50 Bears Have Broken into Connecticut Homes This Year

Quick Take

• The most common item attracting bears into Connecticut homes isn't what most residents would guess, and chances are you have one in your backyard right now. See the top attractants →
• Connecticut's bear break-in rate has surpassed every neighboring state, and wildlife officials say one long-term pattern explains why it keeps getting worse. See the alarming trend →
• Even after a bear has already targeted your home, DEEP says the cycle can still be broken. That is, if residents stop doing one thing they consider harmless. Break the cycle now →
• Black bears aren't breaking into homes out of aggression. The real reason makes the threat far harder to stop than most people realize. Understand the real motivation →

With warmer temperatures, windows and screen doors are being left open in Connecticut. But after black bears were implicated in a string of break-ins, residents may think twice about doing so to keep the massive creatures out of their homes.

Record Number of Bears Breaking into Connecticut Homes

Black bears are increasingly breaking into Connecticut homes, leaving residents in the state rightfully concerned.

For the past seven years, the number of black bears bold enough to enter homes has been steadily increasing. To date, over 50 bears have been reported to have entered and, in some cases, ransacked homes. This is up from 40 in 2025.

Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist with Connecticut’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), has expressed that this trend is alarming, especially as more bears have entered homes so far in 2026 than in all of 2025.

“So far this year to date, we’ve had 50 home entries,” Hawley explained to NBC Connecticut. “That’s bears entering people’s homes. That’s more than we had the entire year last year, which is concerning to us.”

It is not only the 12 municipalities where bear break-ins have occurred that need to be on high alert. All 169 cities and towns in the state have had bear sightings. This means that wherever black bears are present, there is a risk of human-bear interactions.

“… This year’s data continue to show a concerning long-term pattern,” DEEP said in a statement issued on its website. “Bear home entries have risen significantly over the past seven years and remain far higher than those reported in neighboring states.”

It is up to residents to stop this cycle of increased human-bear interactions, something DEEP is imploring all Connecticut residents to participate in.

Why Are Bears Breaking into Homes?

Black bears do not break into homes unless there is a payoff for doing so. For the bears in Connecticut, the driving factor is food.

As of August 2026, DEEP has been contacted regarding hundreds of human-bear interactions. They are broken down as follows:

• 640 trash-related interactions
• 363 bird feeder incidents
• Over 50 home invasions

The reasons black bears are showing up in droves stem from easy access to food. Whether it is food intended for another animal or food left out on the counter, with only a screen door as a barrier, bears are returning repeatedly to places where they can get a meal with little effort.

Additionally, the black bear population is increasing in Connecticut. With an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 bears in the western part of the state alone, bear sightings and interactions are becoming the norm.

There are also more bear-human interactions because homes are being built within bear territory. As bears become more comfortable around people, they lose the natural fear they should have. Consequently, they feel emboldened to explore, which explains why bears are entering homes at increasing rates.

What Residents Can Do to Be “BearWise”

Since black bears have been observed in every county in Connecticut, all residents must do their part to help end the bear break-ins. Fortunately, even if a black bear has become habituated to a particular neighborhood or home, there are still ways to stop the cycle of bear-human interactions before they escalate any further.

The ways to keep bears from entering a property and subsequently, a home, include:

• Remove bird feeders and birdseed from backyards
• Use bear-proof garbage can lids to keep bears from rummaging through trash
• Store any food with strong odors in the garage or in a garage refrigerator
• Do not leave pet food outdoors
• Clean grills
• Keep doors and windows locked
• Use electric fences for any livestock or produce being grown on the property
• Never feed bears, regardless of how friendly they are

By following these tips from Connecticut’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, the number of bear interactions will slowly begin to decrease. When bears realize they no longer have access to an easy food source, they will go elsewhere. The longer bears interact with humans and lose their fear, the greater the risk for everyone involved. This increases the chances of pets and livestock being harmed or worse, and also raises the likelihood of injuries to both black bears and people.