Our neighbors sent images of a bear and 2 cubs who had just came out of the living room window of our cabin Sunday Nov 16, 2025

The yellow ear tag identifies a bear in California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) launched the Trap-Tag-Haze (TTH) program started om 2020 for bears in the Tahoe Basin. A bear who does not respond to hazing will be approved for lethal removal due to the safety risk posed to people.
See CDFW TTH

I scheduled the cleaners before I went up that evening.

When I got up there that night I started to open the door and heard them scurrying around and going out the window.

They made a mess in the kitchen and living room but didn't get into the rest of the house.

I put up the storm window Sunday night and at 5AM the next morning I heard some banging as the bear was destroying the storm window

The first thing I did Monday was to start calling Bear Wire (electrified wire over windows and doors) installers. The one recommended by our neighbor was booked until April. The Bear League gave me a list of other installers. I left messages for 3 more and none called back.

I filled up 1 garbage can with cans, bottles, broken glass, flower piles that I could sweep up and another can with the broken window and window shade.

The Bear League loaned us an electrified bear mat. They said they'd leave it for a week and by that time the bears should have given up.

The cleaners came Tuesday morning. She was happy that I had done some pickup and she didn't have to handle the raw mess. I had tried to get some of the dried on crud off with scotch brite pads and gave up after doing only a couple of feet. The cleaner spent more than 4 hours and did a great job. The flour was hard to get out of the LR carpet also. The stove and counter tops were just as bad. I had to use tweezers to get the glass chards out of the window frame base. I think the frame is OK, so if we can find a matching window pane we don't have to replace the whole thing.

The cleaner could not get all the gunk out of the mat by the stove, I should have brought up my electric floor scrubber/vacuum.

So I hung it over the railing on the deck and hooked a hose to the hot water tank and sprayed it. A lot of dirty water came out. The hot water trick was the same thing i used several years ago to create a ledge in the snow on the back bedroom so the snow melt tablets would not slide off.

Tom and I were concerned that they'd try some other windows, especially the front ones which were only a couple of feet off the deck.

Tom was worried I was going to miss Arthur's birthday while doing bear sentinel duty. So we decided to get serious in armoring the place

From the internet. "Yes, bears in the Lake Tahoe area are strong and determined enough to break large picture windows to gain entry if they are motivated by the smell of food inside. While bears often exploit weak points like unlocked doors or slightly open windows, they have been documented breaking windows, doors, and even using rocks to break thick glass to access food. One bear in Tahoe City reportedly entered a home through a stained-glass window that could not be opened, and the notorious bear "Hank the Tank" entered a home through a window. Bears have an incredibly strong sense of smell and can be persistent once they learn that a home is a potential food source. To prevent a break-in: "

So I covered the front windows with plywood. I also replaced the storm window over the broken window with plywood, producing a bear-proof and weather-proof seal for the LR

Kells, our new handyman loaned me some white bungee cords which look like electrified bear wire that seems to fool the bears. and were using bungees on the door.

I put bungees on all the doors.

They had also pulled down the screen on the window over the LR desk so I put up the storm window with an extra support.

I also closed the other bear level shutters and put some bungee cord over it.

Pine sol used to be the favorite bear repellent, but they changed the formula and ammonia is the favorite now.

I was in a hurry to leave and avoiding driving in the fog at night and forgot to close the little bear-proof lock lever under the handle of the bear-resistant trash enclosure...
That had never been a problem, but I guess the bears can open the regular handle now. Luckily most of the garbage had been picked up earlier in the day.. I put ammonia soaked rags in front of the doors and windows to deter bears.

I got a camera and programed it to play a siren when it detects motion to hopefully scare intruders away. It also sends me a notification.

Picture from kitchen camera.