07/28/2026
The Two-Second Solution That Keeps Stuff Safe and Bears Wild
Lock It or Lose It.
Have you seen news stories or videos featuring bears “breaking in” to homes and cars looking for food?
What many stories don’t mention is that much of the time the bear isn’t breaking in. It’s just following its nose to something that smells like food, cleverly opening an unlocked door or window and making itself at home.
Black bears have relatively short, curved claws (often under 2 inches) that are well adapted for climbing trees and tearing into rotten logs in search of insects.
They’re also well-suited for opening lever-style handles and sliding doors, unscrewing jar tops, opening coolers and picnic baskets and pushing up unlocked windows.
Easy In, Tough Getting Out.
A single pack of chewing gum smells good enough to attract a bear. Don’t leave anything that looks or smells like food inside your vehicle.
Our vehicles are often full of food, or stuff that smells like food. Unfortunately, vehicle doors can close on their own, trapping the bear inside.
Bears don’t have thumbs, so vehicle doors are much harder for a bear to open from the inside.
Black bears are strong enough to peel down a window that’s open an inch or two and flexible enough that even large bears can crawl through an open window if they see or smell something interesting inside.
Research shows that leaving your window cracked open only drops the temperature inside your vehicle by a degree or two, but makes it much easier for a bear to pop out the window to get inside.
Even if the bear does manage to get out, many wildlife management agencies have firm policies that dictate that bears that enter homes and/or vehicles must be destroyed.
TIP: Many insurance policies do not cover wildlife damage to vehicles or homes.
Rolled up windows and locked windows and doors would have kept this bear on the outside looking in. Unless you left food and trash inside. Then all bets are off. (photo: WDFW)
Clean Up, Roll Up, Lock Up
Get everyone in the habit of cleaning out your vehicle when you get out of it.
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.
Avoid scented air fresheners.
Lock your doors and roll up and lock your windows, even if you’re just parked in your driveway or in front of your rental.
Locks and Latches Won’t Work if You Don’t Use Them
If you leave the doors and windows to your home or home-away-from-home open and unlocked, you’re issuing an invitation to bears (and burglars) to drop in, nose around and help themselves.
It only takes a few minutes to lock up; it takes a lot longer to clean up after a bear visit.
Info from Bearwise.org
