"I don't know how to put this in an email without sounding condescending, but I'm not trying to be."
Well, those fencers are all great and dandy, but, most of us have a budget. I wouldn't be able to buy just one, as I set up new yards every year, and given the unpredictablity of where a bear is going to be at any given time, it would seem prudant to have one of these on each new yard. They are also prone to the same failures as any other equipment.
" If the best you have tried is Parmak and Zebra, then you really haven't used a good fencer."
I think I stated that they weren't strong enough, and that the "good" ones were too expensive.
" Shooting a bear, just means another one will move into the area and you start over."
All bears are indivuals. By getting rid of the really persistant bear, you do indeed create an open territory, but chances are good you won't get another bear that is that persistant. But the real problem we are having isn't just a few bears, we have "many" bears. Too many for our area to support without unreasonable crop damage. That is the fault of our DEC, and their failure to control the population in a reasonable manner. " I had a hired man who would check the Parmaks by gripping the wire, rather carrying a fence tester. A favorite trick was to grab the wire and then touch somebody as they went by or were tying down the truck. Once he didn't realize that I had swapped out the Parmak for a Speedrite HB12, because the former needed service. Poor guy couldn't let go of the wire and wet himself before his co-worker could stop laughing and turn off the fence. He had no strength in is upper body for the rest of the day."
Well, that's funny, but, it could just have easily killed him. That's why they make fence testors, so this unnessacery risk can be avoided. I have seen lambs tangled up in electric fences die this way. " With the limited day length up here in the spring and fall, we throw out the Parmak batteries. We have a place called Battery World that carries a battery virtually the same size, but with twice the capacity."
I use the deep cycle marine battries. They work well and hold a good charge. You also deal with different bears than we do. Black bears respond well to electric fences, the only time there is a real problem is when you get the one's that will go through anything to get a meal.
Jim
http://www.northernqueens.com/
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