They're a lot smarter than people give them credit for and they are very opportunistic feeders. When I spotted the bear Wednesday night, it was only about ten feet from the (raised) basement door and last night I was more concerned with it possibly trying to get in the basement than being able to get the barrels out from under the tractor bucket. Only so much you can do but I did pour some ammonia out near the basement door (works but is only a short-lived deterrent). I've contemplated the nails-in-boards option (even recommended to me by F&G after one ripped my shed doors off last year), however it hasn't gotten to that level yet. I don't know if it came back last night but I didn't see anything the few times I got up and checked. A friend at the end of my road still has impressive claw marks on his basement door and door frame from where a bear tried to get into his home several years ago. A few years ago, his wife called in a panic (he was away) because a bear was damaging her 4-runner. I went down with a shotgun and rubber bullets, but the bear was gone by the time I arrived. It had trashed her vehicle (pulled off part of the rear bumper, a fender, a rear-view mirror, claw marks all over the doors, roof, and hood, and finally did a number to the interior once it was able to open a door). In the bear's defense, she did have a lot of non-perishable food in the vehicle that she was getting ready to donate to a food bank. I helped her unload all the food products and clean up the mess and then since she didn't have any ammonia, I poured a gallon of bleach in a circle around the vehicle and sprayed some kitchen cleaner around the doors. The bear didn't come back. Their sense of smell is so great that a single French fry under the seat can be enough to get them to break into a vehicle. Years ago, a couple that used to live next door to me had chickens and I was always going over to run off a sow with cubs (they worked long hours and the bear had already killed several of the chickens). One evening after going over to run the bear off, when I walked back to my house the sow was sitting at the bottom of my deck stairs...like she was waiting for me. One of the craziest things I've ever seen. I didn't see the cubs and assumed they were in the woods. I hit her with the flashlight beam (mounted on the shotgun) and slowly approached, talking loudly and trying to get her to leave. She finally (slowly) wandered off but I still think that was pretty wild. Guess she had had enough of me interrupting her nighttime chicken runs next door. She never came over to my house again...guess she figured I got the message.
How often do they "visit" your yard? A bear came through our yard in 2009. Her daughter got pics as it was during the afternoon. Made the local news. A moose crossed the road a few years back. That made the local news too. Both are common I imagine up there.
During autumn they can pass through the yard pretty much every night and most of the time you would never even realize it. They can be somewhat active in late spring, but I have rarely ever seen them in the yard during the summer. We have an estimated 1.5 black bears per square mile around here, and they move a lot looking for food. Harmless for the most part (unless you have chickens, leave food in your vehicle, leave your trash out, don't clean your barbecue grill, etc.) but every once in a while, you get that ornery one that wants to push the issue and become a nuisance. I would much rather deal with bears while living in the woods than people in the city/suburbs/town.
We normally have the regular critters, deer, coons, fox, coyotes, pigs...etc... One of the main rivers in GA, the Oconee, borders our county. Vast swamps and tributaries. The exceptional critters will sometimes follow the side waterways into different areas. My BIL was sitting in his stand the morning of this picture, he left stand about 9:30AM. Ever seen a bear say his blessing before eating... He enjoyed a corn buffet... A hunting club we were members of had a hog trap on a trail at least 3/4 mile from the creek that flows into the Oconee river. Caught 5-6' gator in that trap...if I didn't see it, I sure wouldn't have believed it...
