BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > DISEASE & PEST CONTROL

A bear spotted!

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Rodni73:
Good evening

This morning while drinking my coffee on my front porch, I spotted a black bear across the street trying to sneak into the neighbor's cattle barbed wire fence but couldn't. This is the first time I see a bear and it looks like a juvenile or a young beer. I yelled at it and made loud noise and he took off running up the street hiding in the foliage until he ran up the hill! I have three hives that are strapped after the encountere to individual wood pallets that serves as makeshift stands in the backyard.  Shooting it is out of the question, I live in the north western part of rural New Jersey! My question is did he smell the hives while across the road? He was about 100 yard from the bees.    If you look at the attached picture the bear was by the electric poll near the fence across the road.

Thank you for your feedback!
Rodni

Ben Framed:
Hi Rodni73, Bear have a keen sense of smell. If the wind was right he smelled the hives. I would take NO chance. An electric fence would be priority one.

It is good having you posting again! How long have you had the hives at this location? Nice set up by the way.

Phillip

Rodni73:
Good morning

Thank you for your reply! This is my first season!  These hives are two jersey nucs and one packaged bee. We relocated from the suburbs last year.

We have a large preassembled chicken run and I will hook it up to a solar energizer battery and place it over the hives. Thank you for your recommendation.   


 

The15thMember:

--- Quote from: Rodni73 on May 22, 2022, 11:14:07 am ---Good morning

Thank you for your reply! This is my first season!  These hives are two jersey nucs and one packaged bee. We relocated from the suburbs last year.

We have a large preassembled chicken run and I will hook it up to a solar energizer battery and place it over the hives. Thank you for your recommendation.   

--- End quote ---
Welcome to the country!  :cheesy:


--- Quote from: Ben Framed on May 22, 2022, 07:18:54 am ---Hi Rodni73, Bear have a keen sense of smell. If the wind was right he smelled the hives. I would take NO chance. An electric fence would be priority one.

--- End quote ---
I absolutely agree.  I haven't had bear troubles personally, probably because we have two large livestock guardian dogs, but we have a lot of black bears in my area, and many people around me have issues with them.  Prevention is the best medicine in this case.  Bears that have success getting into a hive can easily become a constant problem.   Better to give them an mouthful of electric fence, than a mouthful of honey!  :wink:

rast:
Yep, word went out here there was one in a trash can 1/2 mile down the road. Crying shame cause a fed bear becomes a dead bear. My bees are fenced with a Parmac 12.

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