For the past few weeks, a 350-pound bear has been showing up at Terri Welch's Carling Township home.

The bear has caused a lot of damage, and even some fear with three young children in the house.

After returning to the home for the third time in three weeks, the bear seemed determined to get inside the home and began tearing away at the siding. The bear was able to get its paw through the wall.

That's when everyone sleeping inside was woken up.

Welch and her husband called the Ministry of Natural Resources bear hotline. But the MNR hasn't captured and relocated bears since 2012. And Welch says she was told to call police if it was an emergency, or to shoot the bear herself.

“I was really hoping someone would come and help us,” says Welch.

The bear returned to the home last week, and Welch's husband and their friend were forced to shoot the animal.

“People can legally shoot the bear, of course they need to have a possession license for the firearm and they need to make sure that they properly operate the firearm in a safe manner,” says OPP Staff Sgt. Ron Campbell.

The MNR says there are about 105,000 bears in the province. That number has held steady over the past few years. The ministry says it has received 29 calls from people in the same area about troublesome bears. Last year, the ministry had just 10 calls.

“If the bear will not be frightened away or it's a repeat occurrence, as a last resort we will destroy the bear,” says Campbell.

If you have a problem bear showing up on your property, some of the best advice from police is to get rid of what's attracting them. That means keeping your garbage inside, cleaning out your BBQ and even removing bird feeders from your property.

If you ever feel like your safety is in jeopardy because of a bear, call 911.