It will work until it doesn't.

 

Well, knowing bears as I do, it will probably only be a matter of time until they realize the noise or the light are no threat to them, the smell will continue to become an overwhelming draw and his belly will over rule his caution.

Keep in mind, we have bears that will look right at you through the glass door as they raid the dog food bowl and disregard the motion lights. Crazy animals anyway.

Good luck.

 

I’m not sure about the legalities in your area, but when I add hives next spring away from my house I’m using a few perimeter ‘alarms’ (inside a perimeter electric fence) to get the bears attention.
http://www.pyrocreations.com/inc/sdetail/11971

 

Well, my first bear experience with hives was at 2:00 pm. I looked out and saw a bear smelling the lid to one of my hives. I chased it off, but it was back shortly and I had to resort to fencing. We have west coast black bears, so maybe your east coast bears are only nocturnal.

 

.... I chased it off, but it was back shortly and I had to resort to fencing....

Foil, épée, or sabre? That must have been quite a sight. En Garde!

Wayne

 

If you are serious about keeping bears away then get an electric fence. Maybe you haven't seen all the stories about bears in downtown areas out west here...they won't be put off by a little noise and and lights.

 

... not for long, anyway.

Alaska sells bear-bells to tourists. This Alaska resident's thoughts on that are: great, just tell the bear where an easy week's-meal is at. Build a fence or tack down some nail-boards. Those are the only two known-effective ways to keep bears out of an area.

 

LOL, yes were refer to those as 'Dinner Bells' here in Idaho.

 

I now have a radio & and a low energy light in a plastic box to protect when it rains and plugged into a gfci outlet with a timer that comes on at dusk and turns off at dawn.

Tune the radio to country music. That'll do it.

 

Tune the radio to our politicans .

 

Actually, an angry bear is only likely to make the situation worse.

 

Guy who kept bees across the street from me until he moved last year did exactly that! He said that he had trouble with bears for a couple of years, then put out the light/talk radio, and had no trouble afterwards. Said he saw them wandering through the yard, but they left the hives alone.

He's the one who put me onto this site, maybe he'll chime in.

AN

 

We have the luxury of no bear problems in my area, but we have to worry about cattle tipping them over if located in a grazing pasture.

Our solution is to buy a hay ring from the local feed store/co-op. Typically used for large, round hay bales...it's quite effective when placed around a bee hive to prevent cattle from scratching their sides on the boxes. The most difficult thing is hurdling the hay ring while carrying a full honey super

Now for part relevant to your topic:

Will this same thing work for bears or will they just crawl right over it? You can find some hay rings that are 4-5 feet tall. It's a great deal easier than building a fence!

 

Will this same thing work for bears or will they just crawl right over it? You can find some hay rings that are 4-5 feet tall. It's a great deal easier than building a fence!

Not really sure what a hay ring is, but bears are known to crack open tree trunks when they find a hive low enough they can get to it. They are known, also, to demolish [non-electrified] chain link fences.

For the most part, if the protective barrier you provide does not inflict pain (surprise is good, but only works once), the bear is either 1) smart enough to circumvent it or 2) strong enough to demolish it. They usually take option 2.

 

I appreciate everyone's thought's. I know bears are unpredictable and there is a possibility that it might not work in every state, including Vermont I have the radio tuned to John Tesh half the time and it seems to keep them away. The girls love Classic Rock, so I keep it loud for them. They are always on the front porch in the evening dancing to the music, waiting for first light so they can get back to work in the morning. I dont' have close neighbors in the area I live so keeping the radio loud is not a problem. I can hear the music about 300 ft or more away from the hive at night. At the time it was the only thing I could think of to do before I could get a fence up and keep the bears away because after two visits I knew he/she was coming back soon.:scratch:

 

I dont' have close neighbors in the area I live so keeping the radio loud is not a problem. I can hear the music about 300 ft or more away from the hive at night.

I know nothing about bears except that I am gald we dont have any here, but have had friends that play Talk Radio to keep ***** out of their garden.