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[PickyPicky3]

I've had a vacation place in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains for 15 years and have seen my share of bears. But never in MY neighborhood. Now things have changed.

I know about bears from years of camping and hiking, but nothing about bears in my own driveway. Where should I put my trashcans waiting for the weekly pickup? Is it better to have outside lights on or off? Are bears attracted to music or TV noise? Must I stop eating on the deck? Would some kind of mobile scarecrow scare bears, or would they just laugh?

This has just started in the last 10 days, so we're not yet organized as a neighborhood.

I really need your do's and don'ts.

Thanks........

[blackhole99]

We live in the woods and have bear off and on all Spring on our property. I never leave any kind of composting food out in the open, if bear are hungry enough they will eat anything. Last year we had a black bear trying to dig the bugs out of the logs on our home. Bear can do a lot of damage in very short order. We called the Game Commission, they sent a game warden with a bear trap and that was the end of it for that time. Good luck.

[RedTop]

Not much scares a hungry bear!   I’ve never known bears to be deterred by outside lights.  They frequent an area because of a food source.  

Bears are attracted to ANY food source on your property; your trash cans, an outdoor grill where you recently cooked your dinner, dogs or cats that are fed outside, any kind of bird feeders, fish ponds, any type of fruit trees, grapevines, berry bushes, etc.   No food source, no bears.   

I wouldn’t set my trash out until the day it is picked up.   

[grandma r]

We are about 45 minutes south of your location.  We have had bear sightings a few times a year for a long time.  However, this year it seems the young males are roaming frequently.  A woman in Bethlehem found one in her pool!!!!

I wouldn't leave your trash cans outside all the time.  On trash day just make sure your lids are on tightly.  I have a neighbor who feeds the deer, but, that also attracts bear.  We do still eat outside, but, not after dark.  

One game warden told us to make noise to scare them off.    He also advised not to turn your back to the bear;  make loud noises and get away quickly, but, don't run.  He said the more building that goes on, the more the bear are losing their habitat.  He said when the weather gets really hot, bears will seek water to cool off.

Good luck to you.  I have only seen a small one at the edge of our woods.  I was inside and that was close enough!!!!  Game warden said by the looks of photos and what he found in the woods, the bear was young, weighing 450-500 lbs.  He did say that in this area we are seeing black bear, usually males.  He says the older ones and most females stay close to their dens.

I hope this is some help.

[CAMOGIRL]

Bear proof trash cans. They work if you get one tested

and it gets excellent results, nearly indestructible by those bad boys!

Would definitely pass on inferior cheaper versions though.

And no, I don’t think a hungry bear much cares

if it is completely dark or well lit up. 🐻

Keep all food - for humans and pets - indoors.

If you do eat outside, make sure everything is cleared and brought inside.

[PickyPicky3]

@grandma r  What should I do with the trashcans during the week? I don't have a basement; even using odor-free garbage bags won't help much during the summer. No garage either. We're not allowed to burn our trash. I'll have to put it in my car everyday and drop it off at a fast food parking lot garbage can.

[Snowpuppy]

You can get something like this from WM or a pool box/deck box but make sure it's a distance from your house or deck.

Are these black bears? We have them here but I live in a national forest. Your game warden/conservation officer is a great source of info. Ours don't get too much larger than 250-300 lbs. As an alternative source of water and just plain fun, black bears also love swamp like conditions.

Agree that deer feed is bear feed. Be careful feeding either because you can get fined.

[drizzellla]

We have a cabin in Bradford County, PA. And bears have frequently visited the cabin on trash night. A "bear proof" metal trash container was built and the bear was not able to get into the trash cans - until this year. They figured out how to get into this large metal container. We still eat out on the deck for dinner. The bears usually are only out later in the evening.

We even have bear sightings in Bucks County, PA on Sunday.

I always thought as long as you separated yourself from the food they were interested in, you were OK. Except if you got between a cub and a Momma bear. That is a big concern. Other than that they just have food on their mind.

Years ago we went camping in Yellowstone. Bears were plentiful. You mostly heard them walking around at night. We didn't bother them, they didn't bother us. One night we were eating dinner at a picnic table. A bear came up to our table and we let him eat whatever he wanted. When he was done we went back to the table to see what was left. 

[LdyBugz]

I don't know how you all can deal with bears!  If I saw one in my yard, this would be the only thing that I would be putting out........

😬

[Annabellethecat66]

My daughter has been writing a cookbook/outdoor cooking thing for (what seems like forever).

She goes camping/skiing/everything in Colorado (where she lives).

She's taught me so much about what you can and can't do when it comes to the outdoors and being on the watch for bears.