Building An Electric Fence For Beehives

Electric bear fence is no guarantee.

Building an electric fence for beehives.

It is best to have your electric apiary perimeter fence at least 4 feet from the nearest beehive. Design quality and proper upkeep determine the effectiveness of any electric fence. Fences have reasonable maintenance and are cost effective to build. Use enough posts for the fence so that it is strong enough to withstand a bear placing its full weight on the fence.

Bears skunks and other critters are easily discouraged by electric fencing if they have not been previously rewarded with a brood and honey meal. One of the small chargers meant for bunnies will not do the job. You do want a strong charger if you want to make an impression on a bear. Over the years i ve developed a simple and effective electric fence design.

This helps discourage bears from reaching into the apiary through the fence. Installation of an electric fence can be done without a lot of stress. Place your baited aluminum foil on the hot wires at least one on each side of the fence. Connect the charger to either the a c power source or to the battery and solar panel.

Hang electric fence warning signs on each side of the fence. If your bee yard is near your home as mine is you can use an fence charger that plugs into an electric outlet. Test each wire of the fence to make sure it is hot and carrying a 5 000 6 000 volt charge. Electric fences can be tailored to most applications and can be constructed temporarily or permanently.

It is set up to create a circuit that only if completed will shock the animal. In my area our apiaries need to be protected from black bears. Electric fencing supplies prevention is the best medicine when it comes to fencing your hives. The fence charger with a negative and a positive outlet the positive wire and the negative or grounding wire rod fencing.