grounded well and you may have to water the ground in dry times. You may also need to bait it with some bacon on the wire to get the bear to realize what it does. Barbed wire works better than regular as when the push it will push the barb up through their fur. They only other less practical solution is to suspend the hive from a tree in some way where they can’t get to it.
1 Like
Thanks for the good info. I also live in Colorado near Sweetwater Lake. I will check into the DOW supplying the fence. Thanks again.
Thanks for the info! I plan to try the electric fence. I think the bear will figure it out once they check out my apple trees and try the hive.
Rereading what I wrote. My point was to water the ground ROD, although all around the fence will probably ground him better as well… Sometimes if the dirt gets very dry the ground rod doesn’t make good contact with the dirt.
Yes thanks, I have a large pig pen I need to have grounded well or they can did under the fence. And I do have to make sure the ground rod is not too dry.