Best way to deal with a black bear??

Don't shoot the bear unless he's a threat (sounds like he could be) and you're going to drop him right then and there. A .22 would be cruel. Use your most bear killingest rifle. 45-70, .308, 30-06, etc. Then get ready to make lots of sausage.

Bears get into trash?
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Jim, you sure that bear's not from south Georgia?

True story: Maw & Paw Dumpster Diver were at work one night. Paw climbed into the dumpster.

"Hand me the flashlight, Maw, there's some kind of animal in here!"

"What is it?"

"It's a hog."

"Is he dead?"

"Well, he ain't bad dead."

jim in Anchorage said:

Bears get into trash?

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That pic reminds me of what happened a coupla years back at a county park a few miles from where I live. Park is on a small lake well known for it's bass and panfish fishing. They even have a fish cleanin' house there for the campers and the locals that fish there. In other words, the dumpster is always full of fish guts and other refuse. Local sow got into the routine of cleanin' the fish guts up everynight and her late night visits were common knowledge. The custodian of the park posted signs as such and informed new campers of the fact. Instead of makin' the dumpster bear proof, they just got used to the bangin' of the lids every night. Till one night a late arrival camper decides to walk their poodle by the dumpster @ 1 a.m. and the sow raises up on her back legs to see what was goin' on. 911 is quickly called by the poodle owner claimin' a bear attack and a fresh young county deputy responds to the call. When he arrives he takes his flashlight and walks up to the bear......inside the dumpster and shoots her when the sow again raises up to see what the disturbance is. She never even made it out of the dumpster, but the deputy still claimed Self Defense. The park custodian that lives on site was awakened by the shots. Coupla days later her two small orphaned cubs were hit and killed on the road just outside the park entrance. None of this was the bear's fault....just human ignorance and unfounded fear.

This was a hour after the grizz left.
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I was born and raised in WNC .... No .22 on the Black Bear!

Major Bad Idea! The one thing that is most prevalent about the Black Bear Species is they are unpredictable! Whereas a Grizzly is Most predictable!

Black Bears can be teddy bears and in to everything and then they can down right get a attitude.

It has been said many times above this post... if you take their food (garbage) away daily ... And this goes for you and the neighbors they will almost 100% assuredly move on down the road.

Now if you were to take the matter into your own hands a 30-30 would be first choice for me, but anyway if the Game Warden would not assist, my next step would be to ask around the local area gas station, gun shop etc. for a good well known bear hunter in the area...

Problem will be solved very soon after you explain your bear problem to them!

Obviously, the only solution for the problem is to move to a state where they don't keep and arm bears.

Side note on the black/brown bear photo's I posted. F&G really wanted to shoot the brown, said they are more dangerous then blacks because they are so protective of their food cashe.


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Intentionally gut shooting an animal to let it bleed out could land you in jail, and rightfully so. That has to be the worst, most unethical advice I have ever heard from a "hunter".

Contact your Department of Wildlife and see what help or resources they can provide. Like MtnCreek said, your best bet is to take away his reason for coming around. Take away his food source and he will go somewhere else. Now if he does get in your house there is nothing wrong with defending yourself with say a 12ga, 357 or the like.

Edit:
Even if the neighbors don't clean up if you take away the reasons for him to come by your place he will.
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Nothing can be quite as stupid as intently wounding a DANGEROUS animal.

Take away the food source and talk to your neighbors about doing the same (trash, bird feeders, grills, etc.). Then try some friendly persuasian. I kind of liked the idea of the plastic shot from a shotgun, but just shooting in the air should nudge him away at least for the time being. Once bears get into to the habit of raiding garbage cans, it is most difficult to change their behavior. There always seems to be at least one "neighbor" who will intentionally feed the bear(s).

1. No garbage outside, ever
2. No pet food outside overnight
3. No bird/bear feeders, including hummingbird feeders
4. If you cook outside (gas/charcoal grill smoker etc,) Bring cooker indoors at night
5. Don't leave snacks in the vehicles, bears smell better than humans can see

I live in black bear country also, there got so brave as to stand on the deck and look at me through the glass of the sliding glass door. Do not confront a bear at your house, you will loose.
As others have said, don't give him a reason to be there and he will not. They will become destructive if you don't remove his reason for being there.

We did all the above at our house and haven't seen a bear at our house since.
Leave a black bear alone in the wild and they will usually leave you alone, there are exceptions to that rule. One being a mama bear. But one around your house is everything but a cute and cuddly animal.
Be careful and good luck.

I did read of a bear proof garbage that had a container of pepper spray in it that would go off when the bear opens the can (on you tube). Seemed to work but they cost $1,000.00.

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You don't need to spend a lot of money to bear proof your trash. For a while, just take your trash off every day or two and don't keep any outside. After that, make a bear-proof trash can: Get an 8' x 10" post (ask REA and I bet they'll give you an old power pole). Put it in the ground and backfill with a couple bags quick cret (dry and tamped). Finish backfill w/ dirt. Give it a couple days to cure. Get a 55gal drum/lid/lock ring (buy a used drum), a short piece of 2x4 and 4ea wood threaded bolts w/ washers. Use that to attach the drum to the post (the 2x4 goes inside the drum, you’re using it like a big washer. Counter sink the 2x4 to allow clearance for bolt heads, washers and socket; that will keep the bolt heads from snagging trash bags). Put a couple med chains with turn buckles on it; just be sure to not tighten so much to deform the drum. The drums I have for feed (I’m keeping mice out) have a loop on the ring where I can add a small lock. You should look for a drum that has something like that on the ring.

You trained him to eat at your house and it may take a while to un-train him.

Also, be careful using bleach and ammonia on the same thing. Some things don’t mix well…

Buy him off with pic-a-nic baskets. It works every time.

Outlaw Man said:

Buy him off with pic-a-nic baskets. It works every time.

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......only if he's smarter than the average bear.

Yogi and Boo Boo still on TV these days?

Pick up your garbage, and don't gut shoot the bear. They are just doing what bears do. I live just inside of Tennessee about six miles from North Carolina. I see bears regularly during the week around my house, been here in this house over 20 years. Never had a bear break in. I've had them come up and look in the windows and doors. They are afraid of people, but when they know they can get a free meal, they get bold. And when they get bold, then you have a problem. The best thing I can say to run one off is a very light load of bird shot (#7 1/2 or #9's) in the butt (and not at close range) but say out at 30+ yards. This will sting them but not hurt the bear and he will head for the hills. I've had to do a few that way before and it works.

The bears were here before we were so just learn how to get along. We have encountered several bears on hikes in the mountains of NM, and we have found that if we talk as we walk and make a little noise the bears will hear us coming and take off before we are close to them. Some folks wear "bear bells" to let the bears know humans are in the area. We also don't carry any food with us on hikes, only water. Bears do indeed have an incredible sense of smell. I think the old saying is something like "If an event happens the deer will hear it, the eagle will see it, and the bear will smell it."

Around the house we keep all garbage and edibles inside. Except our garden. One year we had a bear come into the yard and eat all the ripe peaches off a tree. That bear just bit down on the peach and pulled all the meat off and left quite a few pits still on the tree. I still have a hummingbird feeder hanging about 6 feet off the deck with tooth marks all over it.

If bears have been coming around for food, they won't quit coming after just a few days of no food. I forget the details of the psychology class I took but the principle is called operant conditioning and partial reinforcement. Basically if you reward behavior consistently then it doesn't take very long for a behavior to become modified (stop) if you withhold the reward. If you only reinforce the behavior infrequently, it will take much longer to change that behavior. In short, if the bear isn't getting food every time he visits your house or the neighbor's house, it will take longer to change that feeding behavior. Withdraw the food and try to convince the neighbors to do the same.

You might also try noisemaking when he's around. A metal trash can with a piece of 2 x 4 can make quite a racket when you bang the 2 x 4 around the inside of the can,and he will avoid that noise. Good luck.

One of the guys in my dept had a black bear coming around his house every night. He moved his grill into the shed and never left garbage out. The bear kept coming around. Eventually he shot it with a less lethal bean bag round right on it's butt. He said it ran like crazy. It stopped coming around after that. I'm not 100% sure of the legalities of what he did but he told one of the DCNR (our version of forest rangers) guys the story and he just laughed and said "yep, that'll teach'em".

I loaded up some 12 ga bird shot shells with popcorn kernels for a young brown bear that kept coming around the house. One night night he was in the front yard and was trying to get into the back of my wife's truck. I popped him in the hind end with one of the corn rounds and he took off like he was on fire. I do have to say that is was pretty funny to watch him run and try to lick his butt at the same time.
He didn't come back either.

leave the bear alone and tell your "friend" that its suggestion should happen to him...

Box of M80's? Deliberately launched bottle rockets? Tis the season...

(not a resident of bear country)

Low-ball them! Black bears always charge too much.

Hose down your garbage can and it's contents with pepper spray every now and then. Most mammals will stay away from it.

A bit off topic, but hot chile powder mixed into bird seed keeps squirrels away from your bird feeder, but birds don't mind it.