Camping Electric Fence as a Bear Deterrent

Of course if the bear did get in, he might wind up stuck inside with you.

Personally I'd take my chances with black bears and avoid camping where there are brown bears.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

At least against polar bears, perimeter fence that contains some small explosives are sometimes used. The explosion might scare the bear, but at least wake you up, so that you have time to grab the gun and be prepared to shoot, if the bear tries to enter your tent.

If you go for the electric fence, it will definitively work if the bear is sniffing the line and get a nasty shock in the nose. I once got 230 Vac mains in my nose when sniffing for hot spots in a new power supply, it really hurts :-)

However, have you measured the fur resistance for a dry bears in your region ? I would expect that the bear would even notice if the wire contacts anywhere else than the head and especially nose.

Anyway, if you go for the electric fence, make sure that you also include a loop break detection (wild animal will break the loop without being electrocuted) as well as ground fault detection (current through animal to ground). If any of these faults occur, some alarm should be activated, wakening up you and potentially scaring the animal. You might not need high voltages or currents for this.

ears and be powered by batteries. The wire perimeter could be attached to t rees with fence staples and a turnbuckle could be used to tighten the wires . A inverter circuit with ferrite transformers could be used to initially s tep-up the voltage from 12V DC to 120V AC with a 10:1 transformer and then another transformer would step the voltage from 120V to 1200V with another

Sounds heavy. It's been a while but we always used a bear can.

Good for skunks and raccoons too.

When camping in the bear country we also use to take a stash of throwing rocks into the tent with us... never used 'em.

George H.

Domestic animals have to learn what electric fences are all about, and they tend to be more tractable than wild predators.

I think that the likelihood of having to deal with a pissed-off, freaked- out bear inside the enclosure with you is at least as high as the likelihood that the fence will protect you.

Den tirsdag den 15. november 2016 kl. 16.07.52 UTC+1 skrev George Herold:

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bears and be powered by batteries. The wire perimeter could be attached to trees with fence staples and a turnbuckle could be used to tighten the wir es. A inverter circuit with ferrite transformers could be used to initially step-up the voltage from 12V DC to 120V AC with a 10:1 transformer and the n another transformer would step the voltage from 120V to 1200V with anothe r 10:1 transformer. It might be possible to do the step up with one 100:1 t ransformer but it seems easier with 2 10:1 transformer since it would requi re much less windings and I suspect more power output since their is less i nductance on the secondary? Could both transformers be wound the same for 1

I think I'd choose of those sticks that throw metal rocks with the help of a bit chemistry

A bear that's been bonked on the nose with a rock is probably more likely to run away than one that's been shot in the head. And you'd need a pretty big gun to deter a bear.

Grin.. well it's not an experiment that I want to try. The rocks were a suggestion by a local park ranger type in Yosemite. I think they were more to make us feel good. "OK, I've got my rocks, now I can go to sleep."

Perhaps some gun owners keep their pistol in the bedside table for the same reason.

George H.

hope this system could be used overnight when camping in forests with bears and be powered by batteries. Th e wire perimeter could be attached to trees with fence staples and a turnbuckle could be used to tighten the wires. A inverter circuit with ferrite transformers c ould be used to initially step-up the voltage from 12V DC to 120V AC with a 10:1 transformer and then anothe r transformer would step the voltage from 120V to 1200 V with another 10:1 transformer. It might be possible to do the step up with one 100:1 transformer but it se ems easier with 2 10:1 transformer since it would requ ire much less windings and I suspect more power output since their is less inductance on the secondary? Coul d both transformers be wound the same for 12V to 120V inverter step up and then the 120V to 1200V step up or would the transformers have to be wound differently d ue to the difference in voltages and current? I assume the output current would simply be the inverse of the voltage step-up as I want this to be a bear deterrent , not an electrocution for the bear or myself or a Ran ger! I'm not sure of the exact voltage and current I w ould need so any advice would be welcome.

There are plenty of battery operated electric fence u nits already available. Also the tape used for the a ctual fence material. Check out any agricultural sup ply house for livestock control.

A friend of my uncle's bagged a black bear with a single shot from a

ears and be powered by batteries. The wire perimeter could be attached to t rees with fence staples and a turnbuckle could be used to tighten the wires . A inverter circuit with ferrite transformers could be used to initially s tep-up the voltage from 12V DC to 120V AC with a 10:1 transformer and then another transformer would step the voltage from 120V to 1200V with another

The bear isn't going to even see the wire in the black of night, all it's g oing to know is it got stung.

Keep it in the drawer. Loaded (but nothing chambered).

want this to be a bear deterrent, not an electrocution for the bear or myself or a Ranger! I'm not sure of the exact voltage and current I would need so any advice would be welcome.

Sorry, I dont discuss lethal devices. Have a nice jail time.

I could have guessed as much. :^) With a 15 yro young man in the house I sleep better at night w/o a pistol.

George H.

for most people the risk of having a gun is probably higher than the risk of needing one, but anyways

You wouldn't think I'd keep a round chambered?

The cats are the only ones in the house younger than I am. Without opposable thumbs, they'll have a problem with the slide.

OTOH, it's better to teach the kid how to handle firearms than hope he never does. Sorta like drinking, IMO. Better to teach them than not.

Utter nonsense.

Wait -- a polar bear broke into her living room and she shot it?

Well, not in *her* living room. It is colder than a titch's wit in Northern Wisconsin but not quite that cold. ;-)

Oh I don't have a problem with that. My son's a bit weapons crazy, so it will be hard to keep guns away. I worry about accidents and suicide. If he gets depressed and can figure out how to off himself with the 22 rifle...

Well lotsa ways to kill yourself.

George H.