I have had bear problems in the past and have been honing my defenses a year
at a time.  These are black bears some of which run near 500 pounds in size.

I built a bee house with small slats about a foot and a half from the ground
where the landing boards can protrude. The house I built holds 8 to 10 hives
and has a shed roof with open eves so bees will not get trapped inside.
Large trap door windows open to allow light in when I work the bees.  I
built it from rough-sawn pine from the local mill which kept the price
reasonable.

Only once has the bear entered the house... likely due to my lack of
diligence.  The bears have clawed the house and chewed on the landing board.
Each time I note this, I strategically mount a board with drywall screws
protruding an inch to discourage such in the future.  It looks a little
gothic, but seems to be working.

Ultimately, I hope to get a house that works well and I can just ignore the
bear threat.

Larry Krengel
With hives in northern Wisconsin USA

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