Beekeeping/Pollination Services - Looking for land

Good luck to you too Plog, we're both going to have a blast.

Not many bears just south of ottawa, lots of skunks and other critters though.

Not sure if I'll need to bother with full on fencing. I know one beekeeper nearby who just sets out live traps that the landowners glance at daily and text him if anything is caught. I may go that route initially.

If I ever start any yards in the upper ottawa valley though, bears will be an issue.

What kind of bees are you getting? I've got a mix of Italians & Russians.

I'd put up an electric fence. The beekeeper keeping hives at my father's place near Peterborough has a good strong 4-wire fence setup. I have fences around both of my bee yards here in Sudbury, and bears have been a problem. Also keeps out other big critters; cows, horses, etc.

You'd hate to invest all the time and money in getting a couple hives started and then lose them to a bear. The bear compensation that OMAFRA pays out barely covers the cost of a replacement nuc (if you can find one), won't pay for all the woodenware that is destroyed, and the winter the government will send you a nice T4A for the "income" from that payout... so they tax you on the payout later on. ;)

If skunks become an issue and you have trouble trapping them, pick up some carpet tack strips, cut them to approximately the width of the bottom board, and nail them down to the bottom board. Bees don't care, but the skunk won't scratch the bottom boards to entice bees to come out and get eaten.

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Originally Posted by Oddmott

Vandalism and now 'bee rustlers' are a growing concern. I don't think i'd ever feel good about placing my hives on public land. It's nice to have a landowner nearby to act as a watchdog, since i can't be around every day.

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This set up has been there for several years and I have never noticed any issues, but I don't go there everyday. I understand what you are saying though and actually I am surprised that the beekeeper chose this location given the way people treat the property in general.

To be honest I'm not too sure of the breed I'm getting, I know we were told this when I did the 2 day introductory course at Boards Honey Farm (Northern Nectar)(link provided). They have a great set up about 300+ hives and have been in the Restoule area since 1974. Being from a northern apiary I know they must be a hearty breed.

http://www.boardshoneyfarm.com

There is a lot of good info on YouTube to get ideas and then adapt them to fit your needs/situation. I already have plans for a solar wax melter/extractor/honey pail warmer/5 frame nuc box…I can make these myself for either free or a few bucks, much better than paying the huge $$$ at a bee supply store. I got from my old work place a solid stainless steel cooker that was being tossed into the garbage, it's now my uncapping tank…can't beat free stainless. They also threw out all food grade plastic pails in 4/5 & 6USG sizes, still have 100+ so all my honey storage is taken care of.

Good to hear you may not have any issues with bears, we had a close encounter here the other day, I didn't mention it yet until a MNR CO came over to investigate, which was yesterday afternoon….All went well with the CO (as expected), but we have lots of bears, just going to have to train them to respect that fence…10,000 volts/3 joules may be a deterrent…I hope.

Two years ago I had an issue with a bear not respecting the fence and climbing through the gaps to damage hives. Some aluminum foil dipped in peanut butter, hung on the fence, solved that problem.

Last year the bear returned, with two yearlings. They respected the fence, including a flimsy plastic poultry electric fence around some nucs I made. But they stuck around, damaging other equipment, showing aggression, stalking the house at night... Took one of the yearlings and filled the little freezer, within two days momma and the other yearling had left. Reported to the MNR and a brief phonecall followup was all it took to close the file.

I've seen evidence of bear activity in the bush by my house this year, but so far no problems.

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Originally Posted by rf2

This set up has been there for several years and I have never noticed any issues, but I don't go there everyday. I understand what you are saying though and actually I am surprised that the beekeeper chose this location given the way people treat the property in general.

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I have seen a bear on this crown land property many years ago and bear feces.

Won't have to worry about bears, if i can't find a suitable location.

Quickly finding out that there are some utterly massive honey operations throughout the area i'm interested in and they are property hogs. lol

No matter where i drive, which doors i knock on or the stones i turn over, i keep hearing "No... Beekeeper #1 or Beekeeper #2 already have a big yard on my property or the neighbours' property or just down the road".

Did get turkey hunting permission at 2 farms for next year though. lol

Speaking of bees! Someone bee farmer not to far away came walking behind my In laws house today my father inlaw went out and asked who he was and what he was doing.. He lost his cool and starting going off on him about spraying pesticides on the trees. Killed all his bees last year and doing it again this year.. Father inlaw told him to speak to the farmer that he leases the land to. He told the guy He doubts they will stop doing it and loose tens of thousands of dollars in crop damage.

guess buddy will have to put his hives somewhere else. Lol

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Originally Posted by Oddmott

Won't have to worrI about bears, if i can't find a suitable location.

Quickly finding out that there are some utterly massive honey operations throughout the area i'm interested in and they are property hogs. lol

No matter where i drive, which doors i knock on or the stones i turn over, i keep hearing "No... Beekeeper #1 or Beekeeper #2 already have a big yard on my property or the neighbours' property or just down the road".

Did get turkey hunting permission at 2 farms for next year though. lol

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What about Fox here on the forum..? I dont know how far away you 2 are from each other but it seems like it could be a good fit. He seems to have a bit of land and having a like minded individual keeping an eye on things makes sense.
Ps. I know nothing about beekeeping , I was just thinking out loud , at the very least he may have contacts in his area?. Congrats on the turkey permission.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oddmott

Won't have to worry about bears, if i can't find a suitable location.

Quickly finding out that there are some utterly massive honey operations throughout the area i'm interested in and they are property hogs. lol

No matter where i drive, which doors i knock on or the stones i turn over, i keep hearing "No... Beekeeper #1 or Beekeeper #2 already have a big yard on my property or the neighbours' property or just down the road".

Did get turkey hunting permission at 2 farms for next year though. lol

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Sorry to hear that your search for a bee yard is a little harder than expected, the new turkey hunting grounds is a bonus though. Keep at it and eventually a nice property will turn up to house the bees. I have til next weekend to finish the electric fence and then maybe bait it…with tin foil and either bacon grease or peanut butter…hoping any bear coming in has a really wet nose because I'm gonna make sure the ground is good n soaked, will have to put up the trail cam (on video).