Tips to Keep Bears from Denning on Your Property

bear entering small space (photo from Bearwise)

from a news release of the Michigan DNR and Bearwise

Walk around your home and property and think like a bear. Where would you den up for the winter?

In the Lower Peninsula, the DNR is still getting nearly as many bear complaints as it did in July, particularly in the northwest part of the peninsula. “I suspect bears in the Lower Peninsula are a few weeks from denning, depending on the weather,” Jared Duquette, human-wildlife interactions specialist with the Michigan DNR, said.

Michigan is home to an estimated 10,300 bears in the Upper Peninsula and 2,100 bears in the Lower Peninsula.

BearWise gives plenty of practical tips on how to keep bears from moving in for the winter, including simply locking all ground floor and bear-accessible windows and doors. Bears can easily operate lever-style door handles but are stymied by round doorknobs. Extra bonus points: install doors to open out, not in.

BearWise also offers tips on how to scare bears away from your property. Bears may make themselves at home in garages, storage sheds or vacation homes that are vacant over the winter.

To a bear, these areas can seem like the perfect winter home. They’re dark, snug and often come with at least one built-in wall. Bears don’t have collarbones, so even adult bears can fit through what seems like an impossibly small opening. The general guideline is that if a bear can get its head inside, the rest of the bear can follow. Many homes in bear country offer bears lots of possibilities.

See more tips at Bearwise


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