Bear Deterrents

Varying your technique each time a bear attempts to return to your yard works better than always using the same deterrent. Bears catch on quickly if everyone does the same thing, get used to it, and soon ignore it.

For black bears a well-aimed stone can help drive your message home. Aim at the bear’s rump; never throw stones directly in the bear’s face. Stones should not be larger than a golf ball.

A soup can filled with pebbles and taped shut makes an effective noisemaker. Shake it vigorously as you yell at the bear to leave, and then, perhaps, throw it beside the bear. These work particularly well in areas where bears may already encounter rattlesnakes.

Big beach balls tossed at bears often scares them off, as do opening and closing an umbrella, shaking a big tarp or garbage bag, or banging pots and pans.

If a bear climbs up a tree to escape, yell at it and beat the base of the tree with a baseball bat or heavy stick. Keep them up there for a while, smacking the tree and yelling at them. It really scares them. After they’ve been picked on for a few minutes, go back inside your home, let them come down and watch them tear off.

These techniques have been provided courtesy of Ann Bryant of the Lake Tahoe BEAR League.

Wildlife deterrent horns, and airhorns in general, can be an effective means of scaring bears away. They are small, light and easy to use, perfect for backcountry or home use.

Unwelcome mats are basically boards full of upward-pointing nails placed in front of doors and windows to discourage bears from entering buildings. They are simple and inexpensiveto make. Safe, effective bear unwelcome mats are easily constructed from materials available from your local hardware or farm and ranch supply stores. You may even have all the supplies you need in the tool shed. Build a mat from plywood and nails/screws or electrify your mat.

Electrified mats, like cattle/horse guards, can also be effectively used as an unwelcome door/window mat to deter bears from entering buildings. You can build your own electrified mat, or buy a premade an electrified mat with a quick online search for “electrified unwelcome mat.” (Note that electrified mats must be grounded. This can be accomplished by placing the mat on the ground (i.e. not on a wooden deck or concrete/asphalt); or by placing two mats side-by-side such that one grounds the other.)

Be aware that bears can jump over large spaces, perhaps even up to 10 feet, but that shouldn’t be a concern if the mat is in front of a door or window.

The Rex Plus Barking Dog Alarm scares off bears or other intruders. Rex is a barking dog that resides in a small box kept on your counter when you’re not home. It operates by radar and knows when a bear (or a burglar) is attempting to enter a house. If a bear comes too close, Rex barks viciously and stops as soon as the bear runs off. He is on guard as long as he’s plugged in, barking when the bear is too near and quiet when the bear is gone. The BEAR League in Lake Tahoe tested this unit and says, “Rex works great and never needs to be fed, watered or walked.” Nonetheless, bears may become acclimatized to the sound over time and may not be deterred from the area, or they may not react at all to a recorded “bark”.

The Critter Gitter detects animal movement up to 13.5 meters away using passive infrared, body heat, or motion detection and then emits ear-piercing sounds and flashes lights. This detector has been designed to change its sound and light patterns with each intrusion and automatically reset itself.

One of the disadvantages of the Critter Gitter is that bears may become acclimatized to the sound and lights over time and no longer leave the area. However, an advantage is that the device alerts homeowners when a bear is around so that they can take the appropriate action. Keep in mind that the Critter Gitter will be triggered by any animal, including a raccoon, cat, dog or coyote that passes by the sensor, day or night. This disturbance may not be acceptable to neighbours.

Flashlights, torches, flashbulbs, and other bright lights may also been used to deter bears at night, but little information exists in the literature about the efficacy or best methods for these techniques. At minimum, visual deterrents will serve as a warning that an intruder has entered the property. Residents who are receiving nocturnal visits from bears may be advised to install motion sensitive outdoor lights. Ensure the lights are very bright and are aimed outward from the building, so that the light is shining directly at the approaching animal—this often makes animals feel less secure than when under the cover of darkness.

Although it may sound complicated and expensive, electric fencing is actually a relatively simple and cost-effective way to secure bear attractants that cannot be removed or otherwise contained. Electric fences are easily adapted to a variety of situations—beehives, fruit orchards, hunting and backpacking camps, grain sheds, livestock enclosures, landfills, even high-use visitor areas and campgrounds—and are relatively easy to maintain and economical to build. Please see our electric fencing page for more information on this useful tool.