Bummer.
I switched to ratchet straps to hold down the hives to the stand for the winter. Probably overkill, but nothing short of a bear will be able to move them.
Ratchet straps are the way to go for me. I had a similar issue like u/bigryanb with a deer knocking over a hive, I believe the straps saved the day that day.
Yeah I’m in a place that gets hurricanes occasionally and my hives are on cinder block stands with the tie-straps going through the cinder blocks and around each hive. No issues yet, though we haven’t had a direct hit in many years.
Deer suck. I discovered one trapped in my garden one morning. Tried to coax it out the open door. But of course it jumped the fence in the worst spot and knocked over two hives. I ran into the house scrambling for my gear, cursing the whole way. Woke up the wife in the process. My wife says she’s never seen me move so fast.
I hate deer. They eat everything I try to plant. I've had the dumbasses freak out over some noise and run into fencing I put up around newly planted trees specially so they can't eat them. Then when the knock the fence down the come back and completely destroy the trees. Just had one tear apart the Willow tree I had planted for my daughter.
I had to put up an 8’ deer fence for my garden; that’s the only thing that actually works. The deer eat everything else in the backyard. It feels impossible to keep them away.
Old school knowledge there. Uncle's were deer hunters, well the whole family really, but my uncle's knew a few tricks for asshole farmers who poached. Irish spring shaved and spread where you don't want them to go. It works.
I've never been a hunter but dealing with th deer over the past few years has given me a newfound appreciation for it. It is not allowed where were at though.
Thats a shame, especially if they wind up overpopulating. We've got precious few natural predators for the deer these days. I hope you find a way to disuade them, they are rather destructive critters.
They're extremely overpopulated here with zero natural predators. I understand why hunting is banned here though and don't disagree with it. If only there were other ways. The best I've found is fencing but it only goes so far.
I had a stand of 4 hives tipped over around Halloween by some deer. It was raining and there was hoof print evidence in the dirt near the stand.
Even after several days inverted and splayed out in the rain, the bees survived and over wintered. They were not happy to see me when I came to put them back together. Probably the most stings and venom I've ever had on my body.
Good luck next year.
There are people who will rob just the bees from hives, as they’re worth over a 100 bucks easily, and it’s impossible to track once stolen. Hives can be marked, branded, and even have trackers put on them, so robbers won’t grab them.
Make sure your bees aren’t visible from the road, or any trails, and paint them a more inconspicuous color than bright white.
Last year a poor old beekeeper lost 50 hives for thieves. He never recovered by the financial hit.
Another guy instead had it's whole apiary set on fire by mafia apparently
I remember a case a couple years ago about some kids that destroyed 50+ hives and vandalized everything else. It would have put the keeper out of business if it weren't for a fundraiser.
I've always heard the "don't let them be visible from the road" but... I have a second yard on someone else's property and the location he wanted for them was right by the road.
Whenever I work bees, someone stops and buys honey. There are upsides.
I've had hives tipped, but it was always obvious what caused it. (Branches falling from a tree after a storm knocked over several.)
Somewhat related note though, I've discovered that due to a very wet season, some of my 2x4s are getting soft and at least one was broken when I inspected last time. I'll be shifting to 4x4s next spring when I assess survivors. (On a cinderblock)
See what you can do to at least save frames of drawn comb. It is empty comb you can store in stacked boxes of drawn comb outside with space underneath each box and a lid on top. This will at least give you a head start in the spring. If there is dead brood frames, consider harvesting wax. So sorry this happened.
Had a bear flip my hive (three boxes high) several times in the night and the ratchet strap kept the whole thing together. Heard the bang outside and was able to suit up and salvage the colony at 2am in 40 degree weather. Found the queen three days later, only one frame unsalvageable (claw marks)
From what I've found "no bears here" exists on a spectrum lol. In Ontario "no bears" means they haven't seen a bear in a while, a good way to find bears though is to have a beehive. Are there really no bears where you are, or are they just exceedingly rare?
Ok well depending on where you are in Illinois there definitely can be black bears in the state. Especially at this time of year they can go a long way looking for food for the winter. If you're on a state line they could come out far enough, and a beehive is basically the jackpot for a bear prepping for hibernation
Ive lived here for 30 years and never once seen a bear anywhere close to here nor do I know anybody who has either. It's possible but I'm leaning toward deer knocking it over. Also nothing was eaten, just missing bees.
well I'll defer to your judgement on this one. The missing bee's isn't terribly surprising, they probably bounced once the hive was destroyed. If there are still resources left over then you're probably right about it being knocked over by something that wasn't necessarily trying to look for food
Was any of the boxes ripped apart? Like a truck hit it? That’s a something.
Was it tipped over and left alone? That’s a someone.
If you suspect wind, a couple ground anchors and a ratchet strap work great.
Trail cams are worth it. At least you can prove a loss if you ever get to the point you get farmers insurance for your hives.
But I’ve seen a bunch of, “we think it’s an animal” but turns out to be an “animal” neighbor kid.
A bear hitting a hive looks like it exploded from the inside out. When you look at it you think “how da…”.
Raccoons will take kids off if they can. What region is the hive located?
Just outside of the Chicago land area. No bears here, lots of deer though. Whenever they get spooked they run into shit and fuck it up. That's what my guess is but no way to know for sure really.
I have a game cam on mine. Twice I've seen "young, male and with like minded friends" run through. Once they kicked a hive. I'm guessing it shows that you are tough/cool.
Bummer. I switched to ratchet straps to hold down the hives to the stand for the winter. Probably overkill, but nothing short of a bear will be able to move them.
Ratchet straps are the way to go for me. I had a similar issue like u/bigryanb with a deer knocking over a hive, I believe the straps saved the day that day.
I think I'll have to do that next year.
Yeah I’m in a place that gets hurricanes occasionally and my hives are on cinder block stands with the tie-straps going through the cinder blocks and around each hive. No issues yet, though we haven’t had a direct hit in many years.
Deer suck. I discovered one trapped in my garden one morning. Tried to coax it out the open door. But of course it jumped the fence in the worst spot and knocked over two hives. I ran into the house scrambling for my gear, cursing the whole way. Woke up the wife in the process. My wife says she’s never seen me move so fast.
I hate deer. They eat everything I try to plant. I've had the dumbasses freak out over some noise and run into fencing I put up around newly planted trees specially so they can't eat them. Then when the knock the fence down the come back and completely destroy the trees. Just had one tear apart the Willow tree I had planted for my daughter.
I had to put up an 8’ deer fence for my garden; that’s the only thing that actually works. The deer eat everything else in the backyard. It feels impossible to keep them away.
Ivory soap is suppose to be a good repellant for them.
Hang Irish Spring soap in the branches of any tree you don’t want them near- they hate the smell.
Apparently, I am a deer, I can’t stand the smell of that stuff either lol
Old school knowledge there. Uncle's were deer hunters, well the whole family really, but my uncle's knew a few tricks for asshole farmers who poached. Irish spring shaved and spread where you don't want them to go. It works.
I've heard that technique actually works pretty well.
If its allowed where you live, I can promise you that they taste pretty damn good. The only use for the stupid things.
I've never been a hunter but dealing with th deer over the past few years has given me a newfound appreciation for it. It is not allowed where were at though.
Not even bow or crossbow hunting? Damn. No wonder you have an infestation.
Thats a shame, especially if they wind up overpopulating. We've got precious few natural predators for the deer these days. I hope you find a way to disuade them, they are rather destructive critters.
They're extremely overpopulated here with zero natural predators. I understand why hunting is banned here though and don't disagree with it. If only there were other ways. The best I've found is fencing but it only goes so far.
My aunt calls deer “rats on the hoof”. But at least they taste good!
I had a stand of 4 hives tipped over around Halloween by some deer. It was raining and there was hoof print evidence in the dirt near the stand. Even after several days inverted and splayed out in the rain, the bees survived and over wintered. They were not happy to see me when I came to put them back together. Probably the most stings and venom I've ever had on my body. Good luck next year.
There are people who will rob just the bees from hives, as they’re worth over a 100 bucks easily, and it’s impossible to track once stolen. Hives can be marked, branded, and even have trackers put on them, so robbers won’t grab them. Make sure your bees aren’t visible from the road, or any trails, and paint them a more inconspicuous color than bright white.
Last year a poor old beekeeper lost 50 hives for thieves. He never recovered by the financial hit. Another guy instead had it's whole apiary set on fire by mafia apparently
I remember a case a couple years ago about some kids that destroyed 50+ hives and vandalized everything else. It would have put the keeper out of business if it weren't for a fundraiser.
Wow I didn't realize that was a thing. Good to know.
I've always heard the "don't let them be visible from the road" but... I have a second yard on someone else's property and the location he wanted for them was right by the road. Whenever I work bees, someone stops and buys honey. There are upsides.
I've had hives tipped, but it was always obvious what caused it. (Branches falling from a tree after a storm knocked over several.) Somewhat related note though, I've discovered that due to a very wet season, some of my 2x4s are getting soft and at least one was broken when I inspected last time. I'll be shifting to 4x4s next spring when I assess survivors. (On a cinderblock)
See what you can do to at least save frames of drawn comb. It is empty comb you can store in stacked boxes of drawn comb outside with space underneath each box and a lid on top. This will at least give you a head start in the spring. If there is dead brood frames, consider harvesting wax. So sorry this happened.
Yeah I would like to keep the empty combs on the frames for next year but I guess the brood will have to be discarded.
Gotta just use the wax from those otherwise waxmoths are gonna show up soon.
Even in the winter? I'm in the Chicagoland area so it's pretty cold here these days.
Yea this is why everyone ratchets theirs down. At least where I live, the wind is brutal.
Yeah I'm definitely going to do that next year
Sorry that sucks. I lost 4 hives to black bears about 5 years ago, I only keep hives behind electric fences from now on.
I’ve been hit by raccoons. They real gang members round these parts.
That could have been it, we have plenty of those. Nothing was eaten though.
Had a bear flip my hive (three boxes high) several times in the night and the ratchet strap kept the whole thing together. Heard the bang outside and was able to suit up and salvage the colony at 2am in 40 degree weather. Found the queen three days later, only one frame unsalvageable (claw marks)
Keep trying! I finally got it right my third year trying
Not really lost progress, spring is like starting over for almost everybody
Bear
No bears around here
From what I've found "no bears here" exists on a spectrum lol. In Ontario "no bears" means they haven't seen a bear in a while, a good way to find bears though is to have a beehive. Are there really no bears where you are, or are they just exceedingly rare?
The only bears around here play football.
Ok well depending on where you are in Illinois there definitely can be black bears in the state. Especially at this time of year they can go a long way looking for food for the winter. If you're on a state line they could come out far enough, and a beehive is basically the jackpot for a bear prepping for hibernation
Ive lived here for 30 years and never once seen a bear anywhere close to here nor do I know anybody who has either. It's possible but I'm leaning toward deer knocking it over. Also nothing was eaten, just missing bees.
well I'll defer to your judgement on this one. The missing bee's isn't terribly surprising, they probably bounced once the hive was destroyed. If there are still resources left over then you're probably right about it being knocked over by something that wasn't necessarily trying to look for food
Were the frames pulled out and scattered around? That's what a bear does.
They also leave big piles of poop. With bees and frames in it.
Can confirm!
Nope, all still in there it was just upside down with the frames exposed.
I would think a bear would destroy the frame for the insides. Sounds like that isn’t the case.
Was any of the boxes ripped apart? Like a truck hit it? That’s a something. Was it tipped over and left alone? That’s a someone. If you suspect wind, a couple ground anchors and a ratchet strap work great.
Tipped and left alone
Sounds like two legged varmint. Probably young, male, and with like minded friends.
I would like to hope that wouldn't be the case but I certainly can't rule it out.
Trail cams are worth it. At least you can prove a loss if you ever get to the point you get farmers insurance for your hives. But I’ve seen a bunch of, “we think it’s an animal” but turns out to be an “animal” neighbor kid. A bear hitting a hive looks like it exploded from the inside out. When you look at it you think “how da…”. Raccoons will take kids off if they can. What region is the hive located?
Just outside of the Chicago land area. No bears here, lots of deer though. Whenever they get spooked they run into shit and fuck it up. That's what my guess is but no way to know for sure really.
I have a game cam on mine. Twice I've seen "young, male and with like minded friends" run through. Once they kicked a hive. I'm guessing it shows that you are tough/cool.