NEW ROADS - Residents in Pointe Coupee Parish say black bears are creeping a little too close to home. 

Last Saturday night, a hungry bear helped itself to a few stalks of corn from Gus May's corn patch in his yard. May, a longtime resident of Ventress, says this was never an issue before. 

"It's not a big bunch of damage, it's just a strange occurrence for us in this area," May said. 

Another resident in Fordoche lost all the honey from the bee hives in his yard after a black bear destroyed them. 

According to Pointe Coupee Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux, his department has recorded five black bear sightings in the community in a week. He's worried that if the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries doesn't step in to control the population, someone might get hurt. 

"Does a child have to lose its life to a bear before something is done? God forbid it and I hope that doesn't happen," Thibodeaux said. 

Farmers and hunters have also reported nuisance black bears eating their crops and deer bait this summer. 

"I think they oughta open the hunting season, kill them all and be done with bears," May said. 

Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law Monday allowing black bear hunting after a nearly 40-year ban but only in northern Louisiana parishes. Licenses to hunt black bears are also extremely limited.