Mark G. Spagnolo wrote:
>
> I am setting up my electric bear fence. =20
>
> What voltage do I need to keep bears out?  Bear populations are at =
> record levels  here in Minnesota, so a fence is a necessity.
>
> Any advice?

The key points on an electric fence are:

1.  The animal should be shocked in front of the eyes (which will
encourage it to back up, not bolt forward).  This means that there
should be wires at approximately head height for the animal, and spaced
closely enough that the animal's head can't go past without touching a
wire.  For bears, this means about a 6 to 8 inch wire spacing.

2.  The animal should be well grounded.  If the ground is moist, there
will be no problem.  If the ground is dry and sandy, then you can
do something like putting metal chicken wire flat on the ground, so that
the animal will be standing on it when it touches the "hot" wire, and
connecting the chicken wire to a grounding rod.  Alternatively, you can
alternate "hot" wires with grounded wires on the posts.  Note that this
will require a closer wire spacing, so that the animal will touch two wires
at once.

3.  The electric fence unit should also be well grounded.  Follow the
grounding instructions for the unit carefully.

4.  A fast pulse cycle is best.  Electric fence units are not "on" all
the time, they send out periodic pulses.  The pulses should be frequent
enough that the animal can't saunter through the fence between one pulse
and the next.  Most of the units that I've seen put out about 1 pulse per
second, which seems to be adequate.

5.  If possible, get the animal to stop and sniff at the wire.  For bears,
a strip of bacon draped over the "hot" wire is reported to be a good way
to do this.

6.  Of course, be careful to keep vegetation from growing onto the fence
and shorting it out, and keep it in good condition.  A lightning arrestor
is also a good idea, as a lightning strike anywhere near your fence will
otherwise burn out the fence unit.

I hope these pointers are of some use to you.  The main thing is, a
poor fence energizing unit with a good installation, will be better than
a good energizing unit with a poor installation.

--
Tim Eisele
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