Black bears (Figure 1) are the smallest and most widely distributed of the three species of bears in North America. When using this or any other deterrent, display a dominant body posture and use a stern tone of voice to ensure the black bear receives a clear message. Use it only in the event of an attack. To keep bears away, follow this advice: Secure household garbage in a shed, garage or a wildlife-resistant container (like a bear-resistant container or caddy). Read an article about the product. What To Do – Surprise & Close Encounters: Education Outreach Initiatives / Bear With Us Inc. Black bears are abundant here and can be found in most areas of the province. Maine Black Bear Photo: U.S. Always use deterrents from a secure vantage point that provides the bear with an easy escape route. Build a mat from plywood and nails/screws or electrify your mat. Because black bears readily reproduce in captivity, there is no shortage of captive bears for zoos. Keep your campsite clean, and don’t burn food scraps or fat drippings in the fire. Black bears will scavenge a carcass or may kill and eat a small rodent on occasion but their diet mostly consists of berries, vegetation, and insects. Flashlights, torches, flashbulbs and other bright lights may also been used to deter bears at night, but little information exists in the literature about the efficacy or best methods for these techniques. Black bears are generally timid and avoid people but if allowed access to human foods, chronic problems can develop. To order online, just google “Rex Plus Barking Dog Alarm” or check with local retailers that sell pest control or security products. These techniques have been provided courtesy of Ann Bryant of the Lake Tahoe BEAR League. Bears are very intelligent; they learn quickly and remember well. However, if the caloric value of the food is great enough, bears may be willing to tolerate the discomfort to get the food reward. The BEAR League in Lake Tahoe tested this unit and says, “Rex works great and never needs to be fed, watered or walked.” Nonetheless, bears may become acclimatized to the sound over time and may not be deterred from the area, or they may not react at all to a recorded “bark”. It doesn’t ‘insult’ a bear to be put in its place; this happens to them most days with other bears, already. Shake it vigorously as you yell at the bear to leave, and then, perhaps, throw it beside the bear. Simple sanitation measures can be the key to avoid attracting bears. Top-7 Products To Keep Beavers Away. With no bad karma as from a curse. Secure commercial garbage in bear-resistant dumpsters. For instance, loud noises such as boat horns, gunshots, and barking dogs can oftentimes be enough to frighten off bears. As for deterrents, one option is to surround your cottage with electric fence—the shock isn’t harmful, … This practice ended in 2000 because trapping and moving bears does not resolve the underlying problem, which is the presence of attractive food sources provided by people. ", Rex Plus Barking Dog Alarm – The Electronic Watchdog. Bears are massive, strong animals. Most gardeners are aware of the problems caused by weeds, but there are garden plants - readily available to buy - that have the potential to become a nuisance. Bears catch on quickly if everyone does the same thing, get used to it and soon ignore it. Solar Nite Eyes – a device that deters nocturnal predators. These medium sized black birds are about the size of a large robin and are a nuisance to backyard bird feeders everywhere. Adult black bears typically weigh 100-300 pounds, but males can exceed 500 pounds. The purpose of a deterrent is to make your home less attractive and persuade an exploring bear to move on. Keep your camp clean. Close off the areas below decks and porches in the winter. Fish ... be due to increases in both human and bear populations as well as habitat fragmentation. By Travis Faulkner. Rex is a barking dog that resides in a small box kept on your counter when you’re not home. Scat with fur in it is usually from a wolf, fox, coyote, or other carnivore. A well-aimed stone can help drive your message home. They are small, light and easy to use, perfect for backcountry or home use. The Critter Gitter detects animal movement up to 13.5 m (40ft) away using passive infrared, body heat or motion detection and then emits ear-piercing sounds and flashes lights. Bear Be Gone can be purchased directly from Curley’s Critter Catchers Mfg. Make sure you recognize and know the difference between types of bears. determine what attracted the bear and prevent it from happening again. Black bears likely will run when you make noise by clapping, yelling, banging pots and pans, or blowing a boat air horn. Consider eliminating the blackbirds' and starlings' natural habitat to successfully rid the nuisance birds from your property. The Rex Plus Barking Dog Alarm scares off bears or other intruders. The spray head can be adjusted from 10°- 360° to cover a small or large area and has a 35-foot range for flexibility in placement. But grizzly (brown) bears are an entirely different matter! Keep them up there for a while, smacking the tree and yelling at them. And always ensure that the bear has a clear and safe avenue of escape with no people or obstacles in its way. Bears are magnificent creatures, not just because of their size or their "cuteness," but also because of their intelligence. Once a bear learns to get food from people, it can be difficult to change the animal’s behavior. Instead, aim at the rump of a bear. It will also help to avoid adding sweets and meats in compost as bears will feed on them. (Click here to learn how to tell the difference between a grizzly bear and a black bear.). Pest Advice for controlling Woolly Bears. If you want or need the bear to move on before spring, make loud noises and/or use lights. get-at food. It also involves learning enough to know that it's okay to be 'top dog' to a bears. Pick all ripe fruit off trees, and remove vegetables and fallen fruit … In this case, an electrified mat is a much better option. Do not attempt to actively deter a grizzly bear from your property on your own — get yourself to a safe location and call a conservation officer immediately. August 22, 2011. Black bears have been driven away when people have fought back with rocks, sticks, binoculars and even their bare hands. See . Wood balls, constructed from environmentally friendly, biodegradable material, are the ideal pellet to use with the laser-sighted slingshot. Keep meat scraps in your freezer until garbage pick- up day. The small hairy larvae of the carpet or fur beetles are known as "woolly bears". This device is hooked up to a normal garden hose and mounted in the ground. Please do NOT use any other liquids or chemicals other than water or diluted vinegar. Use electric fencing to protect valuable trees, orchards, beehives and vegetable and berry patches. Here are several suggestions for getting rid of any variety of bear. If you don’t have a slingshot handy, you can always just throw stones at the bear’s rump – again don’t throw stones at the bears face or vital organs and ensure the stones are smaller than a golf ball. It really scares them. With deer hunting, a lot of things can go wrong before and during the season that will knock you out of punching a tag. There are several tools available on the market today to help you keep curious or hungry bears away from you and your home, business or campsite. Black bears, Ursus americanus, are one of three species of bears found throughout North America—along with grizzly bears and polar bears—and are the smallest in size, and the most widespread species on the continent. To purchase, visit SmartHome.com or google “Scarecrow Animal Repeller.”. Clean up outdoor grills after use. Male typically range in size from 150 to 350 pounds, with females ranging from 100 to 150 pounds. The most effective long-term solution to conflicts between people and bears is removing, securing, and properly storing attractants such as bird-feeders, garbage, grills, pet and livestock foods, livestock, and bee hives. Don’t use projectiles larger than a golf ball, and don’t aim at the face to avoid taking out an eye. It’s 100 per cent ozone safe and non-flammable. After they’ve been picked on for a few minutes, go back inside your home, let them come down and watch them tear off. Don’t aim directly into their eyes. It doesn't 'insult' a bear to be put in its place; this happens to them most days with other bears, already. Photos by Mike McIntosh. In some cases, using chili pepper spray … Do not store garbage in old fridges or freezers as bears learn to knock them over to access their contents. If you do encounter a bear, remain calm and remember that the bear is likely more scared of you than you are of him. It operates by radar and knows when a bear (or a burglar) is attempting to enter a house. At Home: Remove bird feeders after April 1. tears into a storage shed. This disturbance may not be acceptable to neighbours. These areas are the perfect place for bears to hide out, so block them off, particularly in winter. Good housekeeping is a requirement wherever black bears are found. Choose between the assembled or unassembled version. Also, block off any crawlspaces below your home by nailing wood panels across them. Turning a garden hose on a bear can also be very effective. The Get Bear Smart Society works hard to ensure people and bears safely and respectfully coexist. Remember that even though an attractant to bears has been removed, it may take several days for a bear to stop visiting a particular area. Super soakers can be purchased anywhere toys are sold. With this, be sure to enclose compost so that bears will not find them. Put household garbage out on morning of pickup rather than the night before. It is against DEC regulations to directly or indirectly feed bears and people who feed bears, intentionally or otherwise, are doing bears a great disservice. Please do NOT use any other liquids or chemicals other than water or diluted vinegar. Although it may sound complicated and expensive, electric fencing is actually a relatively simple and cost-effective way to secure bear attractants that cannot be removed or otherwise contained. Electric fences are easily adapted to a variety of situations – beehives, fruit orchards, hunting and backpacking camps, grain sheds, livestock enclosures, landfills, even high-use visitor areas and campgrounds – and are relatively easy to maintain and economical to build. Normally shy and avoiding human contact, bears will venture into settled areas in search of food when natural food sources are scarce. You may even have all the supplies you need in the tool shed. This detector has been designed to change its sound and light patterns with each intrusion and automatically reset itself. Aim at the bear’s rump; never throw stones directly in the bear’s face. www.solarniteyes.com. Pick all ripe fruit off trees, and remove vegetables and fallen fruit from the ground. If you feed birds, fill feeders only in late fall and empty them after mid- April when bears come out of their dens. Nuisance Black Bears and What to do With Them 5 Unlike brown bears (grizzly bears) and polar bears, black bears are primarily inhabitants of forested areas where they are best able to meet their needs for cover, food, and security from predators (including other bears). Others are manually deployed, helping you to deter a bold or aggressive bear’s approach with noisemakers or projectiles. Safe, effective bear unwelcome mats are easily constructed from materials available from your local Hardware or Farm and Ranch supply stores. Search the internet for these products. Grizzly bears are very dangerous. Do not leave pet food outdoors at night. The Falcon Supersound weighs just 1.5 oz and emits a piercing blast that can be heard up to 1/2 mile away. Varying your technique each time a bear attempts to return to your yard works better than always using the same deterrent. They have five toes, with claws on all of them. Electrified mats, like cattle/horse guards, can also be effectively used as an unwelcome door/window mat to deter bears from entering buildings. If you feed birds, fill feeders only in late fall and empty them after mid- April when bears come out of their dens. How Do I Get Rid of Black Bear in Louisiana? It also involves learning enough to know that it’s okay to be ‘top dog’ to a bears. To purchase: contact Kodiak Wildlife Products Inc. Bear Be Gone has been designed to resemble a garbage can. European starlings are among the most hated and unwanted birds in the country. Please see our electric fencing page for more information on this useful tool. If you’re experiencing break-ins of the ursine variety, try some anti-bear cottage upgrades: Instead of lever door handles, use knobs; put heavy frames and thick glass on the windows; and don’t keep a fridge in the porch where the bears can smell it (especially if it’s an old one with a leaky door seal). If you have a problem with black bears here are some ways to deter them: There are products on the market today to help you keep hungry bears away from you and your home or business. 28 November 2017. Credits: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Dr. Martyn Obbard. Being good shepherds of bears involves making [your food, your pet's food, the bird feeder, the garbage can] unavailable to bears, but it goes further than that. Alternatively, store garbage in airtight containers inside a storage area that is not accessible to bears. This lets the black bear know he has invaded your territory and is not welcome. Maintain a safe distance. If it has no way to escape, it may interpret your efforts to scare it away as an attack and stand its ground in self-defense. Sprinkling lime on the compost will also help as bears … Close Encounters: What To Do Always be ready for an encounter with a bear in bear country and carry pepper spray. Bears typically den (hibernate) in fall (late October-early December) and emerge in spring (March-April). Buy wood panels large enough to cover these areas, and nail them in place. If you’d rather not use guns and things that go bang, you can always try the ever-reliable slingshot. Some in situ or passive deterrents, like an electric fence, automatically provide negative feedback to bears when they approach your property or specific attractants, such as bee hives or fruit trees. Garbage for pick-up should be put out on the morning of collection and not the night before. In addition to nuisance animal removal, I also include Black Bear Control and Prevention methods of black bears that might be a problem or nuisance to you. Wildlife Deterrent horns can be an effective means of scaring bears away. "Being good shepherds of bears involves making [your food, your pet’s food, the bird feeder, the garbage can] unavailable to bears, but it goes further than that. If You Encounter a Bear While Camping: Do not store food, garbage, or toiletries in your tent! Simple, yet highly effective. Not letting a bear graze in your front yard isn’t ‘harassing’ it; it is merely asserting your personal space, something bears totally understand. Use lime to cut odours. Residents will find it best to store garbage in steel bear- proof containers if possible. When the motion detector senses movement, the Scarecrow sprays a 3 to 4 second burst of water and then resets itself. Here is a wee witchcraft spell to help you out. Garden thugs: potential nuisance plants. Identification . At home, black bears can be deterred with something as simple as a high-powered squirt gun. If there are small cubs present, the sow (female bear) will need time to locate an alternate den and return to remove each cub. We’re not 100% sold that it would work with bears, but it’s guaranteed – you can return it if you’re not fully satisfied. see a trusting black bear as an opportunity for observation. One of the disadvantages of the Critter Gitter is that bears may become acclimatized to the sound and lights over time and no longer leave the area. remove food attractants if they don’t want to see bears. Disclaimer: if you are dealing with a grizzly bear, do not attempt to get rid of it on your own! Unlike old slingshots, the laser slingshot hits targets with pinpoint accuracy. He is on guard as long as he’s plugged in, barking when the bear is too near and quiet when the bear is gone. Emails obtained by CBC News are shedding new light on how the Nova Scotia government makes decisions about black bear management in a province with limited space for wildlife. They are simple and inexpensive to make. There are lots of things you can do to deter a black bear from approaching or hanging around your property. They invade in large flocks and can be difficult to get rid of. Do not cook, eat or store food in your tent. There are lots of things you can do to deter a black bear from approaching or hanging around your property. Use lime to cut odours. www.dnr.sc.gov for further rules and regulations. Be alert for bears and signs of bear activity as they may have been attracted by previous campers. frequents a residential area. bear safety at work; and managing bears (for wildlife officials). What You Need To Know About The Black Bear. Even under the best circumstances at the best zoos, captivity cannot replicate a wild animal’s habitat. At home, black bears can be deterred with something as simple as a high-powered squirt gun. Stones should not be larger than a golf ball. All Contents Copyright © 2021 Bear With Us. Use a galvanized hardware cloth to protect the most valuable trees and plants from beaver gnawing. << back. Metal grates must be wide enough so that the bear can not step or jump over them (see note above). Attacks by black bears on people are very rare and most black bears can be easily scared away with the following approach: Stand and face the bear … These work particularly well in areas where bears may already encounter rattlesnakes. You don’t have to like bears to do these things; understanding these simple principles can help keep them out of your way, as well as saving their lives. enters a house. Metal Grates, that are very rough, can also be used to deter most bears from using an area. They are typically nocturnal and generally avoid people, but also readily adapt to and tolerate people. Difficult to get rid of black bear from approaching or hanging around your property a is. And not the night before fox, coyote, or toiletries in your freezer until garbage pick- day... 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( or a burglar ) is attempting to enter a house attractants if they don ’ t want see! Sensitive outdoor lights unwanted birds in the event of an attack nail them in place rather not use other...