Fellow Beeks

[beeno]

Hi all,
I must comment on the notion that as soon as hives, bees or indeed honey are stolen the first people accused are fellow beeks. I feel we are doing the beekeeping community a great disservice by even thinking so. No beekeeper I am acquainted with would I suspect of being a 'robber'. Let's face it, if you were that way inclined you would not go through all the hard labour and capital investment of letting your bees produce the honey when you can steal it and the equipment so easily and off load it. Any commodity gets stolen when the price is right cattle, petrol and fuel oil to mention a few. Honey at Sainsbury prices at around £10-11.70 kg makes a 30lb bucket into liquid gold. Any member of the public can rent a 7.5 ton self drive lorry on an ordinary driving licence. Judging by the amount of delivery lorries up and down my road that is the norm and would not arouse suspicion. Stolen honey will go the same way as the illegal booze and second hand hives will be sold on... and bought by bargain hunting beeks. Selling occupied hives, I guess, would require personal contact, but you could always do... I have heard that you are a fellow beek and I am giving it up senario. Receiving is a crime unless you buy through auction.

 

[pargyle]

Hi all,
I must comment on the notion that as soon as hives, bees or indeed honey are stolen the first people accused are fellow beeks. I feel we are doing the beekeeping community a great disservice by even thinking so. No beekeeper I am acquainted with would I suspect of being a 'robber'. Let's face it, if you were that way inclined you would not go through all the hard labour and capital investment of letting your bees produce the honey when you can steal it and the equipment so easily and off load it. Any commodity gets stolen when the price is right cattle, petrol and fuel oil to mention a few. Honey at Sainsbury prices at around £10-11.70 kg makes a 30lb bucket into liquid gold. Any member of the public can rent a 7.5 ton self drive lorry on an ordinary driving licence. Judging by the amount of delivery lorries up and down my road that is the norm and would not arouse suspicion. Stolen honey will go the same way as the illegal booze and second hand hives will be sold on... and bought by bargain hunting beeks. Selling occupied hives, I guess, would require personal contact, but you could always do... I have heard that you are a fellow beek and I am giving it up senario. Receiving is a crime unless you buy through auction.

Yes ... it's sad to think it but the reality is that you would need to know a fair bit about beekeeping to be competent to steal a hive full of live bees ... even at this time of the year. So, the theives are either beekeepers, lapsed beekeepers or they have gone to the trouble of doing a lot of homework ?

With the price of bees/honey likely to soar in the coming months it would be prudent for anyone with remote apiaries to think about implementing some security measures.

I would hope, also, that any existing beekeeper would be seriously suspicious about buying bees/equipment from an unknown and unlikely source. I think the proceeds of such crime would be more lilkely directed towards new beekeepers.

 

[Chris B]

Unfortunately there are some among us who will indulge in a little opportunism on occasion. Anyone who has been to the old BBKA convention, especially around the Th**rnes sale items will know exactly what I mean.

 

[Skyhook]

Sad to say, I agree that you would need to know a bit about bees to carry it off. That's not to say anything against beeks, except that any group of humans will have the odd wrong'un amongst them.

A large amount of petty crime is carried out by a surprisingly small number of people. One delinquent can carry out hundreds of robberies in a year, and could account for a big proportion of the robberies in a town. In the same way, out of the thousands of beeks in the country, half a dozen wrong'uns could account for all the hive thefts we hear of.

 

[pargyle]

Sad to say, I agree that you would need to know a bit about bees to carry it off. That's not to say anything against beeks, except that any group of humans will have the odd wrong'un amongst them.

A large amount of petty crime is carried out by a surprisingly small number of people. One delinquent can carry out hundreds of robberies in a year, and could account for a big proportion of the robberies in a town. In the same way, out of the thousands of beeks in the country, half a dozen wrong'uns could account for all the hive thefts we hear of.

I totally agree ... but some of the thefts have been from apiaries that were well off the beaten track and not immediately visible - which rather assumes either some local knowledge or someone with local knowledge pointing the thieves in the right direction ? It's a worry ....

 

[clv101]

With the price of bees/honey likely to soar in the coming months it would be prudent for anyone with remote apiaries to think about implementing some security measures.

I'd like to know more about security measure. What can realistically be done? Branding boxes and frames? Ground anchors, chains and padlocks etc? Can any point to an article or somewhere where the options are discussed?

 

[Skyhook]

I'd like to know more about security measure. What can realistically be done? Branding boxes and frames? Ground anchors, chains and padlocks etc? Can any point to an article or somewhere where the options are discussed?

There was a lot of discussion a couple of years ago when Hedgerow Pete had a load of hives nicked. If you search the archive on 'Theft' and Hedgerow Pete' you should find it.

 

[pargyle]

I'd like to know more about security measure. What can realistically be done? Branding boxes and frames? Ground anchors, chains and padlocks etc? Can any point to an article or somewhere where the options are discussed?

Last week !

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=22438

I don't think there's a perfect answer - your choices are:

Deterrent - anything that makes a thief think again and move on to an easier target.

Identification - make your hives and parts as distinct and identifiable as possible (and unattractive to a thief).

Observation and monitoring - the reality is that this may only be of benefit if it is covert and there are legal problems associated with this.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Sorry, Beeno, but your post doesn't reflect reality.

As a clergyman, I'd like to think all my colleagues were good people.
Sadly, the truth is that a few (but one is too many) have been involved in abuse, crime and all sorts of sinfulness. To their shame and the shame of all of us.

How I wish it were not so. But it is.

Beeks are not immune from criminal thoughts and actions.

Dusty

 

[Luminos]

Sorry, Beeno, but your post doesn't reflect reality.

As a clergyman, I'd like to think all my colleagues were good people.
Sadly, the truth is that a few (but one is too many) have been involved in abuse, crime and all sorts of sinfulness. To their shame and the shame of all of us.

How I wish it were not so. But it is.

Beeks are not immune from criminal thoughts and actions.

Dusty

 

[Black Comb]

All sections of the community have a criminal element.
Amazingly I heard only the other day of a politician who lied!

 

[pargyle]

All sections of the community have a criminal element.
Amazingly I heard only the other day of a politician who lied!

No ... surely not ? Oh ... sorry, misread that one, thought you'd found one that told the truth !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

No ... surely not ? Oh ... sorry, misread that one, thought you'd found one that told the truth !

I misread it aswell - Thought he said policeman (strangely enough, I wasn't shocked in the least!)

 

[eddiespangle]

The real question is what can you do. Marking hives is pointless as the bees are likely to be transferred to a new box ASAP. Marking frames- they are going to be hidden from view and the apiary is unlikely to be registered on beebase. The best approach seems to be secluded apiaries and covert beekeeping - a real pity

 

[rayz_x]

I saw an ad recently for a hive stand that is filled with bricks or stones then the floor is screwed down to it. (Could use those anti vandalism screws that need a special bit to remove). Wouldn't make it impossible to remove the hive but a lot more difficult than just picking it up.

Ray

 

[eddiespangle]

You could fit a bracket to the stand on such a way that the floor would have to be removed to unscrew it.

Or use a type of frame which isn't that common. I suspect most stolen bees are on national frames.

 

[BeeJayBee]

The real question is what can you do.

Anything you do will make a less-determined or opportunist thief think twice, and may help you with an insurance claim. But even marking the hive and frames with (expensive) smart water will achieve nothing if the bees are shaken into another hive and the old stuff is smashed up and taken to the local tip as scrap timber.

Bees and hives are not as expensive, and nowhere near as valuable as some jewellery, but - gems in one direction, metal melted down and 'dealt' as either scrap or ingots.

Thieves don't give a damn about anything other than the money they can make, and five frames in a cheap correx nuc will fetch £200 or more. A 'package' will fetch about the same these days - easy money.

The best is to make sure that bees are only ever bought through known, and reliable, sellers which would make it harder for the thieves to make any money. Trouble is that some beekeepers will always go after the cheapest deal, without thinking to ask any questions.

 

[Hombre]

I suspect that with heavy chains, locks, ground anchors, trip wires, concrete and whatever, that the odds are that they will actually put off the beekeeper who will have to negotiate all the parafinalia every inspection and probably do far more damage in the long run.

 

[johncorne]

I fix the floors to the hive stands - so far, the only person it has caught out is me, several times!

Jc

 

[dn170221]

I quite like the idea of stainless steel fittings on say brood and supers and a wire to an anchor. Only problem is I don't trust padlocks not to rust so you could end up locking yourself out!!