Bears are back!

[Mtnboomer]

Oh gosh. I've lived here in southeast TN my whole life. I've seen rattle snakes, copper heads, black widow spiders, coyotes, and a bobcat and other smaller less dangerous predators. I'm fine with all of them although coyotes howls give me goosebumps. The very thought of bears? Terrified. I personally haven't seen any but I think they're here. Probably a stupid question but do motion sensor lights help at all?

Funny story. When we lived in a duplex I had to go out on the second story deck, down the stairs, to get to the basement and laundry area. One day I was running late with laundry so it's pitch black outside I ran out on the porch and shut the door. Turned around and met the eyes of a raccoon standing two feet away. We both did this running in place dance, me trying to run backwards into the patio door and getting nowhere cause it was closed, and the raccoon bobbing back and forth. Well he decided to run towards me to go down the stairs. I screamed, laundry went flying. The raccoon flew off halfway down the steps and left a little water trail behind him. I don't know who scared who more. I'm not scared of raccoons but in pitch black and it standing up on hind legs doing this crazy dance my brain took a long time to catch up! lol

Motion detector lights work great. They really help the bears see what they are eating.
The best solution is to eliminate all temptations by securing trash, animal feed etc. But even then the scent still brings one cruising through now and then. Bean bag guns don't help, firecrackers just temporary deterrents.

 

[SegiDream]

Motion detector lights work great. They really help the bears see what they are eating.
The best solution is to eliminate all temptations by securing trash, animal feed etc. But even then the scent still brings one cruising through now and then. Bean bag guns don't help, firecrackers just temporary deterrents.

oops oh great. I felt like I've made the coop as sturdy and secure as it can possibly be but against a determined bear attack... But the coop is inside the chain link fence. Chicken feed will be stored in a metal barrel shipping container. Daily feed will stay inside the coop. Bears may hang around here when the blackberries are ripe though... I hate electric fences

 

[Folly's place]

Did you have an unexpected close encounter with an electric fence long ago? I did, it was inspirational!
It's the only way to keep a determined bear out though.
Mary

 

[SegiDream]

Did you have an unexpected close encounter with an electric fence long ago? I did, it was inspirational!
It's the only way to keep a determined bear out though.
Mary

lol yes... had one for a pet pig. I learned that a metal watering/feed pail wasn't the best idea...

 

[Mtnboomer]

oops oh great. I felt like I've made the coop as sturdy and secure as it can possibly be but against a determined bear attack... But the coop is inside the chain link fence. Chicken feed will be stored in a metal barrel shipping container. Daily feed will stay inside the coop. Bears may hang around here when the blackberries are ripe though... I hate electric fences

I have 2 young boys. The youngest is 3 yrs old and fearless. So an electric fence is out.
It sounds like your precautions are sound. We see nuisance bears during spring "wake up" which is when they get in our trash outside the kitchen door. After that, all trash is moved to the "bear box" behind the garage. These are usually adults in the 150-300lb range.
Then in July, the yearlings are pushed away from their mammas and are on their own for the first time. It is very common for these 75-100lb 1 yr old cubs to be in the yard looking for easy meals.
Most of the season the bears are no trouble. They pass through our woods and yard weekly or we might see one in the fields.
Like you said, when the blueberries, blackberries, apples, persimmons, etc. ripens they are usually around.

 

[Zan]

I'm in Oregon. I just had a bear get in my coop and kill 27 chickens. Called fish and game and got the problem taken care of. I hope your bear does not cause trouble like mine did.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Walked up on this guy turkey hunting yesterday. Passed by about 60 yards from me. They are definitely out and about.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I'm in Oregon. I just had a bear get in my coop and kill 27 chickens. Called fish and game and got the problem taken care of. I hope your bear does not cause trouble like mine did.

What did they do? Was he still there when they showed up?
DNR here does very little. Their excuse is that there are so many bears around there is no way to be sure they get the right one unless they catch it in the act.

So they say "lock up your trash and animal feed and it will likely go away."

God forbid a bear turns out to be human aggressive or someone surprises one in the dark outside their house if they are unprepared. I used to work 2nd shift and got home between midnight and 1am. My loving, darling wife would often turn all the flood lights off when she went to bed leaving me to walk past tge trash cans in the pitch black. I told her that I don't have life insurance so I wasn't sure what her motives were.

 

[Folly's place]

I grew up summering in the wood of NW Wisconsin, where black bears lived, but were hunter all year, legally, by the local Native Americans. Those bears were very wary of humans, and as a child running around in the woods alone, i knew to make noise (easy!) and avoid them.
Two years ago we were able to visit the cabin I loved, and could never have owned, and the new folks had done a great job of making it even nicer, BUT they had two grills on their front porch, next to the kitchen door and window (open in nice weather) with the scent of cooked meat even I could catch.
They though it was wonderful that at least one bear came down the path to the house in daylight to check it all out! CRAZY! We never had food out there, or garbage, or a grill near the house!
Mary

 

[Mtnboomer]

My great uncle, 76, has a cabin somewhere in NY. They also have bears frequently in the yard because they feed them marshmallows, table scraps etc. I warned them that they were endangering themselves, neighbors, anyone else those bears approached for food, and the bears themselves who could be shot and killed for being nuisance bears. But they didn't care. They sent pictures of sitting on the deck eating dinner while the bears were having theirs in the yard behind them. Some people you just can't reach.