Wednesday, January 26, 2005
THOSE PESKY BEARS!
Bears are a problem in beeyards. This is a picture of a beeyard that has been struck by a bear. The bears don't go after the honey like many people think, but rather, like to eat the brood which provides them with protein. Either way, they can destroy a fifty-hive beeyard pretty quick.
The only answer to combat bears is to put up an electric fence and keep an eye on it. Beekeepers with numerous remote beeyards have to use solar charged batteries to run their electric fences. While this may be an additional expense, the cost to replace a hive with bees and wooden ware would cost about $300 per hive. A bear can destroy a dozen hives in one visit and will continue to come back each night for another snack. A dozen hives is worth about $3500 so a solar panel system is well worth the investment.
# posted by Ed Gagnon : 7:09 PM
