Purchase Bear-Resistant Products

Regular trash cans and dumpsters may look sturdy, but  special reinforcement is necessary to withstand a determined black bear (see What Makes A Dumpster Bear-Resistant? for a description of bear-resistant dumpsters). The upfront cost is worth it when considering replacement of ruined garbage containers and time spent picking up scattered trash. Your action on behalf of bears will make a difference for bears and your community.

If your waste service provider does not offer bear-resistant container, you can purchase one. Before buying, ask your waste service provider if they will service it.

Where to buy:

More than 100 manufacturers produce trash containers, dumpsters, canisters, coolers and other products that have been tested and certified bear-resistant by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC).  Visit IGBC’s website or download their 2023 list.

• Backpacking and small storage contains
• Panniers and boxes
• Coolers
• Garbage containers, food storage lockers, recycling units
• also contains specifications for electric fences

Do-It-Yourself Containers

Some containers can be made black bear-resistant with materials purchased from local hardware stores. These flyers offer several do-it-yourself methods.

• Modify your trashcan to resist black bears
• How to modify a dumpster to make it more bear-resistant

Contact your local fish and game officer for other recommendations.

(Photo: FWC)

Install Electric Fencing

Electric fencing works best to keep out bears and prevent structural damage to chicken coops. Electric fencing is also recommended for beehives, small livestock and crops to prevent damage. Read our article: Protecting Chickens, Small Livestock, Bees and More

NOTE: Standard chicken and rabbit coop designs aren’t strong enough to keep out a determined bear.

For larger livestock in small pastures or yards, secure them in a sturdy pen or pasture with electric fencing. If you expect your animals are pregnant, keep them in a bear-resistant building or within an electric fence until the young animals can fend for themselves.

• Deterring Bears with Electric Fencing: A Beginner’s Guide (PDF)
• Download Electric Fence specifications approved by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (at the end of the 30-page product list).
• Video Available: The “How to Use Electric Fencing to Secure Your Outdoor Attractants”  video shows how to secure beehives, trashcans, deer feeders, crops, livestock, bird feeders, and other items that may attract black bears or other unwanted wildlife.
• USFS Approved Portable Electric Fence Systems were tested by the Missoula Testing and Development Center (MTDC) and approved by the US Forest Service for use in the Northern Continental Divide Grizzly Bear Ecosystem (NCDE). Although the requirements listed refer to the minimum specifications needed for fences used by backpackers and outfitters to keep grizzly and black bears away from food, garbage and other attractants in NCDE’s backcountry, rural homeowners looking for portable or temporary electric fencing solutions will find the detailed instructions, photos and troubleshooting tips helpful.

Watch this bear, caught on a nighttime security camera, as he tries to get into a door that is protected by an unwelcome mat. He eventually gives up! This bear had discovered a lunch break room, and learned to pull open the door, enter and feast. The mat worked, and the bear did not return. (Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries)

Tie Down Your Beehives

The tie-down method of securing beehives has been highly successful in remote areas and in neighborhoods with high black bear traffic.

Download the “Tied-Down Bee Hives” do-it-yourself flyer for more information.

Bear-Resistant Bird Feeders

• Place the feeder out of reach for a bear—at least ten feet off the ground and ten feet from anything bears can climb, which includes deck post and exterior stairs.
• Don’t use a simple rope pulley to bring your feeder up and down for filling — bears are smart enough to figure out how it works. Use a clip-style latch bears can’t open. If your feeder is hung on a cable between two trees, affix a plastic shower rod cover over the wire so that the bear cannot grab hold.
• Keep the area under the feeder clear of hulls and debris. Switching to a shelled or pre-hulled bird seed, often sold as Porch and Patio mix, makes that a lot easier.

An alternative to designing and installing your own system is to install the Birds Only bird feeder system, available for purchase through the Wisconsin Black Bear Education Center.

Bear-Resistant Deer Feeders

In states where deer feeding is legal, rich deer feed attracts many forms of wildlife, including bears. For field-tested, bear-resistant wildlife feeder designs download the following PDFs:

• Make Your Wildlife Feeder Bear Resistant, Florida Bear Management Program Includes FWC’s Pole Suspension Design and all of the following individual designs:
  • Suspended Cable Design
  • Tripod Suspension Design
  • Pole Suspension Design
  • Electrified Tripod Design
  • Skid Design

Guard Animals

To keep livestock safe from bears, consider adding guard animals as part of your overall risk management strategy. A dog, donkey, or llama may protect livestock in large pastures from bears, coyotes and other potential predators.

Guard animals are most effective as deterrents, not as attackers of bears. Livestock guardian dogs only need to be formidable enough for black bears to leave your property to find an easier meal.

What Kind of Dog?

If you’re interested in purchasing livestock guard dogs, certain breeds may be better for preventing bear predation. Please research breeds and suitability before committing to a guard animal.

Learn more:

• Visit the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS): Livestock Protection Dogs.
• Interested in digging deeper? Take a look at the APHIS report: Innovative Solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflicts National Wildlife Research Center: Accomplishments, 2016.” The report includes reviews of recent research about guard animals and livestock predators.
• The video “Livestock Guardian Dogs: Working on Common Ground” tells a success story about how one rancher uses guard dogs to protect his sheep.

Word of caution: Just as a house alarm can’t guarantee there won’t be break-ins, a livestock guard animals can’t guarantee there won’t be animal losses. No one deterrent, including livestock guardian dogs, is 100% effective. To lower risk of livestock predation, apply several methods in combination with a guard animal. Examples include electric fencing, carcass removal and penning during birthing season.

Scare Devices

Scare devices can frighten wary bears from livestock corrals, and orchards. Those devices include night lights, strobe lights, loud music, pyrotechnics, exploder canons, and scarecrows. However, the positions should be changed frequently or bears will overcome their fear and ignore them to get their desired food.

“Innovative Solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflicts National Wildlife Research Center: Accomplishments, 2016” also offers reviews of recent research about scare devices and livestock predators