Jerry wrote:
>If it's not too big an apiary, you may be able to just hog ring/wire together in a square.   Now, at some point, drive a grounding rod into the ground >and run a grounding wire to one of the ranch panels.  Instead of the ground being a mesh on the dirt, the fence becomes the ground.  If you're really >paranoid, or for large yard, drive another grounding rod into the ground on the opposite side - but one should do.  Just be sure all of the panels are >connected so the whole fence becomes the ground.
>
>Now, buy some plastic stand-offs, clamp to ranch panel facing outward, and run the wires from the charger through the standoffs.

I do something similar with my chickens.  The electric mesh fence that surrounds their enclosure is actually outside of a chicken wire fence.  In the winter the mesh fence shorts out in the snow.  Unlike bears, four-legged chicken predators are active all winter (as I learned the hard way years ago).  So, I ran two hot wires near the top of the chicken wire fence and grounded the chicken wire (still runs to the three grounding rods, as well).  Come winter I disconnect the mesh fence and charge the two hot wires.  Any critter that tries to climb over the chicken wire touches one of the two hot wires and gets zapped right off of the fence.  Works great all winter.  Now that the snow has melted, I've run the power back to the mesh fence.  I'll bet you could do the same thing around the apiary in place of the mesh fencing I mentioned in my previous post.  Not sure how much those ranch panels cost but am guessing that chicken wire is cheaper, although you would need a few t-posts.

Bill

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