NEW MILFORD — A black bear has turned a New Milford neighborhood into a frequent pit stop to root through residents' garbage cans and unwind in their backyards.

"He comes with another big bear sometimes, sometimes he just comes by himself and just lies in the grass ... just in time for everybody to come up and take their pictures [of him," said Darren Gibbons, a resident of Eden Lane. "He looks at us looking at him, doesn't want nothing to do with nobody, chews up all the garbage and makes his way back into the woods."

As Connecticut's black bear population continues to increase, bears have been sighted in every town across the state in recent years, according to a 2024 report by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

In New Milford, Mayor Pete Bass said there are several bears coming into the local neighborhoods, and with the population of bears increasing, "they need to load up on calories to get ready for hibernating."

"With garbage cans being brought out to the roads for pickup, bears come out from where they are and feed," Bass said.

A few residents on Eden Lane said there is one black bear that has been visiting their neighborhood about three to four times a month for the past few months. Dee Biglin, an Eden Lane resident, believes the bear, which she said is the size of a Mini Cooper, is female due to its flat shoulders and "bigger hips." She said the bear appears to be 1 to 2 years old and doesn't have a tag.

"They call my house 'Ground Zero' because it hits my garbage first," Biglin said of the bear's visits. "I live in a complex and it comes up the hill and hits my garbage first. This bear has been in my garbage three times and it's the same bear — a 'repeat offender.'"

Biglin said her home on Eden Lane is located off Route 37 with a lot of woods behind her house. Gibbons, Biglin's neighbor, said Eden Lane is located on a "dead end cul-de-sac" with "one way in, one way out."

Gibbons said the bear does not go through his garbage — he suspects because of the ammonia in the disposed cat litter. However, he said he gets calls from a neighbor on Alder Lane, located down the street from Eden Lane, whose garbage is visited by the bear, and that he goes to clean up garbage off his neighbor's lawn "maybe once a week."

While the bear has "never been aggressive" and shows no fear, Biglin said she worries about the safety of her two children as well as the younger children in her neighborhood.

"I'm always on 'bear alert,' let's put it that way," Biglin said, "and I've never been on 'bear alert.'"

What to do when a bear visits

In terms of dealing with bear visits, Bass advised residents put bear locks on their garbage cans and take down bird feeders "during times of nonfeeding." He also advised residents dispose of any leftover food closer to the time of garbage pickup and make sure they stay safe and away from the bears.

Over on Eden Lane, Biglin said she has been locking her doors to prevent the bear from getting into her home. She said she put a bungee cord on her garbage can, but the bear was able to knock off the cord and go through her garbage. After washing her garbage can with Pine-Sol Cleaner and ammonia, she said the bear hasn't been back to her garbage, though she knows he is still on the move.

CT DEEP has advised reporting bear sightings on its website to help the organization learn what areas the bear population is expanding to and how quickly they are expanding, according to Ethan Van Ness, a senior advisor for CT DEEP. Van Ness said CT DEEP also advises reporting sightings of sows with cubs to help DEEP learn where reproduction is occurring.

"Connecticut is bear country," Van Ness said. "This time of year, it is not unusual for us to see bears in unexpected places at various times of the day. It could be walking through a neighborhood park, crossing a road, or even passing thorough a shopping plaza. It is important for all of us to be #BearWise and remember to stay alert when driving, make noise if you see a bear so that it knows you are there and you encourage it to move along."

"You can help bears, and your community, by remembering to Scare the Bear — beep your car horn, forget about getting video and yell at the bear or bang on nearby objects to startle the bear," he said.

Yet neither Biglin or Gibbons have reported the bear sightings to CT DEEP.

Gibbons said he "just sent out the word to my neighbors asking if they have reported it" and that one of his neighbors called CT DEEP, who advised her to use ammonia in her trash cans.

"I didn't report the bear to DEEP because I was afraid they might kill it," Biglin said. "It doesn't seem aggressive, just going around looking for a free meal."