Buzz
If you live, work, or enjoy yourself in areas inhabited by bears, it's essential to know how to keep yourself safe. Strong-smelling items, like food or trash, should be kept away from campsites, vehicles, and homes. However, if you come across a bear, don’t panic; you should ensure your safety by leaving the area. If a bear attacks, use bear spray to deter it, whether it’s a black bear or a grizzly bear.
Steps
Prevent bears from entering your house
Cover trash with bear-proof trash bins. Bears are often attracted to food smells, which is why they love to rummage through trash. The locking lid of bear-proof bins may make bears avoid them. These bins are also sturdier than other types of trash cans.
- Another option is to store the trash bins inside a locked shed.
- Dispose of trash when it’s collected.
- Wrap an additional trash bag around the outside to mask the smell. Clean the trash bins regularly to reduce lingering odors. You can also pour ammonia into the bins to make it less likely for bears to dig through them.
- Never mix bleach and ammonia, as this will create toxic fumes.
Remove bird food from the garden during the summer months. Bears are omnivores, meaning they consume both meat and plants. They are known to raid birdseed meant for local birds. After emerging from hibernation in the summer, bears will often visit your garden in search of their favorite snacks.
- If you have a bird feeder, hang it high up. Place it at least 3 meters off the ground and away from nearby trees. Also, ensure you regularly clean up any birdseed around the feeder.
- If you notice a bear near your bird feeder, stop providing birdseed for at least a month.
Plant fruit trees far from the house. Like birdseed, fruits can attract bears to your home, especially if they are not yet harvested. If you love fruit trees, don’t plant them close to your house. Instead, place them as far away as possible, such as at the back of your yard or garden.
- Also, make sure to pick fruits when they are ripe or nearly ripe. Clean up any fallen or spoiled fruits from the ground.
Avoid leaving pet food outside, especially at night. Any food source can attract bears, including pet food left outdoors for dogs and livestock. If you need to leave food outside for your pets, bring it inside at night, when bears are most likely to be foraging.
- If you must store food outside, use airtight, odor-proof containers.
Compost and wood piles at the far end of your property. The food in compost can attract bears, particularly aromatic fruits like melons or pineapples. Wood piles may also draw insects and small animals, which are food sources for bears.
- Avoid adding strong-smelling fruits to your compost, as they will attract bears.
Clean the grill after each use. Remove leftover food scraps from the grill by setting it on high heat. Use a brush to scrub the grill while it’s still warm. As the grill cools down, clean it with a stiff brush, dish soap, and warm water to remove any remaining grease. Pay close attention to the grill grate and the area beneath it.
- Any leftover food, especially dripping meat fat, can attract bears. If possible, store the grill in a locked place where bears cannot access it.
Avoid leaving food outside near your house. If you’re hosting an outdoor gathering, make sure to bring all food inside after the event. Do not leave leftovers or food meant for birds outside, as this could attract bears.
- Clean up the eating area by wiping down tables and sweeping up any leftover crumbs.
Protect beehives and chicken coops with electric fences. Bears love honey and chicken, so these attractions may draw them to your property. Build these structures far from your home, and secure them with an electric fence.
- You can purchase electric fence kits from home improvement and garden stores. To set up the fence, install a pole at each corner and place a post every 12 meters. Add insulators and wire along each post. Connect the wire to a charger to power the electric current.
Install bear deterrent systems around your home and garden. An electric fence and motion-activated lights can be enough to scare a bear away from your yard. You should also add security bars or grilles to your windows as bears can break glass easily.
- A motion-activated sprinkler system designed for animals can also help keep bears at bay.
Seal off basement and porch areas as winter approaches. These spaces are ideal hiding spots for bears, so make sure to tightly close off these areas, especially in the winter. Buy large wooden boards to cover these openings and secure them with nails. Additionally, block off basement areas by placing boards across the openings.
- Similarly, lock and reinforce shed doors and add heavy-duty locks to the windows. Bears sometimes break into homes to find shelter, especially when they’re sure no one is around.
Prevent bear attention while camping
Select a campsite that is far from bear-attracting areas. Bears are naturally drawn to trails and streams with salmon. You'll often find them near carcasses as well. Likewise, a campfire in a sparsely populated area may attract bears if previous campers left food behind. Avoid these spots when setting up your campsite.
- Pick an open area where you can easily spot bears, and where they can see you as well.
Set your cooking area at least 91 meters away from your tent. Your cooking space and sleeping area should be at least the length of an American football field apart. To measure this, count 120 paces from your tent. This distance ensures that bears are kept as far away as possible from your sleeping area, keeping you safe.
Reduce food smells by opting for canned or dried foods. The scent of food is a major factor in attracting bears. If you cook fresh meals, the odds are high that a bear will be drawn to your campsite. Choose foods like jerky, dried fruits, canned soups, and canned chicken to fill you up, instead of grilling sausages.
- However, bears have an incredibly keen sense of smell, so relying on these foods alone will not fully prevent them.
Store food in bear-resistant containers. Use specialized camping containers designed to keep bears out. These containers are sturdy enough to resist bear attempts and can be found at camping and outdoor stores. They also mask the smell of the food, making it less appealing to bears. Additionally, consider using airtight containers to hide food odors.
- Avoid keeping food inside your tent, as this could attract bears to rummage through your belongings while you sleep. It's better to store food in your camper, trailer, or vehicle, making it harder for bears to break in.
- If you're camping in the wilderness, store all food in bear-resistant containers and hang them at least 3 meters off the ground. Make sure the containers are at least 1 meter away from tree branches and trunks.
- Also, change the clothes you wore while cooking before heading to bed, and store any food-scented clothing in the bear-resistant container.
Hide any strongly scented items that could attract bears. Food isn't the only thing that attracts bears. Almost anything with a strong scent can draw them in to rummage through your belongings, including perfumes and soaps. Store items such as soap, deodorant, insect repellent, and toothpaste with your food.
- If possible, leave strongly scented items at home and choose unscented alternatives instead.
Clean the cooking area after eating. Don't leave food scraps lying around, as they may attract local bears. Similarly, make sure to pick up any leftover food around your campsite and dispose of it in the trash.
- Wipe down the stove surface with soap and warm water, then rinse it with clean water.
Take food waste out of the camp before going to bed. When camping in a shared area with others, take your trash to the campground's main trash bin before going to sleep. This reduces the chances of bears visiting your camp.
- Rinse food scraps out of dishwater before draining it. Throw the scraps into the trash.
- If camping in a forest or rural area, hang your trash on a tree with your food. Hang it at least 3.0 meters high, and keep it away from the tree trunk and branches.
- Never bury or burn food waste, as bears will still detect it.
Avoid bears while hiking.
Buy a bear-proof bag to store snacks. Bears have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell and are constantly foraging in the summer and fall. A bear-proof bag can help conceal food odors and keep bears at bay.
- A bear-proof bag is made of strong polyethylene. Place food in a separate aluminum-lined cloth layer, then put it inside a bag that bears cannot tear apart. Store all food in a waterproof, airtight bag to minimize the scent.
Talk, sing, and make noise when hiking outdoors. The most dangerous bear is one that doesn't know you're coming. If you make noise to announce your presence, the bear is more likely to avoid you and leave you alone.
- If you don't want to talk, bring a satellite radio with a talk show and play it loudly.
Hike in groups to deter bears. Bears are more likely to approach an individual than a group. A larger group tends to make more noise than one person, which can cause the bear to retreat before you even encounter it.
Change direction if you spot a bear from afar. If you see a bear, slowly retreat while keeping your eyes on it. Move in a different direction or simply return to your original path. If you don’t provoke the bear, it’s likely to leave you alone.
- However, once you are in an area with a bear, it may no longer be safe. If you spot a bear, leave the area immediately.
How to prevent a bear attack
Stay still if a bear attacks you. Bears are much faster than humans, and running will trigger the bear to chase you. Instead, wave your arms and make loud noises. Usually, the bear will choose to leave rather than attack.
- However, avoid making direct eye contact with the bear, as it could interpret that as a threat.
- Don’t attempt to climb a tree. To escape by climbing, the tree needs to be right next to you, and you must quickly climb at least 9 meters to get away. Black bears will climb right after you. North American grizzly bears rarely climb, but they may still try to do so.
Use bear spray if a bear charges you. Bear spray is a type of pepper spray designed to be discharged farther than regular sprays, with a range of up to 9 meters. If a bear is coming closer, spray a cloud of pepper spray between you and the bear.
- To use the spray, remove the safety tab and press the nozzle. Spray when the bear is 9 to 18 meters away. You can even spray directly at the bear's face if it gets too close.
- Practice using the spray with an inert canister first. Try it in different wind conditions—both headwinds and tailwinds.
- Keep the bear spray within reach, such as in a holster. You won’t have time to retrieve it from your backpack in an emergency.
- Don’t spray yourself or your communication devices. As long as you avoid spraying your face, it’s not harmful, but the spray dissipates quickly, making it less effective as a long-term deterrent.
Play dead if a bear attacks you. In the rare event of a bear attack, curl up into a fetal position and remain motionless. This posture will protect your internal organs, and the bear may leave once it realizes you're not a threat.
Fight back if the bear continues to attack. If playing dead doesn’t make the bear retreat after a few minutes, it’s time to fight back. Punch, kick, throw rocks, and use any available objects as weapons. Be aggressive enough to scare the bear away.
Warning
- Do not use ammonia-filled balloons to scare bears. Bears can be blinded by ammonia, so placing these balloons near their food source is extremely inhumane.
- Do not mix ammonia and bleach. This creates toxic fumes. You should only use one or the other when cleaning trash bins.
