After a Month-Long Stay, 550lb Black Bear Under LA Home Finally Moves On—Thanks to a Clever Homeowner's Trick!

A HUGE black bear living beneath a Los Angeles home for more than a month has finally been driven out.

For weeks, Ken Johnson shared his house with a 550-pound intruder that had taken up residence beneath his floorboards.

The black bear had been living under the property for a monthCredit: New York Post The Bear League were able to use their expertise to remove the animalCredit: New York Post

The bear moved in sometime in November and refused to leave, turning this quiet home into a place of constant fear and tension.

Instead of holiday cheer, Johnson endured sleepless nights filled with strange sounds, foul smells, and the constant anxiety of what might happen next.

The said he suffered from sleep deprivation and was repeatedly awoken by noises from the beast lurking below.

To make matters worse, the bear caused extensive structural damage, leaving Johnson with repair costs totalling tens of thousands of dollars.

“I have video footage of it twisting pipes, which created an extremely dangerous situation forced me to shut off my utilities just to stay safe,” Johnson said.

Desperate and running out of options, Johnson eventually turned to expert help – contacting The Bear League.

The Bear League is a Lake Tahoe–based organisation that specialises in emergency bear removal.

According to the group, these kinds of calls are not uncommon, with crews handling between six and eight evictions every day.

Founder and Executive Director Ann Bryant said the team knew they had to act fast.

“We heard about Ken, we felt bad for him and flew down and got the bear out,” Bryant said.

Once on site, the crew wasted no time.

One brave team member crawled directly into the crawl space – the same tight area the massive bear had been occupying – armed only with a paintball gun.

The tactic worked.

“The bear was gone in 20 minutes,” said Bryant.

The paintballs were filled with vegetable oil and aimed at the animal’s backside, prompting it to flee the den.

After the bear was removed, Johnson moved quickly to secure his home.

He sealed the crawl space with two layers of plywood and sandbags to prevent the animal from ever returning.

The Bear League also installed an electric mat at the entrance, designed to deliver a small shock if stepped on.

That precaution proved essential as later that same week, the bear returned.

“He came back, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh.’ He hit the mat and scurried away into darkness,” Johnson said.

The Bear League offers 24-hour support to homeowners dealing with similar encounters.

Their mission, they say, is to “educated people about the true nature of these animals”.

They ultimately took over efforts from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), which had been attempting to remove the bear for more than a month.

CDFW officials initially tried using scent sprays, followed by a bear trap baited with sardines, fried chicken, shrimp, peanut butter, and apples.

But the plan backfired.

Instead of capturing the culprit, the trap caught a completely different bear that had been roaming the neighbourhood.

The Bear League emphasised that homeowners should be cautious about leaving crawl spaces unsecured, noting that proper reinforcement allows people and wildlife to safely coexist.

Frustrated by the prolonged ordeal, Johnson eventually threatened legal action against CDFW, claiming the agency abandoned its efforts.

CDFW strongly denied those claims.

“Despite very limited staff, CDFW biologists have been in constant communication with this homeowner since this bear was reported entering his unsecured crawlspace in November,” a CDFW spokesperson said.

“We remain committed to helping this homeowner and have never indicated otherwise.”

The bear dealt extensive damage to the property and caused mental anguish for the ownerCredit: New York Post The Bear League used paintball guns to encourage the bear to leave the propertyCredit: New York Post