It’s that time of year again. As the bears awake for the season, WildSafeBC is providing information on being proactive and helping reduce the likelihood of bears hanging around in communities.
Cora Skaien, WildSafeBC’s Arrow-Slocan Lakes Coordinator, will be visiting communities over the next few months to perform garbage tagging the night before collection in Silverton, New Denver and Nakusp.
“Garbage tagging is an educational tool used by WildSafeBC wherein a high-visibility, removable sticker is placed on unsecured garbage receptacles any time other than the morning of collection as a reminder that putting garbage out early attracts wildlife that may lead to human-wildlife conflict,” said WildSafe BC in a press release. Nakusp’s bylaws require garbage to be on the curb in village garbage bins no earlier than 7 a.m. on the day of collection.
Things you can do to help reduce conflicts with bears:
- Ensure garbage and recyclables are stored inside until the morning of collection.
- Always put garbage inside of a hard-sided container when putting out on the curb for collection.
- If you do not have an indoor space to store your garbage, use a bear-resistant container and secure it to a solid structure.
- High reward and odorous items, such as meat scraps and food leftovers, should be frozen until the day of collection.
- Feed pets indoors.
- Keep livestock feed indoors and in a secure container.
- Keep barbecues clean by burning off bits of food, giving the grills a good scrape, and cleaning the grease trap after each use.
- Do not use bird feeders until winter after the bears have entered into their dens. Offer a bird bath or plant flowers instead.
- Harvest fruit and berries before they ripen and pick up fallen fruit. If you must leave fruit on trees to ripen in the fall, protect them with an electric fence.
- Secure fruit and vegetable gardens, beehives, chickens, and other small livestock with electric fencing (check local bylaws first).
- Maintain an odour-free compost.
For further information visit wildsafebc.com, follow WildSafeBC Arrow-Slocan Lakes on Facebook, or contact your local coordinator at arrowslocanlakes@wildsafebc.com or (778)987-3652.
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