Ideas, News, Information, Stories & Opinions

Once a bear develops a taste for honey, bee larva, and the bees themselves, it will likely continue to raid bee yards and reactive methods to dissuade it are less effective than preventative measures. And if one bear finds the bee hives, other bears will likely follow. Therefore, it is important to protect your investment by taking proactive measure to prevent bear damage before it begins.

• Beehives should be located at least 50 yards from forest tree lines or other sources of cover for bears.
• Electric fencing is the most effective and efficient method for preventing bear damage to beehives.
  • Electric fencing can either be made permanent, for a bee yard that will not be moved, or temporary.
  • Electric fencing is the least expensive way of solving most bear depredation problems in bee yards.
  • Fencing is only effective if it is maintained.
• Contrary to popular belief, commission employees will not trap and relocate nuisance bears because this would simply move the problem, rather than solve it. 

Electric Fencing Construction

Solar-charged or 110 volt electric fencing is one of the most effective methods to reduce black bear damage.

An electric fence must be well grounded, sufficiently charged at all times, and maintained on a regular basis.

There are two main types of electric fences; permanent/semi-permanent electric fences and a temporary electric fence. Select the type that is appropriate for your colony size and budget.

For detailed instructions on constructing both temporary and permanent electric fences, click here to download further information on electric fences. (536 kb pdf)

Baiting the Fence

• Only bait the wires if bears have already started coming to the bee hives. Baiting may serve as an attractant where bears have not been a problem.
• Bait the wires on the electric fence in order to direct a mild shock onto the muzzle area of a black bear. This makes the fence much more effective, regardless of the size of the bear.
• Bait the wires with either bacon wrapped around the wire on all sides or tin foil and peanut butter.

Maintenance

Fencing is only effective if it is maintained. Every time you visit the site check the following:

• Make sure the wires are tight.
• Change the batteries as needed.
• Drop loops in wires are beneficial.
• Use at least a 70-amp hour battery.
• Consult your supplier for the correct high output fence charger.
• Check voltage with a voltmeter.
• Marine battery terminals and lead composition eyelets resist corrosion.
• Keep wires baited at all times.
• Remove vegetation that may be touching the wires.

Is the Gallagher S17 SOLAR Electric Fence Charger Energizer a good one? First off, you have a really solid fencing unit in the Gallagher S17, there's whole bunch of them out there shocking fence. It sounds like you have everything hooked up and right, the only thing I wonder is what are you using to test the electric fence or the fencer by itself? I would use a digital electric fence tester like a Gallagher DVM3 tester.

If you're just testing it by touching the fence wire, you may not feel a hard shock from doing that depending what you're wearing for shoes. If you have a thick rubber or leather sole on your shoe/boots, then you won't be grounded really well. An animal is standing barefoot, so that's why they get a good shock from it. If you're tough and willing to try this, just brace yourself in case everything is working. Go out to the fence, squat down to a knee, and put the back of your hand on the fence wire. If everything is working and feel a pretty good shock from it, then all is working and it was just your shoes/boots. Don't worry too much about the shock from a Gallagher S17, it's not a real hard hitting fencer, but you'll definitely feel it.

Try this first and let me know if you have any further questions. I don't like getting shock by anything big or small, so I'd look at getting the Gallagher DVM3 digital fence tester.

The S17 has a little red light that flashes about every second or two, that's when it is delivering the shock. It should have a faint tick/click sound when the red light flashes.At night time the unit will flash a little slower around 3 to 5 seconds. It's the night save feature built into the S17 to save on battery. It runs off the Solar panel during the day if the battery is fully charged and kicks the battery in at night or a pretty cloudy day. The night save feature can be disabled, but it would have to be sent here to us because I would have to rework the board a little ($12). It would allow the S17 to flash every second or two at night just as it does during the day.

Here is a question we get asked a lot.... What do I need to buy for my electric fence?

Really? Sorry to say,  we don't know. There are so many variables to the fence that you will need to figure it out. Best thing to do is look at other peoples set up to get an idea of what is needed for your animals and the electric fencing design you need.

Heres a real question we recently got asked: I would like to know how much a 10 acre solar power fence charger would cost and what else I'll need for the fencing thanks.

Check out site for solar powered fencers. we have a great selection of them to choose from. What else is a total mystery to us... Call us if we can help but remember , we don't have all the answers, just the products.

Visit protecttheharvest.com for information about animal rights activist and the truth about HSUS. Do not give to HSUS! they are an anti farming organization.

 

Purchase one 1,312’ Roll of Gallagher Turbo Wire or Braid AND one Gallagher Medium Geared Reel and receive a FREE Live Fence Indicator with mail-in rebate & proof of purchase.

Offer valid on purchase made between April 1 - May 31, 2016. May not be combined with other offers. Rebates must be postmarked by June 3, 2016 to qualify. Rebate forms and offer details are available at www.GallagherOffers.com

SPECIAL OFFER! Gallagher electric fencing has a limited time offer with the purchase of one 1,312’ Roll of Gallagher Turbo Wire (G620564) or Braid (G62176) AND one Gallagher Medium Geared Reel (G61150) - consumers may receive a FREE Live Fence Indicator with mail-in rebate & proof of purchase. 

May not be combined with other offers. Rebates must be postmarked by June 3, 2016 to qualify. Rebate forms and offer details are available at www.GallagherOffers.com

Choosing the right type of electric fence parts can make all the difference in how reliable and dependable a system is over the long term. There are many considerations to take into account when it comes to an electric fence chargers, accessories and parts. 

From simple replacement parts to replacing major components, it is essential to work with the right company to make certain that an electric fence system operates uninterrupted on a daily, weekly or annual basis. In addition, a wide range of electric fence accessories are also important to ensuring that a rancher or farmer does not experience a loss of assets or injury to livestock. Replacing everything from fence wire to charger accessories and charger parts as well as underground cables requires working with the right team of professionals.


Valley Farm Supply has the experience, dedicated team and knowledge that ranchers and farmers expect when it comes to electric fence parts. The company has in-depth experience in working with a wide array of tools and equipment often required in a ranch or farm setting. From standard electric fence chargers to solar electric fence equipped as well as traditional electric fence equipment, Valley Farm Supply is literally a one-stop shop for anything related to fence accessories, posts, fence insulators, tape and other essential equipment. Contact Valleyfarmsupply today to learn more.

What kind of Electric Fence Charger do you need for a zoo? You should ask our new customers at the Monterey Zoo in California. New Gallagher B300 Solar powered electric fence energizers were recently purchased and shipped to them from Valley Farm Supply.

We know they we see years of good service under guidance of professional animal caretakers at the zoo.

Thank you to Monterey Zoo for your purchase of several gallagher electric fence chargers!

Cut Out Switches (G6076/G6087): These isolate different sections of the fence when looking for faults. Place them at gateways or junctions where either single or multiple fence lines can be turned off.

If you farm sheep intensively, you may want as many as 100 paddocks. This means the sheep can be moved daily onto a fresh paddock using a three month rotation during slow or zero growth periods. When there are lambs and ewes during spring, two or more flocks can be grazed on a faster rotation.

On dairy farms 30–50 paddocks are usually enough. Cattle are easy to strip graze with only one wire when longer rotations are necessary during slow growth periods