Editor’s note: In the column “Bears and teenagers are a bad mix” in the Sept. 2 issue, I relayed a short, humorous anecdote about bear encounters I had in the 1990s. In that, I referred to the use of unwelcome mats and bear bombs. Apparently, some relayed concern to Colorado Parks and Wildlife about it. Wildlife officials have different guidance now than they had decades ago and readers should refer to cpw.state.co.us/living-bears for guidance on living with bears. The main point of the column was to advise readers that bear encounters have spiked and extra caution should be taken. Like Will Rogers said: “Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.”

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There have been six bear attacks in Colorado recently and another in New Mexico that was fatal.

According to Colorado Parks & Wildlife, a record number of bear reports have been received this year. The ongoing drought has forced bears to search for food in populated areas. As natural food sources have become scarce, bears are becoming bolder to find calories.

Bears are also entering hyperphagia, during which they will consume up to 20,000 calories per day.

CPW has received over 6,000 reports of bear sightings this year, nearly double this time last year.

During one encounter, a homeless man at a park in Aspen woke up when a bear bit him in the head. He managed to escape his sleeping bag and get away.

A 300-pound bear died inside a vehicle in Colorado Springs after becoming trapped, “likely” for days, while searching for food.

Another bear had to be tranquilized to be removed from a tree in a busy Denver neighborhood.

In Crested Butte, a bear broke into an occupied home causing extensive interior damage and starting a kitchen fire. The bear broke through a large pane of glass to gain access.

Even first responders aren’t immune. A bear walked into the bay of Colorado Springs Fire Department’s Station 16 and tried to take away one of the gear bags.

During another encounter, a bear entered a Steamboat Springs home through a sliding-glass door. The female homeowner tried to chase the bear outside, but it struck her face and cut her. In order to enter the home, the bear damaged the door’s frame and knocked it off its track.

I’ve also had bear encounters. I blame them on having five teenagers at the same time.

Don’t get me wrong; my teenagers were smart. But not when it came to turning off lights, putting their dirty dishes in the sink or closing doors. When these tasks were required, their brains went on idle.

The last of those tasks was the initial cause of our bear issues.

We kept a second refrigerator/freezer in our garage to store cold drinks and easy-to-prepare foods for the teens. We found it was best to keep them out of the fridge in the kitchen as often as possible.

But the garage also had a pedestrian door that our teens used to access the house. Remember the part where they couldn’t close doors? That and an accessible fridge made for an explosive combination.

One night, I heard loud banging in the garage. I assumed it was two or more of my teens getting into a tussle. I stomped down to the door connecting the garage to the house, opened it and, in my best dad voice, shouted “knock it off!”

I was nose-to-nose with a bear. He was standing on his hind legs digging through the food in the garage fridge.

I quickly closed the door and called 911. They referred me to the nonemergency police number. The on-duty cop asked “what do you want us to do about it?”

The bear made two more visits to our garage. While the first encounter finally convinced my teens that closing the door was important, the bear figured out how to turn the doorknob.

Finally, at that point in time decades ago, CPW gave me some useful tips. The first was an unwelcome mat. That’s where you stick four-inch nails through a rubber mat and place it in front of your door. The bear steps on the nails and, while it does no serious damage, it hazes the bear away.

But when you have teens that can’t close doors or turn off lights, a welcome mat with nails sticking through it is a bad idea.

Then they told me about “bear bombs.” You’d fill a balloon with ammonia, coat it with peanut butter and hang it from your door. The bear would bite the balloon and get a face full of ammonia.

Our bear was persistent. It took four burst bear bombs to convince it that the buffet was closed.

CPW officials ask homeowners to be especially “bear aware” this time of year by keeping food and trash secured, taking down bird feeders, keeping pet food inside the home and putting out trash the morning of pickup instead of the night before.

And also make sure your teenagers close the doors.