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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Reporter: Chris Buckley

The Department of Wildlife put down three more bears on Thursday.

A mom and two cubs broke into a Broadmoor-area home and ransacked the kitchen in Thursday morning, marking the second bear break-in of the week.

"The bears entered through a screen door off the back deck," Michael Seraphin of the Division of Wildlife said.  "They pushed the screen door to the side and entered the same way a person would."

They made a mess in the kitchen, knocking over a trash can and getting into some dishes.  But other than that, officials said they didn't do a lot of damage.

A housekeeper was in the home on Sanford Road at the time. She barricaded herself in a bedroom and called 911.

"Officers arrived and opened all the doors, hoping to get the bears to leave.  Then they turned their attention to getting the housekeeper onto a roof above the garage and helped her off the roof," Seraphin said.

They managed to get the bears out of the house and into a tree. That's when the Department of Wildlife arrived.  The bears were tranquilized, transported, and eventually put down.

"The decision to put the bears down is based on the fact that these bears, once they learn these behaviors of human structure, they cross the line and become what's deemed a dangerous bear.  They are a threat to public safety, and the option to relocate the bears is removed from the scene because of the fact they will most likely repeat this behavior no matter where they're moved," Seraphin said.

It's illegal to feed bears, yet there's been talk in the neighborhood that it's been happening. 

"A fed bear is a dead bear," Seraphin said.  "When they get too close to people, when they interact too closely with them, it's bad for the bears."

Area bears are expected to be very active in the next two months as they prepare for winter.  Wildlife officials said the best advice for residents is to treat them like potential burglars.

"They should use the same precautions you use to keep burglars out of your house," Seraphin said.  "Keep lower level windows and doors securely latched.  That's really the best defense."