Your Vacation Rental and Bears- follow rules/secure food

Have a bear-safe vacation

Enjoy bears from a distance and never approach them.
Feeding bears (intentionally or unintentionally) trains them to approach homes and people for more food, and you may be ticketed and fined.
Bears may be defensive when people get too close.
Secure your food and garbage.
Clean and store your BBQ grill.
Keep doors and windows closed.

Food and food odors attract bears, so don’t reward them with easily available food or garbage.
Don’t leave garbage and recycling outside of your vacation rental overnight.
Do not leave food, coolers or garbage unattended on a picnic table or anywhere outdoors – even for a moment!

Normal trash cans, even with the lids on tight, offer little resistance to determined black bears.

Greasy grills smell very tempting to bears and other wildlife.

Burn off food particles on your barbeque grill after each use.
Clean or remove the grease pan. Do not dump drippings in the yard.
Cover your grill.
If bears are active in the area of your vacation rental, store the BBQ grill indoors. Leave the propane tank outside (propane is a fire risk).

(Photo: Bear Smart Society)

In some vacation destinations, bears have learned to search for food left in vehicles, cabins and condos after guests have left.

Keep vehicle doors and windows closed at all times, even when going back inside for just a moment to load or unload.
If you leave your residence, shut the doors and windows.

(Photo: Shawn Martin/NCWRC)

This black bear began his investigations by crawling through an open window.

(Photo: Steve Uffman)

(Photo: Roy Kortus)