Do not put meat or sweet food scraps in your compost pile. Use electric fencing around livestock or move livestock into barns at night. Use electric fencing around beehives or wire them together with metal strapping. Leave unplanted open lanes between forest and fields. Alternate row crops to provide less cover.
Black bears are generally solitary creatures.
In the East, they are found from New England south through the Appalachians to northern Georgia. Black bear habitat is forestland, generally with both deciduous and coniferous trees, along with streams, swamps and rock ledges. Bears are typically nocturnal, but may be active during the day. They have poor eyesight, fair hearing, and a keen sense of smell. They are omnivorous and eat grasses, leaves, fruit, nuts and berries.