BEAR UPDATE

 

He’s back!  I had reported in June that a black bear went through my area and knocked over two hives.  Luckily the hives and queens survived.  The bear seemed to be more interested in honey than the brood boxes.   I even got 2 supers of honey off one of the hives.  That was June.

Typical black bear

Now he’s back in September.  So far, he’s knocked over 7 hives, some twice, and destroyed 6 supers full of honey in a period of about 4 days.  A neighbor about 1 mile away had pictures of him on a trail camera.   I had started to remove my honey supers the day before, but in the case of those 6 supers I was a day late and a dollar short.  Here is a picture.  The 3 supers on this hive were spread over a 100 foot radius!  None of the frames were broken but the foundation will need to be replaced.   Needless to say I removed all remaining honey supers pronto!  But he is also knocking over hives that I had previously removed the honey supers.  So every morning I need to check every hive for damage.  This puts a little excitement into my retirement.  

Wildlife is the property of the State of Wisconsin; so I headed in that direction for relief.  After working through the DNR bureaucracy I ended up with the USDA Wildlife Service (a federal agency).  They are contracted by the DNR to administer the state program for restitution for damage done by wildlife.  This is done on a county by county basis.  Surprisingly, they provided me with four sets of solar powered electric fencing.  It will remain in my possession as long as I remain in the program.  Also, they (the DNR) will be reimbursing me for my honey losses next June (payments are made only once per year.)  I suspect it won’t be as much as I could have sold the honey for, but it’s better than nothing.   Of course, there is always a catch.  I had to agree to allow one licensed bear hunter access to my property if asked.  But since the bear density is so low in Green Lake county the field agent doubted I will ever be asked.  The second downside is that I must relocate my hives so that they will all be inside the fenced in area.  When the hives are protected the bear will most probably leave the area.  

The agent was knowledgeable on the damage bears can do.  But when I showed him photos and a bear foot print on a honey frame he instantly concurred the damage was caused by a bear.  

So if you are having bear problems this is a potential solution.  My agent was Steve Krueger out of the USDA Wildlife Services office in Waupun.  He covers three counties.  A different agent may cover your county, but Steve would be a good starting point.  The office phone number is 920-324-4514.  One catch is that you must have damage prior to making the request.