Black bears are increasingly breaking into homes around Lake Tahoe, leaving residents to spend thousands of dollars protecting their properties from hungry wildlife.

So far this year, South Lake Tahoe police have received 174 bear-related calls, compared with 97 during the same period last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Several incidents involved bears making their way into homes.

One local couple told the publication they were washing dishes when they looked up to find a bear standing in their living room.

The animal wandered through the house, sniffed a tube of toothpaste in the bathroom and urinated on the floor before leaving. It was the couple's second bear break-in within the span of a month, the publication said.

As encounters become more common, some homeowners have begun installing electric mats, reinforced doors and other deterrents that can cost thousands of dollars.

Resident Margaret Deanesly Ziegler has installed everything from electric deterrents to a steel door to protect her summer cabin from bears, spending about $7,500 in the process, WSJ reported.

"I heard the most god-awful noise," the retired physician told the publication. "I heard the house being wrenched, the wood being torn apart."

"The bears are winning," Ziegler said. "I'm the one that's spending the money."

Similar encounters have occurred across the Lake Tahoe Basin in recent weeks.

Fox News Digital previously reported that a California man deployed bear spray after a black bear charged toward him outside his vacation home over the Fourth of July holiday. He spotted the animal rummaging through a garbage can inside his garage.

Video of the encounter captured the bear rushing toward the homeowner before he deployed the spray, sending the animal running away.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife notes on its website that black bears are "highly food-motivated" and naturally investigate attractive smells in search of food.

The department recommends eliminating food attractants and blocking access to them with bear-proof containers, electric fencing or electric mats. It also warns that bears accustomed to human food can become increasingly bold and destructive, while cubs often learn those behaviors from their mothers.

The increase in encounters has also sparked debate among Lake Tahoe residents over whether bears or people are driving the problem.

"We don't have a bear problem, we have a people problem," one Reddit user wrote.

Another resident shared that a bear broke into their home earlier this year despite keeping trash secured, writing that they eventually installed bear mats because "it's just the price we pay to live side by side with bears."

Others said bears have remained a routine part of life around Lake Tahoe and that conflicts can often be avoided.

"Bears have been fine in my neighborhood," one user wrote. "Don't leave food or trash out and they just wander through."

Fox News Digital's Brittany Miller contributed to this report.