Hey Bobert,


   We have black bears in our neck of the woods too. Best advice I have is to keep the garbage locked up tight, forget about having bird feeders (they'll not only eat the food but they'll knock the feeders out of the trees, off their poles and off your porch). Put up an electric fence around the garden, and forget the mace. That will only piss them off and you do NOT want an angry bear anywhere near you. They can outrun, outswim and outclimb you any day. If you encounter a bear, stand still and SLOWLY back up. They don't want to bother you anymore than you want to bother them. If you happen to get between a mama and her cub, all I can suggest is to pray.

    Bears have a very keen sense of hearing. I have to walk a little bit in the dark to get to my house from the driveway. When it is dark, I always get out of the car, call to the other animals, jingle my keys or make some kind of noise. If there are bears, they will leave. Also, when picking berries out in the woods, we whistle or attach bells to our sneakers to let the bears know we are there.

Keep your camera handy and don't ever feed the bears for any reason.

Good luck!

Michelle