Fruit Trees are an Easy Target

• Pick fruits off the tree as they ripen and then store them indoors. Ripe fruit has a high caloric value and is highly sought after by bears as a preferred food source.

• You can also pick fruit before it ripens, and then let it fully ripen indoors.

• If you don’t want the fruit or can’t use it all, consider letting others pick some or all for their own use.

• If you don’t want the fruit, consider removing the trees altogether.

 

Use Bear-Resistant Waste Containers

• Never store your garbage or food/organic waste outside unless it’s in a bear proof enclosure.

• Only put your garbage and food waste out after 5 am on collection day - it’s the LAW.

• Freeze smelly garbage in a plastic bag and add it to your food waste on collection day.

• Do not store food in outdoor fridges and freezers.

• Be proactive in encouraging neighbours and help educate them about bear attractants.

 

Keep Barbeques Clean

• Barbeques and drip pans should be cleaned after each use since grease and fat are a high calorie food source for bears.

• Barbeques should be kept locked inside a bear-proof shed after they have been cleaned.

• Covering a cleaned barbeque will further help to reduce the transmission of food odour.

• A barbeque stored within a shed that has an un-cleaned grill or drip pan will still attract bears and will likely lead to property damage.

 

Be Vigilant With Composting For Your Garden

• Do not add any meat, meat by-products, fish or cooked fruit & vegetables to your compost heap..

• Sprinkle lime in your compost. Lime helps the composting process and reduces the odour.

• Covering the compost with a light cover of dirt or soil or a heavy cover of grass clippings will also assist with odours. LEARN MORE 

 

Keep Pet Food Inside and Locked Up

• Pet food should be kept in an airtight, non-odorous container and locked inside residences.

• Pet food should not be left outside.

 

The Old Adage is True! Bears Love Beehives and Honey

• Beehives are a high calorie and high protein food source for bears and they love it!

• Protect hives with electric fencing.

• Placing beehives on platforms with an overhang of two metres or more can be an effective deterrent.

• Wiring beehives together with metal strapping can also help prevent damage to beehives.

• Don’t set up beehives during early springtime when other sources of food for bears are not available or may be scarce.

 

Bird Feeders are Irresistible to Bears

• Birdseed and suet are high protein and caloric food source for bears.

• Use bird feeders only in the winter when bears are denning and natural bird food is limited.

• Take bird feeders in at night.

• Keep the ground underneath the feeders clean and free of bird seed.

• Fill your feeders regularly with just a small amount of feed, which will decrease the reward a bear would receive if it does get to your feeder.