Here in Vermont, where were enlightened enough to pass one of the first
bottle recycling laws, we not only encourage beekeepers who wish to shoot
marauding bears, we reimburse them for damage to hives caused by bears - the
law says:

"(a) A person, an authorized member of the person's family, or the person's
authorized regular on-premise employee may take, on land owned or occupied
by the person, a bear which he or she can prove was doing damage to the
following:

(1) livestock, a pet, or another domestic animal;

(2) bees or bee hives;

(3) a vehicle, building, shed, or any dwelling; or

(4) a crop or crop-bearing plant other than grass."

Here in southern Vermont bears have become so numerous and such a pest that
virtually every beekeeper has been forced to put his hives inside an
electric fence.

Dennis LaMonica is right when he says:

"Use an electric fence with a chicken wire ground grid.  Keep grass and
weeds off the fence. Use a hot fencer 7000 volts minimum 10000 better. Do
not use a 6 volt solar fencer. They are not hot enough nor have enough
storage capacity in the battery. And finally keep the battery 

charged.   Don't feed the birds especially  near the bees."

 

I respectfully disagree with the advice to strap your hives.  I made that
mistake in a bid to avoid building an electric fence.  On the bear's first
return visit he simply bashed the hive bodies until he broke them, thereby
eliminating the tension in the strapping.  Result?  He did MORE damage than
if the hives had not been strapped.  As to the fence, if the voltage is
"hot" enough to light all five wires on a five-light tester AND the bottom
wire is low enough to prevent digging, no bear is going to get inside your
fence.  The chicken wire is optional.  Wrap a piece of bacon around the
second wire.  You won't see a bear again.  And your dog will give the fence
a wide berth, too!

 

Jeff Hills

Dorset, VT

 

 

 

 

 

 


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