If you spent any amount of time camping, you surely have wondered how to keep bears away. Well in this article, we are going to share with you the five best tips to do just that.
When you follow these tips, you will minimize your chances of encountering bears in the wild. Check out this camping blog for more camping tips. Stay safe out there.
Don’t leave food inside your tent
When camping, your tent is your home and the last thing you want is to invite a bear right in. And leaving food and food rests inside your tent would do just that.
Bears (and other wild animals) are attracted by the smell of food and they would do anything to get to it.
In the wilderness keep your food in an airtight container or a bear container, on flat ground, at least 100 feet from your tent.
You can also leave a pan (or something similar) on top of the container, so you will be alarmed when a bear knocks it over.
Bear canisters or bear bags are a must
If you want to take it one notch higher, you could store your food in a specialized bear canister or at the very least in a bear bag.
This method is what we recommend, compared to a simpler airtight food container. Your food will still be stored airtight, but the bear canisters are made of bear-resistant material, so they are much more durable.
Additionally, bear canisters often come with a locking mechanism, so your food is safe.
Utilize the campground’s bear box
Many of the campgrounds, especially those close to a forest, will offer bear boxes (or bear lockers) to their campers.
Bear boxes are lockable metal boxes, attached to the ground, and are usually available on a per-campsite basis. The bears will still be able to smell the food, but won’t be able to get to it if locked properly.
Whenever this option is available, make sure to use it. Keep your food inside your bear box at all times, even if you are still at the campsite, to keep yourself and your family safe.
Wash the dishes immediately after using them
Bears, and other wild animals, are attracted not only to the smell of human food but also to the crumbs and food rests. It is therefore very important to minimize the scent of the food around your campsite to the minimum.
One of the best and most important things you can do is wash your dishes immediately after using them. Wash the pans, plates, and cutlery thoroughly to the food scent off of them.
Don’t leave the trash laying around
As a camper, you should know not to leave trash around in nature or at the campsite. By now, you most likely will be familiar with the Leave No Trace principles, so I don’t expect that you would leave trash behind anyway.
But it is important to mention leaving trash laying around in the context of staying away from bears and from wildlife in general.
As we mentioned above, wild animals, and bears, in particular, are attracted to the scents of human food.
The one last step in preventing the unnecessary bear encounter is to keep your food rests, wrappers, and general food waste locked away in airtight containers. Better yet, keep your trash and food rests in bear canisters or bear lockers.
Don’t attempt to burn your food rests in the campfire, because burning organic material completely requires very high temperatures, which most campfires won’t produce.
In conclusion
Going camping is a great way to reconnect with nature and it is one of the most important factors, why so many people enjoy camping so much.
The bears and other wild animals are at home, where we tend to enjoy ourselves the most while camping, therefore encounters with them are likely.
Hopefully, with these few camping tips, you will be able to enjoy yourselves and stay safe at the same time.
