We Can Co-Exist

When we first moved into our house, I struggled with animals getting into our garbage, recycling, compost and making off with my bird feeders. If it had the smell of food on it, animals were in it.

Growing up in the lower mainland wild animals were never an issue. Garbage always got taken out the day of garbage pick-up. As a kid, we did this because dogs would get into it. As an adult, I wanted to keep the raccoons out. I never saw a bear in the neighbourhoods I lived in or much wildlife at all for that matter.

Moving out to an acreage in rural Mission was different. First off, there is no garbage pick-up. My driveway is a 1/4 kilometer to the road so hauling garbage bags to the street wasn't feasible if we had pick-up.

Having been raised in the city and not used to having to store garbage securely, I tried using garbage cans instead of just plastic bags. These just ended up with lids chewed by bears.

To make matters worse, the forests nearby were where "problem bears" from other areas in the lower mainland were released. We not only had our local bears but lots of displaced garbage eating bears. The bears learned to forage by breaking into my garbage cans.

My first few summers here I really struggled with dealing with wildlife strewing garbage around my property. Dogs helped a bit in keeping them away but I liked seeing wildlife so it dogs aren't a great solution. Plus, I didn't want my dogs getting hurt. I needed a better solution for both me and the wildlife.

As luck would have it, Canadian Tire was clearing out their demo sheds they set-up in the parking lot before the fall storms arrived and damaged them. I picked up a simple metal garden shed for under $100. I arranged bins for my recycling and put my garbage cans on the other side. The door allowed for a lock, but I just used a clasp so I could keep the door secured without needing a key. 

This solved the problem of wildlife getting into the garbage along with a few simple changes that evolved over time. These days I have very little "garbage" animals are interested in. I usually make only one or two trips to the dump a year. I always make one in the Spring when the bears first come out.

All food waste goes into my compost. Recycling containers get rinsed out (as required by the depot). The advantage is my recycling doesn't smell, and I can store it for months until I'm ready for a trip to the depot. I tend to be more conscious of how much waste I create as I have to deal with it. So I try and avoid excess packaging.

I burn all my paper waste and add bones to the fire so they are broken down into ash for my compost. The woodstove ash keeps my compost odors to a minimum and the bones add calcium/ bone meal to my garden. It also balances out the "green" with carbon/ "brown" balance that compost needs.

I only put out birdseed in the winter now as bears were taking the seed (feeder and all) off to the bush. That's when the birds really need it anyway and the bears aren't around.

I now have not had any wildlife issues for years. Since "cleaning up my act" I don't ever have animals even come close to the house and never on the deck anymore. There's nothing near the house that's of interest.

That's not to say animals are not discouraged from entering my property. From their perspective, it looks no different than the rest of the forest. I like seeing the animals enjoy their natural habitat and forage on clover, skunk cabbage, berries, rodents or whatever thrive naturally. So long as it causes no unwanted consequences for my neighbours or wildlife.

Was this more work? Not really... cleaning up bags of garbage that have been ripped apart is no longer part of my workload. Replacing birdseed and feeders is also not on my "to do" list. Chasing animals off is no longer something either I or my dog has to contend with. So I feel overall, I'm coming out ahead... and so is the wildlife.

I admit, my situation is different than most but much of what I do can be applied in other places. If I lived in a subdivision my property wouldn't be an appropriate habitat for them to forage, so I would do my best to discourage animals from coming around.

If I had livestock to protect I would have to also offer more discouragement. Livestock (or the food you feed livestock) can also act as unwanted attractant wildlife to your property. I made a conscious choice not to raise chickens or other animals because I didn't want to attract predators. The benefit (fresh eggs) is not worth the extra hassle especially when local eggs are commonly available close by.

The way I see it, whether you're encountering wildlife at home, camping or hiking examining your own part in the situation makes for a better experience for both animals and humans.