Badgers

[John Twidle]

Good evening All,
I have been offered a new apiary that seems to tick all the boxes but, in passing, the farmer said that he had seen quite a few badgers around. Does anyone have any advice about fencing or general protection of hives from badgers?
Cheers.

 

[Apple]

Did have an Ol brock have go at a polly......
Fence them well in with a foot or so buried... put the hives on sturdy stands and strap them down well

Chons da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

have a long established badger sett at one apiary and regular badger traffic at another, never had an issue, just be sure you have hive stands 10" to 18" high

 

[GuyNir]

Lots of badgers here. Mostly poly hives and some quite low, in 5-6 years not a single issue.

 

[WoodenBeam]

Badgers are everywhere around here - nuisance numbers
Touch wood haven’t had any issues with them in the apiaries though. Sturdy stands used that are knee height above ground.

 

[Hachi]

I think they are a irregular occurrence based on reports here but when they do; things can get pretty ugly, they're powerful animals.

 

[frankenstine]

if a badger wants in something you have quite a problem, once they have got into something and found nice things you have a massive problem

the claws are big and there legs strong

 

[rolande]

Did have an Ol brock have go at a polly......
Fence them well in with a foot or so buried... put the hives on sturdy stands and strap them down well

Chons da

...and remember to turn the buried part of the fence outwards as an apron.

Oh, and some of them, probably mainly the younger ones who will be less of an issue anyway, are happy to have a go at climbing.

 

[rolande]

I think they are a irregular occurrence based on reports here but when they do; things can get pretty ugly, they're powerful animals.

Agreed, I posted a couple of photos of an attack on another thread a few weeks ago.

Good stands, which I don't use as standard, would surely remove most of the issue as they'd stop the culprit getting sufficient purchase to push/drag the box.

 

[ChrisS]

I've got several hives in a field which has a badger sett nearby. They dig in the ground near the hives but haven't touched them so far. All the hives are on stands on concrete slabs.

Maybe it's like green woodpeckers - they don't attack hives until one of them learns to, then they do!

 

[Swn58]

if a badger wants in something you have quite a problem, once they have got into something and found nice things you have a massive problem

the claws are big and there legs strong

Sorry to hear you've had a badger problem

 

[Swn58]

There are badgers everywhere. They can be very naughty. However, I've never had a problem with them, in regard to beekeeping.
Honey-badgers......as we know, from Africa, are a different sub-species. They are known to seek out wild bees nests. None of them live here though and I'm pretty certain that our European badgers are not often pre-disposed to breaking into hives.
I would be very interested to know if anyone has had any real problems with those big, stripy-faced ferrets!

 

[frankenstine]

Sorry to hear you've had a badger problem

Just got to make things to much hard work for them then they loose interest, Lift things up a bit further and weigh them down with heavy things and your fine pita tho. Like with chicken hutch once they’ve got a taste for chicken thin T&G or covers osb won’t work. 600mm of galv sheet round the outside at the bottom or lift it up 600 mm. Or even 600mm of 18mm ply round the bottom if they really persistent staple some HT wire round it and they soon give up, but there only a pest generally if they are hungery so Chuck some grub out for them as far away as possible also works ( I’m talking several hundred meters )

 

[Ian123]

There are badgers everywhere. They can be very naughty. However, I've never had a problem with them, in regard to beekeeping.
Honey-badgers......as we know, from Africa, are a different sub-species. They are known to seek out wild bees nests. None of them live here though and I'm pretty certain that our European badgers are not often pre-disposed to breaking into hives.
I would be very interested to know if anyone has had any real problems with those big, stripy-faced ferrets!

They have a liking for mini Nucs guess they resemble bumbles. At home there’s a big set 30-40m from hives but never an issue.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I have a badger latrine in my apiary and many tracks going between the hives but not had any problem in the 4 years I've been there.

 

[John Twidle]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful replies.
Cheers.