Wildlife officials say black bear sightings in the Glovertown area have risen 400 per cent.

Glovertown

Conservation officer Dave Hunt says there have been 100 complaints this year about bears in the area.

Hunt says they've already trapped and relocated 15 of the animals, and more traps have been set.

He says bears are drawn to household garbage.

"These traditional garbage boxes, they're really bear magnets," Hunt said.

"With the summer we've had — [a] very hot summer — most of these bags are black garbage bags, so they really generate quite bad odours. Bears are definitely attracted to these."

People who live in the area blame the increased bear activity on the closure of the local dump this past spring.