“I don’t want to go camping because I’m afraid of bears”.
It’s such a bummer to hear someone say that.
Camping can be an amazing experience.
Getting outdoors, putting your phone down, disconnecting from the worries of everyday life.
And it shouldn’t be avoided simply because of the wildlife.
Bears can be a threat to you, absolutely.
But the odds of you running into bears is pretty rare, especially if you store your food right and follow a few simple tips.
So how do you store your food when camping in bear country?
Find out below!
How do you properly store food around bears?
Here’s the problem.
When bears get ahold of human food, they can start to gain some confidence and even aggression towards getting more of it.
Once they learn they can obtain food in campgrounds, they will likely come back for recurring meals.
And when they do, they can become too threatening and killed to protect campers.
This can be avoided by not allowing bears to get our food.
We can do that by:
Storing food in designated food lockers
Campsites that have a lot of bears around will most likely have food storage lockers.
These are designed to keep bears from getting into your food.
Before you go on your trip, check to see if these are available.
If not, you’ll need to use one of the other options for food storage.
Storing food in ‘bear-proof’ containers
There are containers you can purchase and bring with you on your trip that are ‘bear-proof’.
These bear-proof containers seal in all odors of the items inside of them.
Whatever you put in them will be kept safe from bear’s noses.
Hang food high in a tree
If the first two options aren’t available, you’ll need to hang your food high up in a tree where bears can’t get to them.
It’s best to hang your items from a tree with a branch that’s about 20 foot high and that has enough space to hang the bag at least 4 feet away from the trunk of the tree.
This tree should be at least 200 feet from your camp to keep bears from going into your tent.
Hanging your food up in the tree can be done with a rope, a carabiner, your bag, and a stick.
For a great video on how to secure the bag, check out the one below.
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The actual instructions for hanging your bag starts at about the 2:45 mark, but the entire video is packed full of great information on bears and storing food.
What items and their odors attract bears?
We already talked about bears being attracted to human food, but are they attracted to other items?
Unfortunately, yes.
Bears are attracted to pretty much anything with a strong scent.
Bears have noses that are 2,100 times more sensitive than humans, so they’ll be following the scent of items you didn’t even think of.
And that means you’ll want to store more than just food when you use food lockers, bear-proof containers, or hang bags from trees.
Some of the items you should think about storing away from bears are:
- Human food
- Pet food
- Garbage
- Cooking items (including the clothes you cooked in)
- Empty food containers
- Cooking grills/stoves (and their fuel)
- Canned beverages
- Toiletries (cosmetics, toothpaste, sunscreen, bug spray, etc.)
Storing all of these should help keep bears from being in your camp.
11 best practices for food/item storage and behavior around bears
Other than the tips mentioned above, there are some best practices to help keep bears out of your camp.
These items can help you in both campgrounds and while you’re out in the backcountry:
- Make noise while you are traveling. Bears are more scared of you than you are of them and will generally stay away.
- Always carry bear spray with you (1 can per person).
- Keep pets on leashes at all times. An unleashed pet could attract wildlife.
- Avoid camping in an area with obvious signs of bear activity (digging, tracks, scat, etc.)
- Avoid bringing overly smelly foods with you while backpacking.
- Try to keep everything stored properly when not in use (bear containers, hanging up, food locker, etc.).
- Sleep in an area at least 300 feet from where you cooked your food at.
- Store the clothing you wore to cook in and never bring that clothing inside your tent.
- Never bring food inside of your tent.
- Strain dishwater and dump food particles into your trash bag. Dump dishwater away from your sleeping area.
- Practice Leave No Trace to prevent bears from getting your food scraps and garbage.
A few common questions about bears and food
I’ve gathered some questions from all over the place to try and help answer them.
They’re a bit all over the spray, but helpful nonetheless!
What is bear spray?
Bear pepper spray works very similar to regular pepper spray.
It’s active ingredient, capsaicin, is derived from hot peppers and has proven to be very effective against bears.
In fact, fewer people were injured from a bear attack while using bear spray than an actual firearm (source).
When carrying bear spray, only use it if you absolutely need it.
Spraying it around your camp to ‘prevent’ bears actually has the opposite effect and could potentially attract bears.
Can bears smell through ziploc bags?
Yes.
As mentioned before, bears noses are 2,100 times stronger than humans.
If it is not a bear-proof container, bears can smell through it.
Can bears smell food in cars?
You might think it’s a good idea to store your food in your car while camping as it will prevent bears from getting it.
Unfortunately, you’d be wrong.
Bears are very smart and very strong creatures.
That coupled with their hyper-effective noses makes for a really great car burglar.
Bears have broken into plenty of cars just to have a snack.
When out camping in bear country, it’s recommended to store items only in bear-proof containers.
Can bears smell canned, freeze dried, or frozen food?
Yes to all three.
What would a bear do without their insanely strong nose?
Are bears attracted to coffee grounds?
Bears actually love coffee, but not for drinking.
Check out this pretty cool story about what bears like to use coffee grounds for.
Don’t have time to read it?
The answer to your question is yes, bears love coffee grounds!
Are coolers bear resistant?
Nope, not even one bit.
Cars, tents, coolers, it’s all the same to bears.
If they can smell through it they’ll try to break into it!
Have any extra tips?
Camping in bear country doesn’t have to be scary.
It’s likely that you won’t encounter a bear at all if you don’t want to.
Especially if you follow the best practices above.
For those experienced in camping with bears, are there any other tips you’d like to add to my list?
Let me know in the comments below to help your fellow adventurers!