At Home: Remove bird feeders after April 1. 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. A soup can filled with pebbles and taped shut makes an effective noisemaker. What You Need To Know About The Black Bear. There are lots of things you can do to deter a black bear from approaching or hanging around your property. 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. ", Rex Plus Barking Dog Alarm – The Electronic Watchdog. 28 November 2017. Simple sanitation measures can be the key to avoid attracting bears. 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. Good housekeeping is a requirement wherever black bears are found. Search the internet for these products. See . They are stocky in structure with short, thick legs. 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. Pick all ripe fruit off trees, and remove vegetables and fallen fruit from the ground. Always use deterrents from a secure vantage point that provides the bear with an easy escape route. Don’t use projectiles larger than a golf ball, and don’t aim at the face to avoid taking out an eye. In this case, an electrified mat is a much better option. Take responsibility for your safety and encourage your neighbors to do the same! New York's black bears begin emerging from their winter dens in mid to late March. Fill any Super Soaker water gun or similar product with water (or a bit of vinegar diluted in water) and aim directly for the bear’s face. The Get Bear Smart Society works hard to ensure people and bears safely and respectfully coexist. 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. Black bears (Figure 1) are the smallest and most widely distributed of the three species of bears in North America. 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. 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. The Scarecrow is simple to use, safe and inexpensive. With no bad karma as from a curse. Alternatively, store garbage in airtight containers inside a storage area that is not accessible to bears. Gardeners may buy these 'thug' plants unaware that, once established and given the right growing conditions, they can run amok. Also, block off any crawlspaces below your home by nailing wood panels across them. Nuisance bears should be reported directly to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). Electrified mats, like cattle/horse guards, can also be effectively used as an unwelcome door/window mat to deter bears from entering buildings. Unlike old slingshots, the laser slingshot hits targets with pinpoint accuracy. Identification . Please do NOT use any other liquids or chemicals other than water or diluted vinegar. Top-7 Products To Keep Beavers Away. bear safety at work; and managing bears (for wildlife officials). 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. To purchase: contact Kodiak Wildlife Products Inc. Get a complete bear safety kit. Do not store garbage in old fridges or freezers as bears learn to knock them over to access their contents. In addition, disruptions in bears' natural food sources, such as scarcity caused by drought, may cause bears to wander into suburban landscapes in search of food. Metal Grates, that are very rough, can also be used to deter most bears from using an area. "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. 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. Disclaimer: if you are dealing with a grizzly bear, do not attempt to get rid of it on your own! 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. Please do NOT use any other liquids or chemicals other than water or diluted vinegar. We have helped create a paradigm shift in people's attitudes toward bears and other wildlife by replacing fear and misunderstanding with respect and understanding. It operates by radar and knows when a bear (or a burglar) is attempting to enter a house. 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. remove food attractants if they don’t want to see bears. Please see our electric fencing page for more information on this useful tool. The best deterrent of all is to make sure there’s nothing at your home or on your property to attract bears in the first place, so be sure to review our Living with Bears brochure and fact sheets for bearproofing tips. There are many ways available for you to get rid of a pesky bear (or several of them!) Keep meat scraps in your freezer until garbage pick- up day. enters a house. see a trusting black bear as an opportunity for observation. It is difficult for a wild bear that roams in the forest for all its life to suddenly adapt to a small enclosure at a zoo or sanctuary. 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 have been driven away when people have fought back with rocks, sticks, binoculars and even their bare hands. Credits: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Dr. Martyn Obbard. They are typically nocturnal and generally avoid people, but also readily adapt to and tolerate people. An unwelcome visitor: This bear returned several times after finding a birdfeeder filled with seed. Do not feed other wildlife as you may attract bears. Male typically range in size from 150 to 350 pounds, with females ranging from 100 to 150 pounds. Metal grates must be wide enough so that the bear can not step or jump over them (see note above). Keep in mind that the Critter Gitter will be triggered by any animal, including a raccoon, cat, dog or coyote that passes by the sensor, day or night. 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. 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. The small hairy larvae of the carpet or fur beetles are known as "woolly bears". No matter which tools you choose to protect yourself and your property, use direct eye contact and a take charge ATTITUDE with black bears! Use bear-resistant containers. 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. But grizzly (brown) bears are an entirely different matter! tears into a storage shed. These medium sized black birds are about the size of a large robin and are a nuisance to backyard bird feeders everywhere. By Travis Faulkner. It doesn't 'insult' a bear to be put in its place; this happens to them most days with other bears, already. Keep your camp clean. Bird feed such as suet and seeds are a very strong attraction for … They know the record shows that such bears are no more dangerous than other black bears. 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. Neighbors driving you crazy? At home, black bears can be deterred with something as simple as a high-powered squirt gun. Not letting a bear graze in your front yard isn’t ‘harassing’ it; it is merely asserting your personal space, something bears totally understand. Bears catch on quickly if everyone does the same thing, get used to it and soon ignore it. Bears are agile and quick, and they are excellent climbers. Use a galvanized hardware cloth to protect the most valuable trees and plants from beaver gnawing. Clean up outdoor grills after use. Pest Advice for controlling Woolly Bears. If there are small cubs present, the sow (female bear) will need time to locate an alternate den and return to remove each cub. Wash garbage containers and dumpsters frequently. It will also help to avoid adding sweets and meats in compost as bears will feed on them. Use it only in the event of an attack. The Falcon Supersound weighs just 1.5 oz and emits a piercing blast that can be heard up to 1/2 mile away. If you feed birds, fill feeders only in late fall and empty them after mid- April when bears come out of their dens. Super soakers can be purchased anywhere toys are sold. If You Encounter a Bear While Camping: Do not store food, garbage, or toiletries in your tent! Garden thugs: potential nuisance plants. With deer hunting, a lot of things can go wrong before and during the season that will knock you out of punching a tag. Use electric fencing to protect valuable trees, orchards, beehives and vegetable and berry patches. It also involves learning enough to know that it’s okay to be ‘top dog’ to a bears. Not letting a bear graze in your front yard isn't 'harassing' it; it is merely asserting your personal space, something bears totally understand. Shake it vigorously as you yell at the bear to leave, and then, perhaps, throw it beside the bear. If a bear comes too close, Rex barks viciously and stops as soon as the bear runs off. Stones should not be larger than a golf ball. ~Anne Braaten, biologist, North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Walking with polar bears – a dangerous trend. If you do encounter a bear, remain calm and remember that the bear is likely more scared of you than you are of him. get-at food. 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). www.dnr.sc.gov for further rules and regulations. Sprinkling lime on the compost will also help as bears … However, if the caloric value of the food is great enough, bears may be willing to tolerate the discomfort to get the food reward. 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