Bear break-in at a CT man's home

WINSTED, Conn. (WHDH) -- It's one thing to have a bear going through your trash can, but it's quite another when that trash can is inside your house.

Bob Palmer wasn't expecting any visitors at his home this week but apparently, this bear, didn’t get the memo.

“Yeah, Wednesday one of my co-workers here at the complex called me and asked me if I left my back patio open. I said ‘yeah, I just left the screen door open’ and he said he looked down at the back of the building and a bear was sticking out the back of my kitchen,” said Palmer.

Palmer figured that the bear made its way down from the woods, then onto his property, slid the door open, and then sifted through his trash.

Even though the bear couldn't fit through the door, nothing got in the way of its appetite.

“He took my garbage can and pulled it on onto the patio and had his way with it,” said Palmer.

But, Palmer said it left one thing intact.

“He didn't damage my screen though; he just nudged it open with his nose carefully and didn't rip it or nothing.”

The whole ordeal sounds scary but Palmer's neighbors say bear sightings are commonplace in the area. The animals come down, look for food and leave.

“We know enough to stay away from them. Even the kids know enough to stay away from them,” said one neighbor.

“They didn't bother any people or anything,” said another.

To keep it that way, animal control set up a bear trap with pastries as bait.

Animal Control said the garbage dumpster lids in the complex aren't secure and that’s partly why the bears go there for sustenance.

Palmer said he will now be thinking twice before leaving his back door open.