Lorinne Anderson wrote:
The Bear Aware programs are the only logical way forward, long term, particularly long term, in my opinion. The truth is, this is a people problem, NOT an animal problem, in my opinion.
C West wrote:Corey, I must admit I didn't read the last handful of replies. We are neighbors! I'm 18 miles East of Homer (by road).
I've had no bear encounters on my homestead in the past 4 years which I suspect is due to a long history of the neighbors shooting anything with teeth (not relevant to your issue). I use polywire electric fence to protect my delicious pastured ducks, chickens, and sheep. So far its confirmed to deter dogs and my belief is it would deter bear. I know electric fence is not the creative answer you were looking for but wait...there's more!
Did you know that you can get 50% of your electric fence cost reimbursed up to $500 in Alaska?
The Defenders of Wildlife have an Electric Fence Incentive Program.
LINK TO "GOT GRIZZLIES"
check it out - note it looks to only be advertised for 2020 as of now, so maybe move quick if you decided to take that route.
I rotationally graze a small pasture so I have a perimeter fence which is 5 strands of poly wire held on tposts with plastic clips, and inside the fence my flocks are each inside of an "electronet" that I bought years ago from Premier1 fencing (who's alaska shipping costs are insane - I got mine while living in Oregon). I use a solar fence charger for the moving electronets and a stationary charger hanging from a tpost covered with a 5 gal bucket for the perimeter. I owned all of my equipment before knowing about the Defenders of Wildlife program so haven't gone through their funding process myself.
One of the age old after apple trees but before guns methods was to have outdoor dogs working in packs.
Best of luck.
Lorinne Anderson wrote:NOTE: Just how do companies secure "predator urine" such as wolf?
I can only assume it is similar to the procedure used to collect "Pregnant Mare Urine" aka Premarin, by keeping them contained and catheterized to collect said urine. I, personally, have ethical issues with this....
Honey, aloe, or an aloe/honey combo beneath the plastic cling film would be an excellent alternative to actual burn cream.
S Smithsson wrote:I live in an area with many bears in town. Most houses dont have garages or anywhere to lock up / put away trash. I've had bears in my yard, eating bird feed. Yelling and running at one made it go away. I have never had one in my garbage, but the neighbors have. I have house cats and put the litter in the garbage. Coincidence? I dont think so.
Perhaps I should sell packets as anti-bear additive.
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Sandy
Timothy Markus wrote:
Corey Schmidt wrote:The original question was intended to elicit creative responses 'outside the box', rather than 'this is how you do it', as I feel all the normal ideas about living with bears have been expounded to a high degree elsewhere.
I think we all get that that's what you're looking for but, after dealing with bears for hundreds of thousands of years as hunters and for thousands of years as farmers, I think there's a reason we use the methods we use to deter bears; they work and have been time-tested. Often it's not productive to try to re-invent the wheel. I don't mean to be negative, just realistic.
Do you have any ideas yourself? What kind of 'outside the box' solutions have you tried and what were the results? What have your neighbours said about bear management?
Edit: I think it's great to try to work with nature instead of against it, which is what you're doing. Even if something you've used hasn't worked out, you may be able to modify it and add another deterrent. I think the best strategy with bears is to not let them know what goodies you've got if possible and making the rest hard to get to. We've got bears here, not as many as you, but they seem to do well on their own, so they don't seem to be much of an issue. All it takes, though, is one bear who thinks he wants what you have and then you've got a bear problem. I haven't seen any bears right around my property but I think that the moose may be acting as a deterrent as they love hanging around in the woods.
Kenneth Elwell wrote:Abundance?
Plant more, in hopes they can't eat it all? (and hope your place doesn't become bear Mecca)
Maybe plant more, but not in your zone 1... maybe out beyond your zone 5... or somewhere wild to lure them elsewhere? (not suggesting trespass or planting closer to someone else, although if someone else's hunting reduced the local bear population for you...)
I honestly know very little about bears.