Food should be stored in bear-proof containers, preferably inside a sturdy building that bears cannot enter. Reduce the spillage of oats and pellets by feeding from buckets or other containers, and do not leave leftover livestock food out overnight. Pens should be placed at least 50 yards from wooded areas or places that may provide cover for bears.

Remember: If you find that bears have found your garbage or livestock feed, remove the attractants immediately. It is much harder to deter a bear that has used a site repeatedly than to stop a single instance. Bears will leave if no attractants or “rewards” are present. When bears become conditioned to associating humans with food, they usually have to be trapped, relocated, or killed.