Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: backyard warrior on January 06, 2012, 07:09:32 pm
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Hey guys and gals i am wondering about fences. I am looking to install about 10 hives in an area about 30x12 i want to go solar and i was at tractor supply and bought their biggest solar charge but i am going to need more than one charger and if i can go smaller thats the ticket If i am putting them in a small area like this and i hang bacon on the wire to zap the bears do i really need their biggest unit to fight off the bears?? Anyone have any idea what the right size is to give em a good jolt thanks for the info Chris
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You have to earth the fence well , preferably at least 5000volts or more , 10000 will zap them good.
A well kept fence does not use a lot of energy if you keep grass and vegetation away from the fence so it doesn't short circuit and drain the power.
Also chose a fence that has a good leading ability. Two batteries are also good to have , one in the bee yard , one charging at home. Bears are hungriest in early spring and late autumn.
You might bee able to see this link , the last 1.40 you can see the bear get 4000 volts up his nose , serves the :evil: right after eating three hives and worrying 2 to death.
http://svtplay.se/v/2417444/bjornar_harjar_pa_norrlandet (http://svtplay.se/v/2417444/bjornar_harjar_pa_norrlandet)
mvh edward :P
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It is also a good idea to shock the bear (if you can see him) with a 180 grain jolt from a 30-06. After the first couple, bears will get the word out to leave your hives alone.
But with the electric fence, larger the charger, the better. And use lots of wire or go with the electric netting.
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:jerry: cause of death , lead poison :jerry: :lau:
mvh edward :-P
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Another strategy is to use cattle panels and electrify them. Have it well grounded.
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Folks, you can't ground the fence hot wire. The minus side of the charger is grounded but the electricity goes through the target animal to reach ground. A bull or hog panel for the bear to stand on to insure a good electrical path from the hot wire through the animal and to ground is one idea, but if the Earth is too dry nothing may work on an animal with a thick coat of insulating hair like that on a bear. That is the reason for the bacon, shock him in a sensitive wet area were the fur isn't. Electricity travels well through moisture.
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Folks, you can't ground the fence hot wire. The minus side of the charger is grounded but the electricity goes through the target animal to reach ground. A bull or hog panel for the bear to stand on to insure a good electrical path from the hot wire through the animal and to ground is one idea, but if the Earth is too dry nothing may work on an animal with a thick coat of insulating hair like that on a bear. That is the reason for the bacon, shock him in a sensitive wet area were the fur isn't. Electricity travels well through moisture.
If the earth is too dry even taking the bacon into it's mouth might not do the trick...the bacon helps detour around the hair but does nothing to span the open circuit of the dry ground.
Using alternating hot and ground wires vertically and spaced closely will present a readily encountered source of ground. Probably spaced 6-8 inches apart. I can't remember what you call this, a "follower wire" or something like that.
A 3'-4' wide apron of chicken wire laying on top of the ground around the fence and tied into the grounding circuit of the fence charger may be an alternative.
Ed
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Here is a very good pdf file from the Virginia Dept of Game and Fish on building electric fences to repel bears. Good tips included.
Electric Fencing for Bears (http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/bear/fencing.pdf)
Ed
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In Finland near Russian border bears have learned to collapse electrict fences. They do not help much said two beekeepers. Bears have destroyed hundreds of hives.
Thieves too take protection instrumest with them. Not much help.
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Finsky, it's true. once an animal learns to go through a hot fence, it's no deterrent. most animals get zapped once and leave it alone, but every once in a while.....
i am with Allen for that very reason. the bigger the better. you can't go wrong with a 50 miler on 10 ft of fence!
and ground the charger, not the fence. the bigger the charger/drier the ground, the more ground rods. on my big charger in wet Oregon, i have two ground rods driven about 3 feet into the ground. make sure your clamps are good and contact is good. no ground on the charger, no zap on the fence.
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Bigger, better, more voltage.
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2735/bear2k.jpg)
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3690/bear1h.jpg)
(http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/2955/bear3.jpg)
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I use allot of ground stakes + i had some wire over so i buried it in the ground around the fence and connected it to the ground rods , it is right under where the bears front paws will bee .
If all else fails so a friend recommended that they had fences in the Jurassic park movies , may bee they could give some ideas :-D
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A lot of good advice on this post! Remember you are smarter than the bear! Read the manual that comes with the fencer!
Most fencers are set up for livestock, that are fenced in LARGE areas. You are fencing a small area, you could build a fence around your hives and then fence around your fence.
Baiting the fence: I would use steel wool, smeared with peanut butter. The idea behind this is adverse training, if that don't work:
>>cause of death , lead poison
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I wonder if you install the fence to hang from trees. Then bear cannot digg and collapse the fence down.
I have seen iron net fences too. The hives are in the cage.
(http://mondjackapiaries.com/images/DSC_0017.JPG)
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Bigger, better, more voltage...
What the heck was that bear doing, stealing copper wire?
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My mentor got his electric fence from the Pa. game commission for free.. You might want to check with them before you spend the money.. The bears wiped his hives out at one of his locations and he called and complained. They gave him an electric fence for all three of his locations.
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Lots of conflicting opinions about baiting a fence. My take is that if there is no evidence of bears around your bee yard don't bother as the bait may attract bear attention to your yard. If you do see evidence (most likely scat) then by all means bait so that the wandering bruins will get the meaning of your fence! As stated by others, grounding is very important. I use two rods separated by about 16 feet but linked together by wire (12 gauge I think.) Don't bother to mess with the 6 volt energizers - only under perfect conditions will they protect your bees. I've got a Gallagher 12 volt solar unit in constant service going into its third season. I may change out the internal battery this year as a precaution.
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:'( :'( :'(
Does anybody else feel a little sad for Allen’s bear?
:( :( :(
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Nope.
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We put two acres in fence and only used one sending unit.
Plus. put one strand at shoulder height and another six inches off the ground. The animal will encounter the bottom strand with it's nose every time. We used 8 foot long grounding rods.
Stop putting bacon on your fence. They will smell that before the comb and it will bring more of them in.
Get a nuisance permit and ammo.
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:'( :'( :'(
Does anybody else feel a little sad for Allen’s bear?
:( :( :(
I love bears (obviously) but if i see one near my bees it becomes a target.
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:'( :'( :'(
Does anybody else feel a little sad for Allen’s bear?
:( :( :(
I love bears (obviously) but if i see one near my bees it becomes a target.
I love bears to , preferable on a plate with gravy made with blueberry flavor :-D :-P :-D
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AllenF.
Gross pics. Is there a story behind that?
Adam
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What happened to “kinder and gentler”?
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What happened to “kinder and gentler”?
Well, it was quick...
Allen, I don't remember the original thread you posted that pic on. Was it a hive situation, or was that bear just messing somewhere he shouldn't have been?
As for hot wire in general...better a zap on the nose that a bullet in the brain. It's always sad to put an animal down, especially since we're moving into more and more of their areas. But you definately wouldn't have wanted THAT thing running around your back yard all the time!
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AllenF.
Gross pics. Is there a story behind that?
Adam
I received this years ago as a safety notice. The bear broke open a power terminal and bit the hot wire. He just couldn't seem to let go.
I have had a rooster and a guinea hen have their head burned off on the electric wire that I had to install around the hen house after the neighbors dogs dug into it and kill 15 chickens. The dogs dug through 18" deep steal rods that were 2" apart.
Jim
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We lost 4 of 5 colonies this past Spring due to an "old" determined black bear (350 plus Boar). The warden who finally trapped him after four raids said he had likely done it before, especially since he went right through the electric fence all four times, including the one time I got a shot off.
I use a solar fencer rated for ten miles and enclose a 12 x 50 ft yard along w/ a 6' wood fence on N/W side
I think a lot depends on the BEAR. A young will be repelled, an old boar who's been around a bit may not care, after all, he's going to get stung. What's a little jolt compared to that? (w/ exception to Allen ;)
The latest Bee Culture has an add for a product called NITEGUARD Solar. A weather proof solar powered RED light flash that begins at dusk ending at dawn. Lasts three years for $19.99. May be worth 20 bucks. Claims to ward off all kinds of critters, including BEARS.
See www.niteGuard.com (http://www.niteGuard.com), and no I'm not selling them. I might buy one though :).
thomas
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OK, the pics are from some power company guys and the bear dug up the hot underground wires at a junction box. High voltage got him. Bears are becoming a big problem living around people. Here in Georgia they raised the bag limits on bear to 2 a season per hunter.
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We bought one of these http://www.kencove.com/fence/Mains+Energizers_detail_EK4.php (http://www.kencove.com/fence/Mains+Energizers_detail_EK4.php) about five years ago and have only needed it once. It worked enough so the bear left some scat before it left. After reading some of these post I wonder if I should have bought something more powerful.