By Sarah Opdahl

With black bear sightings continuing to rise in New Fairfield and Sherman, and a population of over 1,000 bears currently in Connecticut, it’s a good idea to stay sharp on recommendations for how best to share space with these remarkable animals. While they typically stick to heavily wooded areas, they will leave the forest in search of readily available food, which brings them into closer contact with residents.

We have all seen the seemingly incongruous photos of bears foraging in an upturned garbage can, snacking from a birdfeeder, playing with items they encounter in a yard, and more. While it’s easy to fall into the charm of seeing these interactions, it is also clear that this situation could be a collision course for tougher measures, with increasing calls for possible bear hunting in the state in recent years.

Fortunately, there are a number of recommendations that residents can follow to help keep yourselves, your property, your pets–and bears!–safer. On their web page at CT.gov, the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) “warns residents to be ‘bear aware’ and to do what they can to protect both their communities and bears by preventing human-bear conflicts.” The root cause of many encounters is food, of course, leading DEEP to suggest that residents:

NEVER intentionally feed bears.

Wait to put garbage out until as close to its pickup day or time as possible, and clean up food and garbage from your property. If you have had a bear frequenting your garbage, spraying your garage can with ammonia and the top of a garbage bag before sealing it will be a deterrent. If possible, store your garbage cans inside your garage or shed. And, do not store recyclables or any food in a porch or screened sunroom as bears can smell these items and will rip screens to get at them.

If you see a bear in your yard, do not approach it! Go into your house, garage, or other structure. If the bear persistently approaches, go on the offensive—shout, wave your arms, and throw sticks or rocks. This is obviously not the time to record the encounter with your phone.

Remove birdfeeders until November. During this period, birds are self-sufficient and bears will not be attracted to the feed.

Keep grills clean and store them inside a garage or shed, if possible.

Supervise dogs at all times when outside and store pet food indoors.

Refrain from adding meat or sweets to compost piles.

Use electric fencing to protect chickens, other livestock, beehives, agricultural crops, and berry bushes.

DEEP  reports that “Over the last six years, bears have entered homes 265 times. In 2025 alone, 40 of these incidents were reported to DEEP. These numbers are a sharp contrast to a decade ago, when bears entered homes fewer than 10 times annually.” It is suggested that “if you live in or are visiting an area with a lot of bear activity, close and lock ground floor and other bear-accessible windows and doors (that means upper-level windows and doors a bear could easily access by climbing up a convenient tree ladder or porch post.)”

Increasingly, there are stories of bears entering cars. To avoid that scenario, DEEP suggests cleaning out all food and trash from your vehicle. “Don’t leave pet food, bird seed, snacks, trash, chewing gum, candy, scented air fresheners, sunscreen, lip balm, hand lotion or anything else with an odor inside, even for a few hours, or sitting in the truck bed,” their website says. It’s good practice to lock all vehicle doors and keep your windows rolled up.

If you are hiking on any of the trails in town, or another local spot, it is best to just make noises as you normally would on a walk in the woods; your presence is typically enough to make bears retreat. If, in a remarkably rare occurrence, you do encounter a bear mid-trail, it is important to back away slowly, turn around, and go back the way you came. Also, DEEP recommends keeping dogs on short leashes, as a roaming dog may be considered a threat to a bear or its cubs.

There are a lot of reasons to celebrate bears in Connecticut–their population is healthy and continuing to thrive–and the best way to keep them safe is by following time-tested recommendations. In addition to the advice above, CT DEEP’s website counsels “If you see a black bear in your yard, enjoy the sighting from a distance and report your sighting [at www.ct.gov/deep],” but most importantly, “If a bear is seen in your town or neighborhood, leave it alone. In most situations, if left alone and given an avenue for escape, the bear will usually wander back into more secluded areas.”