By Shannon Lukens. Courtesy photos. 

 

A trap is set for a bear has been getting into homes in Old Town Steamboat Springs.

Kris Middledorf is the Area Wildlife Manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He says the bear has entered at least four unsecured homes in less than a week, through open doors or open windows that may have been easy to push open.

“We’ve had multiple intrusions into homes by black bears in Steamboat Springs over the past week. We think it’s a single bear. But we have to remind everyone. Please make sure to keep all your ground level windows closed. Make sure your doors are locked. Reminder for your cars as well. Take out the trash in your car and lock your cars at night.”

 

Middledorf says to keep your bear-proof trash containers inside your garage, if you can. Hummingbird, and regular bird feeders cannot be out right now. Keep your garage door shut.

If you see a bear near your home, make a lot of noise to scare it away.

Middledorf says if they capture the bear, they’ll make an assessment on what to do with it.

 

Keep Bears Wild – Steamboat has a summer talk coming up at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at Library Hall. Learn more about co-existing with bears in the Yampa Valley.

 

Here’s more from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.

 

Dealing with Bears
Bears spend their day searching for any possible food sources. Once they successfully get food in a location, they will come back again hoping for another food reward.

• Do not provide any possible food or scent attractants for bears
• Store trash in your house, garage, or shed until trash day. Clean your trash can with bleach once a week to get rid of residual smells.
• Keep bird feeders out of reach of bears with a pulley system that keeps the feeder 10 feet off ground and 10 feet away from trees or climbable structures.
• Do not store pet food or feed pets outside.
• Clean grills after use, clean out grease traps.
• Secure bee hives and chickens with electric fencing.
• Be vigilant when leaving your house in the morning or evening. Make noise as you leave to let a bear know you are coming. If they hear you they will usually leave the area.
• If a bear will not leave, do not approach it. From a safe location, make some noise and throw things at it. If the bear will not leave, call your local wildlife office.
• Call your local wildlife office and report bear incidents. Wildlife officers can do site checks to help you secure your specific property.
• If a bear enters your home, open doors and windows and make sure it can leave the same way it got in. Don’t approach the bear, corner the bear or block escape routes. Call 911.
• If you see a bear hanging around your neighborhood or property, call your local Colorado Parks and Wildlife office to report it.
• Flashing lights, noise makers, alarms and sprinkler systems may startle bears and cause them to leave the area. Products that randomly produce a different noise each time they’re activated or have lights that flash in different patterns may be more effective than something with repetition.
• Leaving a radio tuned to a talk show can make it sound like someone is home and may persuade bears to leave the area. If you’ll be gone for an extended period of time, you can put a radio on a timer.
• Spraying bear spray on things you’d like bears to avoid doesn’t work — when the spray dries, the pepper residue left behind mellows out and creates odors that can actually attract bears.
• People have had some success with covered buckets or other containers filled with bleach or ammonia, with holes punched in the lids to let the scent out, placed outside bear-accessible doors and windows. Never mix bleach and ammonia; the combination produces fumes that can be deadly to both people and bears. Be careful with ammonia and bleach; it can blind bears.
• Unwelcome mats are typically made of sheets of sturdy plywood that have been carefully studded with small nails pointing up that can be placed in front of bear-accessible doors and windows. It’s very important that unwelcome mats be made, installed and used properly to avoid injuring bears, humans and pets.