Bear Deterrents?

[MilesFluffybutt]

@cmom : Yes, I've have several setup around the property - two on the coop and chicken yard and four others around the property. Before I used them to monitor predators and the chickens, I had used the game cams to track feral cat activities - makes TNR so much easier. There was never anything other than raccoons, skunks and cats on the cards.

 

[cmom]

Here it is primarily coyotes but every once in awhile I get a surprise.
Here is a picture of a bat.

And another surprise.

 

[MountainGaurdian]

The only good deterrent I have found for bears is a few loud dogs placed on runs around the household area. I have never had any real trouble with them though many of my neighbors have had serious damage from them. We had a bear destroy about 13 bee hives in the area a few years back, but the bear didn't even show up here with the 2 timber wolf crosses and the one Newfoundland mix that we had.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

@cmom : I love those photos. The bat, especially, but that owl. That's neat! I don't get anything nearly that interesting on my cameras.

@MountainGaurdian : I had been thinking about a livestock guardian dog. There's a Great Pyrnees/Mastiff cross available for adoption at my local shelter. He is trained as a LSG. He was surrendered when his farm shutdown. Maybe I'll go visit him this weekend.

Regarding the bear, it hasn't come back. At least the cameras haven't picked him up and I haven't run into him so maybe he's moved on, at least for the moment.

 

[MountainGaurdian]

When I was young just after coming out of the Navy I was driving out into the middle of nowhere to this camp to apply for a job as a counselor. I had been driving out on old winding dirt roads for at least an hour and finally came across a farm so I stopped and walked up into the parking area between the barn and the house to ask two guys where on earth I was and where the camp actually was.

I had seen a number of mid sized calves walking around all around 300 pounds, so when something nuzzled my arm with a wet nose I assumed it was a friendly calf. I turned slightly to look and it was a Mastiff standing even a bit taller than these calves, I have never seen a more impressive animal in my life. Man he was cool, they said he weighed in at around 380 pounds and the top of his head standing flat on the ground was almost as tall as my shoulder. They saw how much I liked and how much the dog liked me and offered him to me. I was in my truck so it was tempting for a split second but I next thought about how much he has got to eat and how impossible it would be to keep him under any kind of control in a more populated setting. I have wanted a Mastiff ever since. lol... Good luck, I hope you get yours and enjoy.

 

[Chef JimmyJ]

I had a similar meeting with a Mastiff in a Used Restaurant Equipment warehouse. I felt a tug on my belt. I had my 3 years old Daughter with and thought it was her. I turned to see what looked like a Black Bear, chest high, staring at me, I'm 5,10. Nervously I turn to the owner to ask if he was friendly. Owner commented," Sure as long as you don't attack me or try to steal something." I looked back to see my Daughter had grabbed a handful of scruff , mounted the dogs back like a Horse and was riding him as he slowly walked around the Warehouse. I was nervous, she was giggling and having a ball!.
On food, there was a 33 gallon Galvanized garbage can full of kibble. Owner said he refills it every 5 days.....JJ

 

[slippednfell]

We have bee hives and only just got chickens and ducks. We live on 55 mostly wooded acres in the Ozarks. I caught a game cam photo of a small bear's butt and we had a young (maybe 2 year old) bear go to town on one of our four hives. My husband set it back up and looked up and there was the bear watching him from about 30 to 40 ft away. My husband took photos with his cell phone, finished setting the hive back up and left. The bear went to town on the same hive. We put up a 6' high fence around it and apparently it was just too much bother for the bear as he never bothered with it again.

This obviously won't work with your problem as your bear(s) are already looking to break in. Electrifying the fence would've been out next step. Good luck!

 

[itsasmallfarm]

not sure what a good deterrent is.

my family just bought some land up north and is full of bears. the guy we bought it from says he thinks there is at least 4 with up to 8 different ones. caught one on trail camera. a little one, last years cub.

i do know they taste really good though if they eat good not rotten garbage or fish. (i shot my first bear this year with my 30-30)

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I'm in the same Boat in PA I called the Game Commission. They said run Electric Wire Fence, 3 to 4 lines up to 36 to 40 inches.
A Shotgun is ok as a Noise Maker. Short of carrying in the Ready Position, like you were Hunting the Bear, with stuff in your hands and the gun slung on your shoulder, you would not get to it in time before an aggressive Bear would be Ruining your Day!
Fast into Action, lightweight and cheaper than a Shotgun is quality Bear Mace. If you would rather have lethal force on hand, a 357 Magnum or Sidearm in 10mm is common in Black Bear country. These will get the job done but require regular Practice to.be proficient. Bear Mace is point and shoot, with no practice needed. Effective too...JJ

don't forget bear bangers if you can not have a firearm.

but a short barreled shotgun would work great. here in Canada there getting more common to find with barrels around 8.5-14 inches.

at a small town gun shop a week ago or so (and this is in bear country) was told that many guys are using these short barreled guns for bear hunting.

 

[Chef JimmyJ]

don't forget bear bangers if you can not have a firearm.

but a short barreled shotgun would work great. here in Canada there getting more common to find with barrels around 8.5-14 inches.

at a small town gun shop a week ago or so (and this is in bear country) was told that many guys are using these short barreled guns for bear hunting.

I live outside of a tiny town where having and shooting guns is Mandatory for critter protection. We don't leave the house without a Weapon. Unfortunately the Game Commission expects the property owner to fortify against Bears on their own. The only time, out of hunting season, you can kill a Bear is if they represent a Clear and Present Danger to Persons or Property. Catch one breaking in the Coop, the 10mm will stop it. Of course, if my family is out in the yard, it's Their Word against the Bear's how threatened they felt before the Bear was shot...JJ