Florida family living in fear as video shows bear burglars breaking into home ‘every other night’
A Florida mother of four says she's so fed up with bears breaking into their home that they've started taking matters into their own hands by putting locks all over their property.
Watch: Bear tries to break into Florida home
A family in Florida said they are fed up with bears trying to break into their home and have started taking matters into their own hands by putting locks all over their property to try and keep them away.
LEESBURG, Fla. - It might be Halloween week, but there's something else lurking around a Florida community other than ghosts and ghouls in costumes.
One Leesburg family is dealing with bears that are continuously breaking into their home and wreaking havoc, according to a report from FOX 35 Orlando.
"These bears have come every other night, basically," Teana Sayers told FOX 35 News.
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A Florida family says a bear has been trying to break into their home for years.
(FOX 35 Orlando)
The mother of four said she's so fed up with the bears that her family has had to take matters into their own hands. They’ve put locks on items all over their property in hopes of keeping them away.
The bears have been breaking into her home for the last four years, she said.
"There are times when my husband leaves for work early in the morning, and it's dark out and there's a bear – and he can’t leave because he’s trapped by this bear," Sayers said.
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A Florida family says they have put locks all over their property to prevent a bear from breaking in.
(FOX 35 Orlando)
The four-legged free-loaders are going after her trash cans and even trying to get into her home, she added. The family's security camera captured a few occasions where the bears were seen busting through a screened-in porch and making their way over to her sliding glass door.
Sayers shared a video of a recent break-in from Monday, which shows the bear climbing into her back porch through the screen door, moseying around and exiting the same way after the lights were turned on.
"I’ve fixed the screen multiple times," Sayer said.
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Florida party bear breaks into home for 3 hard seltzers
A neighborhood three-legged bear broke into a home in Florida. The 13-year-old son, home alone, caught the crime on his cell phone. The bear opened the refrigerator took three White Claw hard seltzers and left.
She even boarded up the screen porch to prevent the intruder from making his way in.
"I feel like we live in fear, and we shouldn’t be living like that. This is my home. I've been living here for 29 years," she continued.
These bears are getting smarter too. Aside from breaking and entering, they’ve even managed to bust into the chicken coop. They have taken a liking to her backyard tree.
"We come out here and the bears will go up in this tree here and hang out – especially the mama and her two cubs," she said.
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What to do if you encounter a bear
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom's Peter Gros told FOX Weather how to be safe when hiking and camping in bear country.
Kenny Baez, owner of Freedom Wildlife, a wildlife removal and trapping service based in Orlando, told FOX 35 News that in his line of work he's seen just about every animal you can think of – and that includes bears.
"Bears are opportunistic just like many animals are," he said.
He also said bears are learning to better adapt to their surroundings — and will stop at nothing to find food.
FOX 35 News asked Baez what the proper protocol is for dealing with a wild animal.
"In most cases, it’s standstill, back away slowly, try not to make any sudden movements," he said.