apiary creatures

Black Bears Destroy a Beeyard

Bear Crossing sign: The county kept dropping hints, but I didn’t pay attention. Photo by Rusty Burlew.

Why did the bear cross the road? No secret here! It was the lucious scent of brood and honey.

This is a story about complacency, rationalization, and ignoring the advice I give to others. It’s about a black bear I barely knew. And, ultimately, it’s about the generosity of beekeepers I never met. So let’s take it from the top.

This article first appeared in American Bee Journal, Volume 162 No. 2, February 2022, pp. 159-163.

My home borders the 110,000-acre Capitol State Forest in Washington State, a working forest where towering Douglas-firs1 are raised and harvested to fund public schools and state universities. The Capitol Forest is an exquisitely walkable place with 150 miles of trails that crisscross a variety of terrain and land features. I’ve walked among those trees almost daily for 27 years.

I first published these photos and a few paragraphs about black bears in spring 2021. This is the rest of the story…

The only thing separating my home from the forest is a gravel road, a narrow easement that runs along the forest edge. This roadway allows us to drive three-quarters of a mile from our house to the nearest public road. Without it, we would be landlocked.

The easement is a place of wonder, a gash of sunlight that bisects the dark fir boughs. Creatures galore flock to the light, from delicate Andrena bees that feast on the snowberry blossoms, to enormous pileated woodpeckers that drill perfect rectangles in the trunks of dead trees. Watch the ground and you will see lizards, snakes, slugs, and other slippery dudes slinking to the far side, always searching for an edible morsel.

In winter, after a dusting of snow quiets the forest chatter, the easement road is a thoroughfare for deer, rabbits, cougar, fox, and porcupines. Their prints tell a story of constant motion, of individuals searching for missed berries or semi-tender leaves, of creatures making furtive crossings in the blessed warmth of a low-slung sun. Not usually seen in winter, but close by nevertheless, are American black bears, Ursus americanus.

The easement road that serves our home belongs to the state and sits on the edge of their land. All the bear had to do was cross the road and walk down the hill.
The easement road that serves our home belongs to the state and sits on the edge of their land. All the bear had to do was cross the road and walk down the hill. All photos by Rusty Burlew.

Our neighbors the black bears

Washington is home to only 30,000 of these magnificent creatures. Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat just about everything. While most of their diet is plant matter — including berries, grasses, leaves, and nuts — they admire animal protein when they can find it. They’re not picky, often feeding on insects, carrion, small mammals, fish, and eggs.2 Such rich treats are easy to locate when you’re equipped with a powerfully fine-tuned sense of smell and have the patience and bulk to go anywhere you please.

We lived peaceably with bears for all those years, but I never saw one on “our side” of the road. That’s not to say I haven’t felt their presence. I’ve recognized their tracks in the mud and their scat in the snow. I’ve seen them standing on hind legs when I’ve hiked around a bend in the trail, and I’ve observed their telltale scratchings on alder trees. Excited equestrians have stopped to describe the sow with cubs they just passed in the woods — a momma that gets bigger with every telling. Then, too, I’ve seen those yellow-and-black road signs sprinkled around the county, the ones that warn motorists of a popular “Bear Crossing.”

So why, oh why, did I not protect my bees from bears? I’ve revisited that question since the April morning when I discovered eleven of my fourteen hives reduced to toothpicks. Some of the decimated hives contained bees and some did not, but the bear was thorough, leaving no hive unturned.

I suspect that this hive stand, the one closest to the forest, was the bear’s first stop. It held three hives that faced a large open area to the east. Many of the frames were littered along a trail that leads back into the forest.
I suspect that this hive stand, the one closest to the forest, was the bear’s first stop. It held three hives that faced a large open area to the east. Many of the frames were littered along a trail that leads back into the forest.

What took her so long?

So how did I survive all those beekeeping years without a black bear attack? My theory, weak though it may be, was always about prevailing winds. I believed the breezes that travel east from the ocean and across the Black Hills flowed down the hillside near our home. From there, the scent of the hives passed into the gully that carries a modest salmon-bearing creek on a winding path back to the sea.

Because the air seemed to consistently move down toward the creek — and not up toward the hills — I thought the air drainage might keep the hive scent from returning to the forest, thus keeping black bears at bay. Maybe it did. Until it didn’t.

Although you can barely see the trail, it’s under all those frames. I found pieces of frame and comb for long distances, just like bread crumbs.
Although you can barely see the trail, it’s under all those frames. I found pieces of frame and comb for long distances, just like bread crumbs.

So much for a theory

We’re usually at home in April, preparing for the season ahead. I tend to my bees then, making splits, preparing honey supers, mending and checking as I go. I love that time of year when I can simply fiddle about the hives, changing, fixing, adjusting. In April, as brood-rearing escalates and the big-leaf maples burst into chartreuse blooms, the hive scent is heavenly. The rich proteinaceous odor — reminiscent of a butcher shop — floats on the air in the most luscious way, mixing with the aroma of fresh nectar and greening leaves.

Last year, instead of April as usual, we made a quick trip to South Dakota. We hardly ever leave home together, so this was unusual. We checked on the bees, left the dog and two cats at a boarding kennel priced like a spa, and headed due east, armed with cookies, masks, and hand sanitizer. It was a fun trip, and I discovered I like driving 80 mph past gray-green sagebrushes while wondering if Montana has more than one gas station.

Upon returning home the following week, I checked on the top-bar bees that live next to the driveway. They were single-minded, loaded with pollen and nectar, doing what bees do. They looked blessedly content. In fact, I did no further checking until we emptied the truck, sorted the mail, and stocked the fridge. The two hives directly behind the house were empty but equipped with swarm lures, so everything seemed normal.

I constructed all my boxes with screws, a decision that paid off in the long run.
I constructed all my boxes with screws, a decision that paid off in the long run.

Short-lived peace

Two days later, I walked the woodland trails to the four small clearings that form my apiary. Never have I been so unsurprised as when I discovered the damage. “I knew it,” I said aloud to no one. I had been expecting this day for all those years, and it finally came. It was a moment of catharsis: the time when I could finally stop worrying about when it was going to happen. “There now,” I thought. “It’s done.”

The damage was truly spectacular. Brood boxes were tossed about and inverted so the bottom rails could be ripped cleanly from the frames. Chunks of comb littered the ground and pieces of woodenware hung like ornaments from the low limbs of maples and cascara. Hive parts were scattered along the trails and into the woods like bread crumbs.

I had constructed all my boxes with screws rather than nails, which was definitely a plus. Every last one of my boxes is still square and completely usable, but everything else, including frames, feeders, quilt boxes, robbing screens, mouse guards, inner covers, and bottom boards were nothing but memories. The ratcheting tie-downs hung limply from the hive stands, all of a piece. It appears the bear merely pushed each stack of boxes right through the grip of the strap.

The bear ate the remaining sugar patties that were in the feeders and emptied the quilt boxes of cedar chips. The ratcheting tie-downs were still intact. The bear had simply pushed the boxes through the straps and off the hive stand. Easy peasy.
The black bear ate the remaining sugar patties that were in the feeders and emptied the quilt boxes of cedar chips. The ratcheting tie-downs were still intact. The bear had simply pushed the boxes through the straps and off the hive stand. Easy peasy.

For want of a dog

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if the dog — or lack of a dog — was part of the bear’s decision-making process. Q2 is a purebred Australian cattle dog who barks ferociously, scent marks everything, and corrals the local critters into their proper places. He’s an OCD ACD who surveils the easement several times each day, separating and sorting each species as he goes.

Deer are not allowed in the orchard, raccoons may not enter the garden, and rabbits may not eat the clover. Even bees are monitored. If one dares to cross the driveway, Q2 swallows it whole. After plowing his nose into the grass to relieve the pain, he goes right back to it.

Did removing the dog from wildlife patrol to a scented spa with posh pillows and cushy blankets cause my problem? I thought pet boarding was ridiculously expensive until I lost all my bees; now it seems even more preposterous.

Like many of the boxes, this one was flipped over and the bear removed all the bottom bars at once.
Like many of the boxes, this one was flipped over and the bear removed all the bottom bars at once.

Good fences for bad neighbors

When visitors to my website ask how to protect their bees from black bears, I always recommend an open loft (for those with only a hive or two) or an electric fence. So why didn’t I have an electric fence?

It’s a long story, but my history with electric fences is not pleasant. When we first moved to our present home, the neighbors didn’t maintain their fences. Days after we planted a selection of fruit trees, their cattle got loose and trampled the saplings into the ground. Another time, visiting cows pressed water-filled cauldrons into our freshly seeded lawn. Later, a bull with insanely pendulous testicles crossed a footbridge and pulverized the end of it, macerating the splinters into the muck below.

When we couldn’t take cattle one more second, we installed an electric fence on our side. Because we weren’t about to buy a cattle guard, we opened and closed the fence whenever we came or went. Since it rains constantly, all the viney things — especially the blackberries — grow inches per day. That means that something is always twining around the t-posts, hugging the wires, and causing a short.

To keep the thing working, trimming weeds was a daily battle. If we cut before breakfast, we could plan on pruning again before dinner. I learned to pinpoint the faint, tick, tick, tick of a blade of grass passing the current to ground in the instant before another one started down the line.

The fence irritated me for other reasons, too. I remember a Fourth of July evening when I was lighting fireworks for the guests. At one point, as an enormous display blossomed overhead, I kept backing a few steps at a time to get a better view. With my head craned skyward, I backed directly into the damn fence. My guests thought I was howling at the display, but it was really the pain across the back of my legs that caused me to dance and shimmy in the moonlight.

Another time I was on my hands and knees weeding when a hot wire met my forehead. I jerked backward, lost my balance, and landed on a bull thistle. It was a joyous moment when the last cow was hauled away and we tore down the fence forever.

This photo reminds me of the ring toss game: five points. The lowest of the hive stands, this one is closest to the house but not in view of it.
This photo reminds me of the ring toss game: five points. The lowest of the hive stands, this one is closest to the house but not in view of it.

Feeding the black bears

People keep asking if I’ve rebuilt my apiary. Sorry to say, I haven’t, although I still have my top-bar bees to keep me entertained.

Since I can’t come to terms with electric fences, rebuilding would be equivalent to deliberately feeding the bears. Bears, like elephants, never forget, so they will be back. I’m sure they now include my apiary in their weekly rounds, just to see what I’m preparing for their next big feast. I was lucky to have so many bear-free years, but it won’t happen again. Next time, I need a plan.

It’s a terrible thing for a beekeeper to say, but the bear experience was an immense relief. Before then, I worried about bears constantly, wondering when it would happen and how I would react. So once it happened, the waiting was over. I could sleep at night without worrying about bears. Worse, I suddenly realized I had free time. It was a gift, like someone removing an albatross that I’d been shouldering for years.

At the same time, I miss the bees. I miss their sound, their smell, their companionship. I miss seeing them filch pollen, circle the hives, guard the entrance, and poop on the cars. Such busy creatures remind me to stay focused and keep my mind on the goal.

Ultimately, I decided to enjoy the timeout and make plans for rebuilding slowly. I still have many experiments to try, ideas to explore, and equipment to damage. In the meantime, I have lots of wax-coated fire starters all stacked for the winter woodstove. I’ve turned some boxes into planters, and my husband is building a storage unit from the rest.

A few boxes were empty, and I planned to refurbish them during the summer. As you can see, the bear was not interested in the empties.
A few boxes were empty, and I planned to refurbish them during the summer. As you can see, the bear was not interested in the empties.

The ultimate lesson

I learned many things from my bear experience, but the most startling thing came not from bears but from beekeepers. After I wrote a short blog post about the bear attack on my website, I was deluged — absolutely overwhelmed — by offers of equipment, bees, complete colonies, nucs, and queens. Beekeepers from all over North America and a few places in Europe offered any bee-related thing you can imagine multiple times over. Some offered to deliver, some said I had to come and get it, but they were all spectacularly generous.

Now, I carry those thoughts around with me and understand something about beekeepers I’d missed before. The shared problems, the camaraderie, the laughs, and the tears are something we all understand — feelings no less intense than our love for the bees themselves.

To the legions of beekeepers out there, old and new, experienced or not, I extend a heartfelt thank you. What better friend can one have than a hard-headed, fractious, irascible, opinioned, my-way-or-the-highway, lover of bees with a soft center?

The bear signed off on his work. Nice touch.
The bear signed off on his work. Nice touch.

Notes and references

  1. The common name “Douglas-fir” is hyphenated because it refers to a tree, Pseudotsuga menziesii, that is not really a fir. Oddly, the tree is in the pine family, Pinaceae, along with hemlocks (Tsuga).
  2. The Audobon Society Nature Guides. 1992. Western Forests. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Rusty
Honey Bee Suite

16 Comments

  • Did I misunderstand? You only have one colony now?

    “Everyone Knows” you MUST have two colonies! And in order to have two colonies, because of the poor survival rates, you really need four! You’re doing it all wrong! 🙂

    (I think we need to see photos of the planters and storage unit.)

    (Also, also, while starting to understand the relief of freedom from bee care, I still am so very sorry for your loss.)

  • I’ve had bears coming around this spring already, getting into a bird feeder and chicken coop but leaving hives alone. I put up a solar-powered motion sensor alarm a few days ago and last night it scared the bear out of the yard! Bought more today for the beehive areas.

  • I had a single top bar hive that my wife started for us after we moved permanently to the mountains of Arizona in 2013. I loved watching the bees and learning about their social structure. Maintenance of the hive was minimal for me. They seemed happy and twice or three times a year I would clean out any cross-combing and collect a little honey. Twice I lost queens and had to repopulate the hive with a new 3-pound package of bees with a queen.

    Last year we lost our queen during the winter so the hive died out during the cold months. Right after discovering that, I lost THE queen bee; my wife. As much in her honor as anything, I decided to clean out the hive and start a new colony. Last summer I had the best honey harvest we had ever had and I was glad that my wife’s legacy was continuing to bring joy to me (and to those who were lucky enough to get some of the honey from me).

    But sometime in the fall (I’m guessing), my hive became Africanized. I was not aware it happened until I went to do the post-winter clean-out and was attacked by a lot of bees when I opened the hive. Even then, I did not realize what had happened (I didn’t think “killer bees” could survive at 7200′ due to the cold and snow during the winter). When the aggressive bees started annoying my neighbors I consulted beekeepers up here and learned what had happened. The fate of my hive was sealed and last week I had to begin the process of killing the hive (a slow process when one doesn’t like using insecticides). This broke my heart because I was killing the creatures that I had been responsible caring for over many years. I cannot imagine the grief Rusty must have gone through losing so many hives. I know, they are “livestock” and as any farmer who has livestock knows, dealing with their death comes with the territory. But I do share your pain, Rusty.

    • Steve,

      The thing I miss most is just hearing and seeing them. When bees are coming and going, the world seems normal to me. When they are not around, I feel uncomfortable and slightly afraid, as if bad things are about to happen. Silly, I know.

  • Rusty: I am in Ashland OR. I have lots and lots of unassembled equipment — bottom boards, frames, hive boxes, and (maybe) migratory covers. I also have lots of assembled equipment — boxes, screeded bottom boards & deep and double medium nuc hive setups. They are all in my barn just sitting there — out of sight and out of mind until someday I decide how to get rid of it all. With my aspirations of larger-scale beekeeping (50 hives?) gone by the wayside with age, you are more than welcome to whatever equipment you need or want if your travels take you nearby.

    • Karen,

      I can’t thank you enough. That is so very kind of you to offer. But actually, I’m scaling back and have plenty of equipment: it somehow collects when you’re not paying attention!

      I’m sure you’ll find a good home for it all.

  • Rusty, I’m sure the many offers are a heartfelt recognition of the years you’ve been giving to us. They are a token of our esteem for you.

  • Like all of your readers, I was saddened by your bear attack. It’s overwhelming to see the destruction. Please never stop writing for us.

    I have two questions for you, Rusty:

    1. Did your Valkyrie survive the attack?
    2. Are you still able to make any of your circular honeycomb, or will that have to wait?

    Daniel

    • Hi Daniel,

      1. Yes, the Valkyrie is fine, probably because it was empty at the time and it was close to the house.

      2. I have a small colony in my top-bar hive, but any comb honey will have to wait. At least I have plenty from past years and it is delicious!

  • I feel your pain. I have 6 hives in our fenced backyard that were monitored by our large mixed-breed dog. He got sick and we had to have him put down, not thinking he was the reason we didn’t have bears in the yard (they have been here for years and we knew it). One morning I got up and found 5 of the hives in tatters much like yours. He stripped the wax, brood, and honey down to the bare foundation. I put back together what I could and went to my spare parts and replaced what was beyond salvaging. Long story short I am in my second year with bees and was looking forward to my first honey crop. I had to start from scratch. Best of luck in your downtime and I hope you get back to it soon.

  • We don’t have bears in the east of England, but we have losses. Winter 2020/1 saw my two colonies fail, but as I spent time in hospital with a heart problem in 2021 I could not have looked after them as they are 2 miles from my home. I bought two nucs this spring and what joy they are giving me. The local council who own the land are now making life difficult even though they granted permission 8 years ago and my bees have caused no problems and I’m the only beekeeper! A few miles down the road ornithologists are delighted as European bee-eaters [birds] have come in a small flock. They have not nested in the area before. Beekeepers are less happy, as they hoover up honey bees! We share in pain and pleasure alike, it seems, but I love to read these posts. Thankyou Rusty and everyone else.

  • I have had many black bear attacks so I feel your pain. Had a strong hive hit this spring. Luckily was able to gather up what was left and it bounced back. Had a full honey super when I checked that hive this morning. Not always so lucky.

    A good deterrent is plywood with 3″ screws in it. A faceful of bees does not seem to slow them down but a screw in the paw seems to get them to think twice about getting closer.

    I have a theory for the unexpected attack. You say that you kenneled your dog. We would free-range our chickens for years with no wild animal attacks. When we took our dog with us on vacation then we inevitably had a massacre. I think the animals knew there was another animal in that range but as soon as his scent was gone it was fair game.

    Sorry for the loss. Love reading your blog.

  • I’m so sorry for your loss. And that dark place of recognition that you can’t set the table for the bears again. They will remember and return. I’m in NW Connecticut and my neighbors had an electric fence that proved useless as a deterrent or barrier. Their apiary was also destroyed. My experience with a black bear was a very pleasant one. A yearling already in torpor who lodged in a rock cave in my back yard from December until mid-March. She moved on after emerging without cubs, but I spent a good amount of time in February thinking on how to protect myself and home had she chosen to stay. It’s a big deal, for sure. Best to you going forward.

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