A quick guide to help you deter bears

By Lorien Strange
©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Every year, beginning in late August, black bears start looking for nutrient-dense food to prepare for hibernation. How much they search in neighborhoods and dooryards is highly dependent on the action humans take to deter the bears. Here’s what you can do to make sure that it has a positive ending for both you and the bears.

• Secure garbage, compost, and other attractants — before there’s a problem. Almost half of bear incidents reported to VT Fish & Wildlife stem from bears getting into trash and compost, which makes them largely preventable. Bungee cords and cinder blocks are not enough to keep a hungry bear out of a trash can. VT Fish & Wildlife’s Living with Black Bears resource page and the BearWise website have information on composting in bear country, appropriate trash containers, and how to retrofit your current dumpsters and garbage cans to make them more secure.
• Use electric fencing around backyard chickens, livestock, and fruit-bearing trees and bushes. Here are Fish & Wildlife’s recommendations for installing electric fences.

• Use native plants and flowers to attract birds instead of birdseed. VT Fish & Wildlife recommends taking your bird feeders down between March and December. Jaclyn Comeau, Fish & Wildlife’s black bear project leader, says that she always feels a little bad telling people this because she knows how enjoyable it can be to watch birds in your backyard. So  she’s encouraging people to use this free tool from the National Audubon Society to find plants native to your ZIP code that birds enjoy. Comeau says that in addition to having a much smaller chance of attracting bears, feeding birds with native plants is better for both the birds and the wider ecosystem. The plants can provide habitat for insects and won’t become invasive.
• If still have a bear problem, talk to VT Fish & Wildlife before taking any control measures on your own. Shooting bears out-of-season or without a tag is illegal and comes with a $2,000 fine. If you’ve already secured all of your attractants and you are still suffering property damage or safety risks from bears, call your local state game warden. For most towns around Chester, that’s either Springfield-area Game Warden David Lockerby at 802-917-6263 or Londonderry-area Game Warden Kyle Isherwood at 802-279-8935. You can use this interactive map to find the game warden for your town.