How to Keep Bears Away When Camping?

Camping in remote areas is a great experience unless it is not attacked by bears. The chances of a bear attack are highest in dense woods and remote parts of the countryside. It can be anything that draws the attention of bears such as food or the smell of clothes.

Keeping the bears away from the campsite will require some powerful strategies. From cooking your food to choosing the place to cook, you have to look at various factors to keep away this huge animal from your campsite.

In this blog, we will learn about the ways to keep the bear away from the campsite with many other useful tips to enjoy camping.

10 Best ways to keep bears away from the campsite

If you have chosen the dense woods as your campsite, the bears might attack it anytime. Read on to get the ways to protect your campsite from bears:

1. Choose the correct campsite

Bears love visiting places near berry patches and plants. Avoid making your campsite near these places as bears are likely to visit here more often. Instead, you can set up your campsite in places where there is no bear activity or claw markings.

Do not pick any place that has water resources as bears can visit anytime to drink water. Pick a safe place especially when you are camping in the countryside where Grizzly bears are very commonly found.

2. Cook food wisely

Bears have good smelling sense. They can detect the food smell from a long distance. So, if you cook delicious food, the bear might come to your campsite. You can cook on a gas stove in the developed campsites. But if you are camping in the countryside, follow the Bear-muda Triangle approach to cooking food.

Another smart idea is to keep your kitchen away from your sleeping area. Bears might come searching for food during the nighttime. It is advisable keeping a minimum distance of 200 feet between the cooking and sleeping area. Avoid cooking foods like bacon, meat, and fish during a camp.

3. Store your food properly

One of the best things you must do is to store food properly to keep bears at bay. You can carry the bear container to store your food. These bear containers are odor-proof and easy to carry anywhere.

Another effective way to store food is by making a bear hanger. You can hang this bear hanger on a tree. Apart from that, you can also keep your food in a car or RV to stop bears from attacking your food.

In addition, you must dispose of the food packages or wrappers as bears can come to your campsite by the smell.

4. Clean the food area properly

After dinner and lunch, it is necessary to clean the area well. The smell of food residues and leftovers will attract animals, especially bears. It is necessary to pick up all your food leftovers and clean the places.

Many campsites provide a separate area for washing your food plates. Even if there is no separate washing area in your campsite, wash your plates far from the sleeping area. Do not throw food garbage anywhere in the open space as it will attract animals. Use bear-resistant trash cans to throw garbage and food scraps.

One of the best ways is to burn the food leftovers. It will keep the bears away from your campsite.

5. Talk with your family members

Bears do not approach humans. So, you can talk for a long time with your friends and family members on a camp to keep bears away from the campsite. Bears do not like human voices and music. You can also play your favorite tracks or any other kind of music to stop bears from coming your way.

In addition, you can play the radio to keep bears at bay as they do not like human voices. The human presence will stop the bears from coming to your campsite.

6. Get rid of bathroom smells

Even bathroom smells will attract animals to your campsite. Many campers use the cat hole method to dispose of human waste. While using this method, you must choose a spot that is 200 feet away from the camp. Throw your toilet paper in bear-resistant cans. You can also use an odor-blocking plastic bag to stop the smell go out.

7. Tie a bear fence

Another good way to stop bears from coming to your campsite is to build a fence. This fence has around 6000- volts to keep bears afraid to cross the barriers. Bears might get pain if they try to cross the campsite.

Building a bear fence is one of the best ideas to stop bears in areas where there are many grizzlies and polar bears. It is also a good option for violent black bears.

8. Avoid running while seeing a bear

Most people have a habit to start running as soon as they see a bear or any other animal. Avoid this action as running will make bears more aggressive. They might attack you or chase you at your camp.

If you see any bear coming your way, stay calm and it will leave the place soon. Do not carry out any rapid movements after seeing a bear or any other animal.

9. Use bear sprays

Carrying bear spray is very important when you are camping in areas with grizzlies. These sprays contain Capsaicin that will help to get rid of bears. It is simple to use these sprays in the direction of the bear. Never use bear spray in your tent as it will make you feel suffocated.

10. Fight with bears

There are chances when a bear can attack your campsite. If the bear attacks you, use full force to attack it back. You can use some sharp objects to attack bears and keep them away from your campsite. You can hit on the nose of the bear to keep it away from the campsite.

FAQs

Final words

Bears can easily pick the cooking smell and other odors. You need to be careful while cooking food. It is also necessary to keep your toiletries away from the campsite. Use bear canisters and bear bags to keep away bears from your camping area.