Hempfield resident Alex Gelgiovane said his family started carrying bear spray after a neighbor spotted a black bear in the Cherry Creek housing development last week.
The spray is effective in chasing off aggressive creatures, but it's almost never necessary against Pennsylvania's mostly-docile black bears, according to the state game commission.
Bear spray is a more potent version of pepper spray some people carry to ward off muggers and other attackers.
Bear spray works from 35 feet away and causes severe irritation in the animal's lungs and eyes, according to Outside magazine . One study showed it successfully scares off bears in 93 percent of cases.
It only works if a bear is actually there — it can't be sprayed ahead of time to keep them out of an area, the magazine reported.
The main ingredient is a hot pepper extract. Pepper spray meant for humans can have at most 1.3 percent of the active ingredient, while bear spray can go up to 2 percent, according to Outside.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission doesn't have guidelines one way or another when it comes to bear spray. The substance is legal in Pennsylvania and can be ordered online for about $30.
However, bear spray shouldn't be at the top of anyone's shopping list, as it isn't needed, game commission spokesman Travis Lau said.
“Pennsylvania's black bears aren't very aggressive, and attacks are rather rare,” Lau said. “Most aren't going to take much to scare off.”
In Yellowstone National Park, bear spray is recommended to fend off grizzly bears, which can be aggressive.
The last high-profile bear attack in Pennsylvania was in 2013, when Camille Bomboy was mauled while hunting on her family's Clinton County farm, Lau said.
Bomboy survived.
There are no documented cases in which a wild bear in Pennsylvania has killed someone, according to Lau.
There is one disputed case.
In 2012, the Clinton County coroner ruled Gary Lininger was killed by a black bear, PennLive reported . The game commission disagreed. Lininger had been cutting down a tree, which fell on him. The game commission argued Lininger was already dead when a bear came along and mauled his body.
In 2009, Ross Township resident Kelly Ann Walz was killed by a black bear she kept as a pet, the Express-Times reported .
There have been numerous bear sightings in Southwestern Pennsylvania this spring, including Hempfield, Bell Acres, Richland, Edgewood and Pittsburgh's Morningside neighborhood. The bears have not been aggressive in any of those cases.
There are about 20,000 black bears in the state, according to a 2015 estimate.
If you encounter a bear, the Pennsylvania Game Commission says to remain calm, make noise to let the bear know you're there and back away slowly.
In most cases, it will leave once it knows there's a human around.
If it approaches, wave your arms and shout to scare it off, the game commission says. In the rare case that doesn't work, swinging or throwing objects at the bear will usually fend it off.
Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.
