Bears have acute eyesight and hearing. Their sense of smell is seven times greater than a bloodhound’s. They have a keen ability to detect pet food, garbage, barbecue grills and bird feeders—and once they locate a food source, they remember where it is.
This will protect you and the bear.
Enclose your compost pile. Open compost piles, especially those that include kitchen scraps, are an irresistible treat in bear country. Burying compost won’t work because bears will easily find and dig it up.
Recycle wisely. If you store recyclables outside, use enclosed bins. (Persistent bears will break into even ruggedly built bins.)
Rethink your bird feeders. In the summer, birds can make do with naturally available foods. If you do set up feeders, install them away from your house.
Most importantly leave them be! If you see a bear out exploring, especially a young cub this time of year. Do not approach them, you are doing more harm than good if you bother them.
Bears that come near humans in most stats are trapped and killed.