Badgers and Bees.

[Excession]

Was looking around a potential site for a second apiary today.
Nice farm, lots of OSR

The farmer very kindly walked me round and pointed out sites he had in mind.

However site A turned out to be (on further inspection) the centre of a badger set.

All subsequent sites had trails running back to the set indicating regular badger traffic.

I am not too worried about badgers in general, it's pretty easy to fix hives down and strap to anchors.

What I am thinking of is how close to a badger set is too close? Ie - they spend there leisure time playing and grooming... I don't want play time to be with my bees!!

Any thoughts? 50yrds, 100yrds and 200yrds are subsequent sites. The further away the more exposed...

The 50yrd site is a nice hard standing, very rocky level clearing that I could fence off...

Alternatively I may have to just use for the OSR flow...

 

[Michael Palmer]

Does anyone use electric fencing to keep badgers out of the apiary?

 

[casualman]

I would give that site a miss. There's no point in taking the risk.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Does anyone use electric fencing to keep badgers out of the apiary?

Yes at one apiairy, or there would be no hives left .

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I would give that site a miss. There's no point in taking the risk.

I tend to agree - not just to the minimal risk to the hives from brock but if your apiary is slap bang in the middle of a sett, you drive a post in or level a piece of ground or whatever and you could fall foul of the rabid bunny hugging type who'll report you for disturbing a badger sett (hefty fines, threat of a gaol sentence?) There is a believe that the badger act was specifically created to demonstrate to the world that the law is an ass.

 

[MartinL]

Does anyone use electric fencing to keep badgers out of the apiary?

Different badgers over here!

 

[Excession]

Yeah, I know I should give it a miss... It's just the first site near OSR....

I will keep looking...

 

[Stiffy]

Does anyone use electric fencing to keep badgers out of the apiary?

Electric netting won't work with badgers you need to use wire so that the shock gets through the hair on the animal.
As a so called 'bunny hugger' I often have to relocate setts to allow for development to take place. I had trouble with badgers trying to carry off nucs at an out apiary and stopped it by using wire, only took a few weeks and they avoided the hives.

For info, the laws protecting badgers would have been a lot less restrictive if it wasn't for the mindless idiots practising badger baiting under the guise of a sport.
S

 

[Stiffy]

Was looking around a potential site for a second apiary today.
Nice farm, lots of OSR

The farmer very kindly walked me round and pointed out sites he had in mind.

However site A turned out to be (on further inspection) the centre of a badger set.

All subsequent sites had trails running back to the set indicating regular badger traffic.

I am not too worried about badgers in general, it's pretty easy to fix hives down and strap to anchors.

What I am thinking of is how close to a badger set is too close? Ie - they spend there leisure time playing and grooming... I don't want play time to be with my bees!!

Any thoughts? 50yrds, 100yrds and 200yrds are subsequent sites. The further away the more exposed...

The 50yrd site is a nice hard standing, very rocky level clearing that I could fence off...

Alternatively I may have to just use for the OSR flow...

50m from a sett would be fine and you wouldn't be causing any disturbance. If you have any concerns contact your local wildlife trust who I am sure would be happy to advise.
S

 

[Michael Palmer]

Yes at one apiairy, or there would be no hives left .

Single strand or mesh? Will they dig under the fence?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Single strand or mesh? Will they dig under the fence?

Single strands, similar to what is used round game release pens, never tried the electric net type fencing, they will dig under normal fencing though.

They have been busy culling the Badgers around here, so maybe no more problems, i think they are resuming the cull later this year as well.
Red Deer can also be problem at times, but not too bad usually, and a few bits of rag soaked in diesel tends to keep them away, failing that a rifle.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Single strands, similar to what is used round game release pens, never tried the electric net type fencing, they will dig under normal fencing though.

They have been busy culling the Badgers around here, so maybe no more problems, i think they are resuming the cull later this year as well.
Red Deer can also be problem at times, but not too bad usually, and a few bits of rag soaked in diesel tends to keep them away, failing that a rifle.[

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

For info, the laws protecting badgers would have been a lot less restrictive if it wasn't for the mindless idiots practising badger baiting under the guise of a sport.
S

For info I think badger baiting is a thoroughly despicable thing and never considered by us as a sport but all that needed to be done was to pass a law making baiting illegal and and laying out hefty sentencing. Instead of making the badger a competely protected animal, the wording of the law being so id!otic that if you happen to be feretting for rabbits and a badger happens to be in the warren you could end up in gaol!!.
In the end the badger is only an overgrown weasel, lovely creatures but didn't warrant blanket protection just to stop one type of cruel practice - that's why the countryside is in the mess it is now.

 

[Itchy]

Agree

 

[Stiffy]

For info I think badger baiting is a thoroughly despicable thing and never considered by us as a sport but all that needed to be done was to pass a law making baiting illegal and and laying out hefty sentencing. Instead of making the badger a competely protected animal, the wording of the law being so id!otic that if you happen to be feretting for rabbits and a badger happens to be in the warren you could end up in gaol!!.
In the end the badger is only an overgrown weasel, lovely creatures but didn't warrant blanket protection just to stop one type of cruel practice - that's why the countryside is in the mess it is now.

The chances of a badger being in a warren are very remote and its silly and misinformed tales such as this that I often hear trying to rubbish the protection wildlife deserves. If anyone was 'genuiningly ' ferreting for rabbits and there was a badge in residence, one, I wouldn't give much hope for your ferret and two if you were caught the chances of prosecution would be extremely remote. Genuine breaches of the Wildlife & Countryside Act rarely reach the courts and when they do the fines are rediculously small.
The countryside is in a mess from the way that we all expect food at stupidly low prices. Farmers have had to react to this by trying to produce at prices that cannot reflect the way animals, crops and subsequently the wildlife trying to co-exist can be maintained.
Before anyone starts on its 'townies' not understanding the countryside nonsense, I have lived and worked in countryside all my life, have hunted and fished but can now see that there is a better way of interacting with the wildlife around me than trying to destroy it!
S



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My grandfather's family came from the far north of Anglesey - all cobblers

 

[MartinJG]

Badgers and bees don't mix! However, there are suppliers of elecetric fencing which if set at 6 inches off from the ground and another 6 inches above this, it will deter badgers from entering the fenced off apiary. Beware, badgers have a strong sense of smell, so keep any honey spillages to a minimum, and remember to turn back on the power supply before leaving!!

 

[madasafish]

The local badgers destroyed all the ground wasps nests in 2013- so good , ate all my strawberries - again ! - so bad, and make their way through my raspberry beds destroying canes so they can eat raspberries - so bad.

As far as intensive farming is concerned, UK population is forecast to rise to 70million by 2030 ish so expect more of the same. (Let alone the impact of world population increases##

It's human population pressure what does it - so perhaps campaigners ought to turn on that. (In my experience few have the balls to do so , and go for easier targets).

## see also the NHS problems, housing problems, Green Belt encroachment,etc

Rant over..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's human population pressure what does it - so perhaps campaigners ought to turn on that. (In my experience few have the balls to do so ).

Thus there shouldn't be the population problem - missing the essential requisites for procreation

 

[MartinJG]

Badgers and hives don't mix; having said the obvious you can still bee keep in the area:
Badgers follow set paths, so keep bees away from them.
Badgers will tear through a hive box, particularly if they smell honey - and they have good noses!
Deterrent known to work is a 12 volt electric fence, where the wire is about 6 inches off the ground and another wire 6 inches above this (google badgers and bees).
If you decide to go ahead keep the area honey free droppings and remember to turn on the fence when you leave!