Stolen Bees - Help!

shop deals on amazon
BS Honey Bees
Shop deals on ebay
Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
eddiespangle

eddiespangle

House Bee
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
160
Reaction score
0
Location
Gillingham, Kent
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
4
I moved to Swindon from Winchester last summer and over the winter I've had a few colonies stolen from the apiary I'm sharing. At this rate I'll be a non beekeeper before the spring - does anyone know of a landowner on the Oxford side of Swindon who'd be happy to have ages hives on his land?

I've done the usual stuff in reporting the theft to the local association and the police but its difficult to see how that will deter anyone. I have to assume that the criminals know where the site is they'll continue to take the bees.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Eddie
 
Hi Eddie
Try contacting the vale and downland beekeeping association. They cover the area of South Oxfordshire that borders Swindon. They might know somewhere.
Sounds like you need to move them Asap.
Good luck


Sent from my YP-GI1 using Tapatalk 2
 
Just awful.
I hope you get somewhere safer for them very soon :(
 
eddiespangle said:
I moved to Swindon from Winchester last summer and over the winter I've had a few colonies stolen from the apiary I'm sharing. At this rate I'll be a non beekeeper before the spring - does anyone know of a landowner on the Oxford side of Swindon who'd be happy to have ages hives on his land?

I've done the usual stuff in reporting the theft to the local association and the police but its difficult to see how that will deter anyone. I have to assume that the criminals know where the site is they'll continue to take the bees.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Eddie
Click to expand...

Did you have any security in place ? Even the most basic of ground anchors and a chain and padlock would make life difficult for potential thieves. A hefty stake (just one of those steel stakes with a curly tail) hammered deep in the ground under the hive padlocked to a chain passed through a staple on the roof would make it almost impossible to steal the hive without disturbuing the bees. May be a bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted but could save you losing the rest before you find another apiary. Cost - probably less than a tenner.
 
Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I've just invested in a branding iron to mark all of my hardware too.
 
eddiespangle said:
Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I've just invested in a branding iron to mark all of my hardware too.
Click to expand...

Anything that stops the robbing bssstds from moving it on easier must help. With the value of a Nuc probably going to be in the order of £240/£260 this coming spring there could be a lot more hives under threat in the coming months.
 
Seems like the non over-wintering of many colonies will mean quite a few light fingered beeks replacing lost colonies or the other usual scum taking advantage to fill the market gap with cheaply acquired colonies.
 
How about getting one of the wildlife video cameras?, they are available for night time use and work off a motion sensor, the battery last for a month, they can be mounted to a tree, not too expensive imo, compred to your bees and hives, you can then pass on the tape to the police.
 
oliver90owner said:
Seems like the non over-wintering of many colonies will mean quite a few light fingered beeks replacing lost colonies or the other usual scum taking advantage to fill the market gap with cheaply acquired colonies.
Click to expand...

It's everywhere ... 17 sheds broken into on our local allotment site last week - all on the same night. Mainly petrol engined tools taken. Easy sell on and good residual value. Bees even better ...
 
especially when cold easy to move.
 
The people with the most ear to the ground knowledge and probability of bumping into odd hives again are the bee inspectors.
 
pargyle said:
Did you have any security in place ? Even the most basic of ground anchors and a chain and padlock would make life difficult for potential thieves. A hefty stake (just one of those steel stakes with a curly tail) hammered deep in the ground under the hive padlocked to a chain passed through a staple on the roof would make it almost impossible to steal the hive without disturbuing the bees. May be a bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted but could save you losing the rest before you find another apiary. Cost - probably less than a tenner.
Click to expand...

Not worth a tenner a pair of bolt croppers! job done:hairpull:
 
How about getting one of the wildlife video cameras?,

The 'regulars' are wise to those. Anything that uses a 'photo flood' of infra red is readily visible to a suitable viewer, and some to the naked eye. Easy to locate and steal that, too, so only of use for catching amateur thieves.

Need a photo-multiplier type which does not need an infra red 'photo flood' - and they tend to be a tad more expensive. Also it is actually illegal to record covertly, I believe! (you have to have it clearly posted that security cameras may be/are in operation).
 
beesknee said:
Not worth a tenner a pair of bolt croppers! job done:hairpull:
Click to expand...

Big chain, stainless steel hasp from marine chandlers, big padlock - OK, it's only a deterrent but with any luck the thief won't be equipped for heavy duty theft and will go and nick someone else's hives that are not chained down.
 
oliver90owner said:
Also it is actually illegal to record covertly, I believe! (you have to have it clearly posted that security cameras may be/are in operation).
Click to expand...

I don't see David Attenborough putting up any signs. Sure any bad lads caught on camera will only be incidental . . . They are wildlife cameras after all, watching for foxes, badgers and bogeymen.
 
They are wildlife cameras after all, watching for foxes, badgers and bogeymen

But would this 'evidence' be admissible in court? Probably not, and the recorder could be at risk of litigation by the bad boys. Sometimes better to get the evidence and deal with it in other ways than via plod.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Curly green finger's
Nuc and kielers stolen in South Shropshire.
Replies
13
Views
2K
Foxylad
Foxylad
citrus
Puerto Rico Bees - article in New Scientist
2
Replies
26
Views
3K
Steve at Westerham Beeks
S
oxnatbees
What exactly is the law about stolen bees?
4 5 6
Replies
101
Views
20K
Primitive P
P
Bob Bee
Bee Improvement Days Cornwall
Replies
1
Views
2K
For want of a better word
For want of a better word
O
Help me with my honey bee research
Replies
4
Views
1K
OxfordBees
O

Latest posts

Back
Top