Do Bear-Proof Garbage Cans Work?

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Below is a picture on one kind of bear-proof garbage can. The only thing I ever hear about these cans is from the manufacturers and city officials, etc. who advocate for them. Do they really work? Are there any readers out there who live in “bear country” where you are either required or choose to use them who can tell us whether they actually work.

Part of the reason I am asking is because I am hearing more and more of certain communities, many of them out west, that are requiring people to dig in their own pockets and buy one or more of these and use them or face stiff fines, etc.

One piece of ammunition that anti-hunters and animal rights people use against the need for hunting is “non-lethal” means of controlling the animals. One of those “non-lethal” items is the bear-proof garbage can.

So, what I’d like to hear and hope I can get is some real non-partisan feedback on whether or not these things are effective. I have seen the big metal dumpster-type garbage bins and those work provided the doors are closed but I’m having a hard time grasping that a plastic container will withstand a hungry bear attack.

Tom Remington

http://www.californiahuntingtoday.com/hogblog Phillip

Nothing is 100%, but in places like Lake Tahoe where population density simply puts any kind of hunting out of the question and several bears are killed every year, they help.

I obviously have no problem with killing animals, but places like Tahoe, CA and Aspen, CO have too many bears that have adapted to human habitation. You can’t have the cops killing bears every day, so things like bear-proof cans are pretty much a necessity. Of course, you also need to get the idiots to quit feeding the “pretty” wildlife in their backyards.
http://www.skinnymoose.com/wanderings Brent

Can’t imagine how this could withstand a Maine bear…now one of those ……efeminant Tahoe bears…..who knows.
Bill Anderson

The guy that can get anyone to put up the money to buy plastic garbage cans and call them bear proof could dupe the public into voting for them for President! Are you telling me that an animal that can crush large animal bones with their teeth and can destroy garage doors and sheds with one swap of it’s clawed paws won’t get into those cans?! Somebody is getting ripped off!
http://www.bearbins.com Lori

It may seem impossible but some of us do actually make bear resistant garbage cans that will keep any black or grizzly bear out. Nobody can say “bear proof”…that would be a lie because that would mean no bear from cub to a Kodiak or Polar bear can gain access. We are only permitted to be certified “bear resistant”. That means a Grizzly has spent 90 minutes trying to get into the can and has been unsuccessful..that is for those manufacturers who bother to get certified under a controlled experiment in an accredited venue.Do your research before you buy.
Dave

You need to get over the term used and look at whether it does what you want.

Yes, you need to look at the manufacturers that have had there cans tested. If the cans do meet the required time and the bear has not gotten into it then they can make the claim.

Nothing is 100% all the time. These cans do work though because most bears will not try to get in for that long – over 90 minutes. The cans are poly and there are tons of video out there of bears jumping and rolling the cans and do not get in.
Some have screw top lids which don’t attract bears because no scent or odor escapes the cans.
The other green type with wheels will usually have a special locking mechanism that bears cannot open. They will usually get frustrated and just leave – which is what you want anyway.
If you think about it the bears might not get in but they can just walk away with the can too.
But for the most part many of these cans successfully deter bears and they will simply give up trying to get in. So nobody gets hurt and you don;t have to clean up a mess in your yard. Each person must make the call whether the cans are worth not having to deal with cleaning up the mess a bear can make.
Happy shopping.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_S53ZX2S55EW6QUU7PBI7MSCF7M Judy

I have the screw on lid type and in just a few minutes the black bear gets in. Not happy!
Shalago

I own this exact can, have had it for 4 years, some serious claws marks and some teeth marks but no penetration. Can has held up very well. Its called the Bearicuda Bin, very happy with my purchase and as far as complaints on my bearicuda, I have none, very happy.

Do Bear-Proof Garbage Cans Work?

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