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RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014<\/p>\nNorth Carolina Wildlife shares best way to keep bears out of yards and homes<\/p>\n
Looking to keep bears out of your yard? The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recommends electric fencing as the most effective non-lethal solution.<\/p>\n
RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014<\/p>\n
As bear activity increases across North Carolina, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is encouraging residents to use electric fencing as the safest and most effective non-lethal way to keep bears away from homes, livestock and other property.<\/p>\n
Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Properly installed electric fencing helps protect both people and bears by discouraging bears from returning to areas where they find food, according to the commission.<\/p>\n When a bear touches an electrified wire, it receives a brief shock that causes no permanent harm to the animal, people or pets that may come into contact with the fence. Instead, the shock creates a negative association with the property, encouraging bears to return to natural food sources instead of searching for food in neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Electric fencing can be used in a variety of locations, including around livestock enclosures, chicken coops, beehives, compost piles, homes and sheds. Unlike standard fencing, which bears can easily climb, electric fencing provides a more effective deterrent and can be installed permanently or temporarily. It can also be turned off when pets, children or guests are nearby.<\/p>\n “I find myself recommending electric fencing more and more to residents, especially to keep bears out of crawl spaces and from under decks,” NCWRC BearWise Coordinator Ashley Hobbs said.<\/p>\n Hobbs also recommends using electrified “unwelcome mats” outside doors, windows and other entryways. The mats deliver a brief shock if a bear steps on them, but people wearing standard rubber-soled shoes can safely walk across them. Like electric fencing, the mats can be turned on and off as needed.<\/p>\n Click the video player above to watch the latest headlines from WXII 12 News.<\/p>\n “Bears are quick learners and highly food motivated. Once they discover an easy food source, like a chicken coop, they will come back and visit others,” NCWRC Black Bear Biologist Jenna Malzahn said. “This can be heartbreaking and costly for people and puts bears at risk by food-conditioning them to humans and livestock.”<\/p>\n Wildlife officials say reports of bears killing livestock are most common during the summer and fall as bears search for easily accessible food before winter. Standard coops, pens and barns are often not strong enough to stop hungry and determined bears, making properly installed electric fencing the best way to protect livestock.<\/p>\n Before installing electric fencing, wires or electrified mats, residents should check with their homeowners association, community or local government for any applicable regulations.<\/p>\n More information about living safely in bear country is available at BearWise.org<\/a>. Residents can also contact the NCWRC Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n NAVIGATE: Home |<\/a> Weather |<\/a> Watch NOWCAST TV |<\/a> Local News |<\/a> National |<\/a> News We Love |<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"North Carolina Wildlife shares best way to keep bears out of yards and homes Looking to keep bears…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":797057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[15126,146806,7438,14713,212388,338272,73713,16405,338282,10335,73716,338284,338273,338274,299,196041,2976,338275,338276,24339,338277,983,338285,145228,338278,2256,338283,3590,17711,338279,14857,23460,79,338280,338281,2986,201,211603,13795],"class_list":["post-797056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-12-news","tag-animal-safety","tag-bear","tag-bear-safety","tag-bear-season","tag-bear-spottings","tag-bearwise","tag-black-bears","tag-brief-shock","tag-brown-bears","tag-electric-fencing","tag-electrified-wire","tag-facebook-com","tag-farmer-tips","tag-food","tag-google-discover","tag-home","tag-home-protection","tag-homeowner-safety","tag-livestock","tag-livestock-safety","tag-local-news","tag-natural-food-source","tag-nc-wildlife","tag-newsbreak-com","tag-north-carolina","tag-north-carolina-wildlife","tag-people","tag-property","tag-property-protection","tag-resident","tag-safety-tips","tag-science","tag-summer-safety","tag-unwelcome-mat","tag-weather","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-protection","tag-wxii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}