03/09/2024
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This is your sign that it's time to take down your birdfeeders, secure your garbage and compost, and get your property ready for bear aware season.
Those are tracks from a bear who trudged through our slushy March snow to check for food on a Vermont porch earlier this week. With the warm weather we've had, bears are waking up early this year. It is our responsibility as Vermonters to keep bears wild by making sure bears can't find easy food near our homes and neighborhoods. Here are the steps you should be taking this weekend and all spring and summer to head off bear conflicts before they ever happen.
🐻 Take down your birdfeeder. It is time.
🐻 Make your garbage hard for bears to get at by storing it in a secure structure or bear-resistant container.
🐻 Take your garbage to the transfer station frequently, and if you have pick-up services wait until the morning to put your garbage out.
🐻 Work with your garbage hauler to get a bear proof dumpster for your community.
🐻 Follow steps for composting in bear country. Compost needs to be 3 parts brown/decomposed material for every 1 part of fresh kitchen scraps and turned often to avoid attracting bears.
🐻 Clean your grill after every use and store it somewhere secure between uses.
🐻 Make sure your chickens or bee hives are protected by an electric fence.
🐻 Scare bears away from your yard by yelling, banging pots, or using other noise makers from safely inside your house. Never shoot a bear to scare it. Even BBs can seriously injure a bear.
🐻 Report bear encounters that show risky behavior on the VT Fish & Wildlife Living with Black Bears website. For example, a bear passing through your back 40 once at a respectful distance from buildings is not a risky behavior. But a bear who comes by regularly, is sniffing at vehicles and dumpsters or approaching buildings, or shows up in more developed neighborhood, is.
Following these steps can save bears' lives, and help protect you, your neighbors, and your property. Get more details on our website and if you have questions, contact the Vermont Fish and Wildlife department at 802-828-1000, or [email protected].
📷 courtesy of Tovar Cerulli
