Managing Bear Attractants around your Home
DID YOU KNOW?
Garbage is the number one attractant cited when reporting a bear sighting.
Here on the Sunshine Coast we live in bear country with bears passing through the area as they forage for food. In BC it is an offence to feed or leave out items that will attract wildlife. You can be fined under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Bear Attractants consist of:
Unsecured Garbage
Unsecured Recycling
Bird Feeders
Fruit trees and Berry Bushes
Vehicles with food remnants, food wrappers, scented air fresheners
Barbeques including grease traps
Pet Food
Citronella candles
Vegetable Gardens
Bee Houses
Compost
Backyard Chickens and other livestock
Salt or Mineral Blocks
Petroleum Products
“Bears have a keen sense of smell and can detect food and other attractants up to one kilometer away!”
GARBAGE
Rinse and drain any odourous, wet items and/or freeze odourous items until the day of collection.
Ideally store your garbage and recycling in an enclosed garage or inside your home until collection day. Put your garbage out no earlier than 0700 am the day of pick-up. Never put your garbage out overnight!
If you have to store your garbage bins in an open garage, secure your bins with a locking chain to a stationery object, and spray the bin and surrounding area with Pinesol. Securing the bin prevents a bear from tipping open the contents and the Pinesol scent may be sufficient to deter the bear from further investigation.
Consider purchasing a bear proof garbage bin or constructing a DIY bear proof container.
BIRD FEEDERS
Bird seed is a major attractant for bears as it is highly caloric and often easily accessible. Limit use of birdfeeders to winter months only and consider intermittent plate feeding rather than traditional bird feeders.
Use birdbaths, sand baths or houses to attract birds to your yard.
pet food
Never leave pet food outside. If you feed pets outside bring in dishes at night.
barbeques
Burn off grill at high heat for 10 minutes after each use. Clean grease trap after each use. Store BBQ in secure area after using.
COMPOST
Never add meat, fish, oils, fat, eggshells or cooked food, cereals or grains
Turn regularly to oxygenate and use equal amounts of green (kitchen scraps and lawn clippings) to brown (dried leaves, grasses).
It is not ideal to use an outdoor composter unless it is secured within electric fencing. The following are indoor composting solutions:
http://joracanada.ca/en/joracan-new-era-composters-are-certified-bear-proof/
https://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/best-indoor-composting-units/
LIVESTOCK AND FEED
Keep feed secured and inside a bear proof building.
Keep chickens and other livestock sheltered at night and electric fence their outdoor area to protect them from predators.
Keep young animals close to the home.
FRUIT TREES AND BERRIES
If you do not use your fruit or berries & are not able to make available to others consider replacing with a non-fruit bearing, native variety.
Don’t allow windfall to accumulate. Pick your fruit and allow ripening indoors or picking daily as fruit ripens.
BEARS AND YOUR VEHICLE
Bears are highly intelligent and deft and if they gain entry into your car a substantial amount of damage can occur.
Keep your vehicle free from any attractants and always lock car doors and windows during the day and night.
Do not store any garbage, recycling or other attractants in your truck bed.
Leftover food or beverages and/or food and beverage containers, pet food, bird seed, scented products such as laundry detergents and toiletries, recycling containers,even car air fresheners are all tempting odours for a bear. The vehicle in the photograph below was accessed by a bear who detected odours from a used pizza box left in the car. Photo Credit: Juneau Pizza
