Bear Spray

“Quick PSA: Bear spray is not like bug repellent. Videos somewhere of Alaskan bears rolling around on sprayed bushes, the way dogs like to roll around on stinky stuff. And too many Internet stories of people spraying their kids. One spray maker changed their label.”

We used a couple of out of date cans for practice at a nearby field. Walking that way with our dog a couple of days later she could clearly smell the area that had been sprayed and spent several minutes rolling in the grass in the spray zone.

@ Chris I am not sure what the point of your PSA is.  Are you emphasizing that the deterrent effect does not last as long as  deet or “bug spray”.

For bear deterrents, AFAIK the cloud of volatilized pepper needs to land on/in the eyes and mouth of the bear. I would imagine the bears in the video and your dog were attracted to the non volatile residue including precipitate from the propellent.  Many propellants are abused because the give large two legged mammals euphoria. Don’t know what the effect is of the Dupont SUVA (,Dymel 134 Alpha) in Counter Assault. There are accounts of bears chewing into propane canisters for the high.

Bruce, not my PSA, hence the quotation marks. I believe the OP was referring to the examples of bear spray being used like DEET and sprayed around the campsite, believing that it would keep bears away. Instead they are actually attracted to the capsaicin, and, like my dog, will roll in the residue.

You can always use a little squirt to spice up that boring Mountain House spaghetti.

So, if you use the spray, you best gather up your tent and move on, even in the middle of the night? The bear might be back for desert.

A bigger problem might be that YOU may not like the after effects of the spray. We had some discharge on a caribou hunt and you didn’t want to be within 10 feet of the spot.

A bear coming back to the residue would be low on my list of worries unless you failed to nail it good the first time. Also another reason for a second can. You might not want the first one in the tent after using it, even if some was left.

Here is a recent bear safety vid. Seeing the reaction of the bear to the spray makes me wonder if a big part of the deterrent is simply the hiss and stuff coming out, not the spray chemical content. That would be an amazing study if it could be performed safely. Do you really need capsicum at all? (Just asking. It may have already been proven the chemical is necessary)

Do you really need capsicum at all? (Just asking. It may have already been proven the chemical is necessary)

It’s more of a question of why I would want to go without capsicum.