Bear Naked Truth

When it comes to ordinary or outlandish black bear behavior, the Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) has seen it all.

Black bear deterrents that work in some parts of the country – air horns, motion-activated lighting or the loud banging of pots and pans – may be ineffective in the Tahoe Basin where bears have grown accustomed and desensitized to the sights and sounds of urban living, including car alarms, horns and music blaring from portable speakers.

Instead, the TBIT, a collective of bear experts representing federal and state agencies in the Tahoe area, offers up the best practices and proven methods to keep Tahoe bears wild and people and property safe.

Secure and Eliminate Attractants

Residents and visitors have the power to prevent negative outcomes for black bears by always following the BearWise Basics. This includes properly securing garbage and recycling, removing attractants like human and pet food, grills and smokers, and bird feeders. Securing and eliminating attractants is the most important and effective long-term solution to prevent human-bear conflicts and keep bears wild.

Electric Deterrents

The ultimate defense against black bear break-ins and property damage is electricity. A few small businesses have sprouted up in the Lake Tahoe Basin in recent years catering to the demand for better bear-proofing.

The “Cadillac” option for property owners is exposed electric fencing over doors, windows and other potential points of entry that provide a shock to any bear that comes into contact but does no lasting harm. Bears are smart and learn quickly to avoid such properties.

Electrifying a whole home with exposed wiring is a significant investment costing anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000. Property owners considering this deterrent need to weigh the costs against that of their home insurance deductible or the increasingly common experience of being dropped by their insurance carrier for submitting a property damage claim. Whole-home electric fencing may make the most sense for second homes or vacation rentals that go unoccupied for periods of time.

Electric doormats are another effective, less costly, non-lethal bear deterrent.

Costing about $500-$600, well-placed electric mats in front of doors or below windows provide bears with a negative experience that often keeps them from coming back. Unlike whole-home electric fencing that will shock anything or anyone who comes into contact with the exposed wires, anyone wearing shoes or most types of footwear are immune from the shock of the electric mats. All these devices can be shut off when people and pets are around.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) have a limited number of electric mats – what the agencies call “Unwelcome Mats” – to loan out to those experiencing human-bear conflicts in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

A properly installed, grounded and maintained electric fence will also keep bears out of chicken coops, gardens and backyard bee hives.

Secure That Crawl Space

Black bears typically enter dens between mid-November and December, particularly sows that will give birth to cubs in the winter. In the Tahoe Basin, outbuildings, porches, decks, crawl spaces, RVs and vacation homes often substitute for the natural dens wild bears will typically seek out. Bears will often look for easy entry routes, like vents and doors, that they can rip open to gain access. They can fit into very small openings. Generally, if a bear can get its head inside, the rest of the bear can follow. Once underneath a house, bears will often pull down insulation or scoop up available debris for bedding. This activity often causes damage to cable and electric wiring, piping that supplies heat to the home, and water and gas lines.

Allowing a bear to access space in your home is detrimental. This type of comfort level around humans and their properties can lead to future conflicts for you and your neighbors. It’s also imperative that female bears do not teach their offspring to seek out this sort of unnatural denning.

Securing your crawl space now is one way to prevent an unwanted guest this winter. Openings that lead under your house and other buildings should be boarded up with thick plywood with no gaps or prominent edges that bears can use for leverage to rip off the wood. See how to properly secure a crawl space in this video.

Dogs

Bears don’t like them, plain and simple, and properties with a canine resident or two can experience fewer bear visits than properties without a dog around. Always ensure there is not a bear in your backyard before letting your dog out and never purposely send your dog after a bear.

Unleashed dogs are often one of the greatest sources of negative human-bear interactions and can lead to injuries to yourself and your pet. See BearWise’s Safety Tips for Dog Owners for more information.

NDOW uses specially trained Karelian Bear Dogs (KBDs) as a non-lethal management tool to haze bears during releases and to search for bears during human-wildlife conflicts.

Paintballs

Shooting paintballs at a bear on your property will force it to move along quickly and is one of the most common and effective hazing tools used by wildlife professionals in the Tahoe Basin. Aim at the rear of the bear, not the head. Avoid red-colored paintballs as some might later think the bear is injured. Many paintball markers look like firearms to the general public, so limit their use to your immediate property and not the larger community.

Bear Spray

Learn how to use bear spray and carry it with you outdoors in case of an aggressive bear confrontation. Remember, bear spray is designed to protect yourself from an imminent physical encounter and is not to be used as a repellent or hazing method. Bear spray is equally effective on mountain lions and coyotes.

Scare the Bear

BearWise offers a number of tips on why and how to safely haze a bear in its Scare the Bear digital flier that can be downloaded and printed. For more information on coexisting with bears, visit BearWise.org

CDFW scientific staff acted quickly to avert a house fire and help save a property on Butler Avenue in South Lake Tahoe Aug. 21 after a black bear broke into an unoccupied home and ignited its gas stove.

Fire is among the dangers and public safety concerns when bears break into homes looking for human-sourced food and trash, which is a near-daily occurrence in the Lake Tahoe Basin and a consequence of bears that have grown accustomed to and dependent on human sources of food.

A CDFW staff member was called to collect DNA evidence from a home in a neighborhood near Butler Avenue after a bear break-in was reported. While attempting to locate the two bears hazed out of the home, CDFW’s staff came across another home on Butler Avenue with a pushed-in window and trash scattered about – telltale signs of another bear break-in. The staff member knocked on the door, smelled gas and called 911 for help. Items were melting on the stovetop. Emergency responders arrived, turned off the gas and averted a potentially catastrophic fire to the unoccupied home, neighboring homes and the surrounding forest. The two bears—an adult female and its cub—had fled up a nearby tree.

The female bear carries the yellow ear tag numbered 753 and is well-known to CDFW and the local community. This particular bear has a long history of home invasions and escalating conflict behavior in South Lake Tahoe dating to 2022.  Since July 20, 2025, DNA evidence has linked this bear to at least 12 home invasions in South Lake Tahoe of both occupied and unoccupied homes. Sadly, the bear is teaching this behavior to its cub and potentially perpetuating another generation of human-bear conflict and bear-related property damage in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Shortly thereafter, the CDFW staff member was monitoring the two bears up the tree, carrying only a paintball gun for bear-hazing purposes, when members of the public arrived threatening the staff member’s safety and using vulgar language to incite fear.

A local social media post erroneously inflamed the situation by asking people nearby to “witness” the situation.

Ultimately, South Lake Tahoe Police were called to diffuse the situation so CDFW’s staff member could get safely to their vehicle. CDFW will continue to monitor the situation while prioritizing the safety of the South Lake Tahoe community and its wildlife.

CDFW reminds the public to prevent further conflict with bears by securing food and trash. You can find out more on CDFW’s website.

The weather is hot and Tahoe’s beaches are full of visitors. That also means one thing: garbage season is in full swing in the Basin. As people flock to the lake, so do the bears; many of them in search of an easy meal. And what better place to find it than garbage or unsecured food left behind by unknowing or careless visitors?

The Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) is asking everyone to take responsibility for their trash and food. When bears get repeated food rewards with no consequences, both wildlife and people can be affected. Bears quickly learn to associate humans with food, which leads to increased sightings near homes, trailheads and beaches. This can cause human-bear conflicts with potentially serious consequences.

But beyond the immediate safety risks, trash has long-term health consequences for bears. Bears that rely on human garbage often consume non-digestible items like foil, plastic, paper and even metal. These materials can block or tear up their digestive systems and, in some cases, lead to death. Even when trash passes through, their scat lacks the seeds and nutrients needed to support Tahoe’s plant life. Over time, a trash-based diet can also cause rotting and broken teeth, making it difficult for bears to survive in the wild.

The solution is simple: Use bear-resistant garbage containers and use them properly. Not familiar with how they work? Just remember:

PUSH, LIFT, TOSS!

PUSH the tab, LIFT the door, TOSS the trash in!

Some containers may include a carabiner or latch. Please take the time to open and close them correctly. Always relatch and lock the container after use. If a bin is full, do not leave your garbage next to it. Find another container or take it home. Trash left outside a garbage can invites more litter, stresses already stretched staff and becomes a buffet for bears. It also encourages other visitors to do the same. Even a breeze can scatter trash before crews can clean it up.

Worried about a dirty handle? Use a napkin or glove. It might not seem like a big deal, but every piece of trash placed properly helps protect a bear’s life.

Lake Tahoe’s bears are wild animals. They are not garbage disposals. It’s our shared responsibility to keep them healthy, safe and wild.

For more information on coexisting with bears, visit BearWise.org or TahoeBears.org.

To report bear incidents or conflict in the Lake Tahoe Basin, use the following:

• In California, contact CDFW at 916-358-2917 or report online using the Wildlife incident Reporting (WIR) System.
• Non-emergency bear collisions in California State Parks can be reported to public dispatch at 916-358-1300.
• In Nevada, contact NDOW at 775-688-BEAR (2327).
• If the issue is an emergency, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

Thank you for helping keep Tahoe bears wild and safe!

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) North Central Region this summer began offering residents and property owners a new tool to minimize human-bear conflicts: “unwelcome mats” that deliver a jolt of electricity when bears get too close, curious or comfortable around a residence and step on the electrified doormat.

These “eMats” have been used safely and effectively in front of doors and below windows for over a decade in the Lake Tahoe Basin and elsewhere around the country. When bears receive the temporary shock, this “tough love” can help train them to stay away from human dwellings and remain in the wild. Last month, the Human-Wildlife Conflicts team from CDFW’s North Central Region started issuing these devices to members of the public.

Jason Holley, a longtime CDFW wildlife biologist and black bear conflict specialist, says: “The plan is to temporarily loan these limited-supply eMats to our highest-need residents. These folks are already practicing sound bear-awareness techniques but are still having issues."

Since launching the eMat lending program in June, these non-lethal devices have been well-received by North Central Region residents and may be available to the public in other areas of the state soon. People wearing shoes and rubber-soled footwear are immune from the shock, and the devices can be shut off easily when people and pets are around.

CDFW has a very limited supply of 20 e-mats for use statewide, including the California side of the Lake Tahoe Basin where human-black bear interactions are very common. CDFW managers hope the public will see how effective these eMats can be in discouraging bear conflicts and then buy or build their own. CDFW will also be looking for options to acquire additional eMats if demand is high. The eMats retail for about $500 or can be made using common supplies found at local hardware stores.

Residents experiencing significant and active conflicts with black bears in the 17-county North Central Region interested in an eMat can call the North Central Region’s Human-Wildlife Conflict Hotline at (916) 358-2917. For more information on black bears, including living and recreating safely in bear country, please see CDFW’s black bear page.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has been alerted to flyers posted recently in the Lake Tahoe Basin encouraging people to feed bears and allow them to access garbage in order “to survive.” This is false and extremely harmful misinformation that is detrimental for bears.

Bears are perfectly capable of surviving on their own and far better off without any human handouts. By intentionally feeding bears, people are quickly conditioning those bears to associate humans and homes as food sources. Bears baited by left-out food and garbage are conditioned to cross the boundary of safe behavior by approaching people, cars, houses, etc., to seek out that food reward. This changes a bear’s natural behaviors and greatly increases the potential for conflict.

It’s not possible for communities in bear country to coexist with bears unless people respect boundaries with bears and other wildlife. This includes not feeding wildlife, keeping garbage and other attractants away from bears and wildlife and educating oneself on all the best practices when living in or visiting bear country.

Living in bear country is a great privilege that comes with responsibilities. So please take the time to check out the online resources below to inform yourself and help others be part of the solution.

Thank you for your help in keeping Tahoe bears wild.

Online Black Bear Resources:

• CDFW: Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Black Bears
• CDFW: Bear Naked Truth Blog
• BearWise
• Keep Tahoe Bears Wild

Photo courtesy of the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

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Media Contact:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858