Managing Bear Attractants around your Home  

Bear Attractants consist of: 

It is a good idea to rinse food containers before throwing them in the trash, rinse recyclables well also. Bears have an incredible sense of smell, but the stronger the odour, the further the distance bears can smell your garbage. Food items should not be in the garbage, they are to be composted. Tip: Separate your smelly garbage from the non smelly, so that with every little item you put into your bin you are not affronted by the smell; then it's much easier to keep it all in the house till morning of pickup. Making less garbage in the first place is ideal.

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 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 household bleach and water or Pinesol. Avoid Lemon Scented; use the Original Pine scent only. Bears are highly attracted to sweet, fruity, and citrus odours; using lemon-scented cleaners will actually draw bears in rather than deterring them. Bears love ant larvae; they are full of formic acid and smell like lemon. (Citronella, a lemon scented bug repellant, is also not recommended in bear country.)

• Securing the bin prevents a bear from tipping open the contents.

• Consider purchasing a bear proof garbage bin or constructing a DIY bear proof container.

recyclables

• Rinse recycleable items well before placing in bin.

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.