Common scents to avoid in tents

[Glenn MacGrady]

Surprise! This is a bear thread.

Just in case I end up in Manitoba instead of Tahiti on my next canoe trip, I want to know what scents, odors and other ursine olfactory stimulants I should avoid having in my tent, so that bearzilla doesn't want to rip it apart in the middle of the night.

We know to avoid cooking and food scents. But what I gather from all the other bear threads is that bears have a much more encompassing definition of "food" than we do.

What other smells should I avoid having in my tent? How about:

-- My closed-top mug of lemon-mint tea? Green tea?
-- Toothpaste?
-- Soap?
-- Pierre Trudeau after shave lotion?
-- DEET?
-- Hand lotion?
-- Those little foil-wrapped chocolates that nubile Indian maidens usually leave on my air pillow?

Or perhaps I should not worry or even think about this issue because nocturnal bearzilla is so statistically unlikely.

 

[red langford]

Some will avoid even toothpaste but I'm not real concerned about anything but bacon and vanilla.

 

[Canotrouge]

I think you want anything that smells different or strong... Other than the smell of your underwear, that might also smell strong, but are not a bear attractant.

Up here we are careful with all food, cosmetics( tooth paste and the like...). As for nocturnal bear attack, I know of a few of them that occurs up here... So be careful!!!

 

[memaquay]

Don't even worry about it. Beer might be the only attractant, and I know you are beer free. Only thing I've ever had bears consume was a 15 pack of Bud lite. He left one, so he was polite. Nevertheless, if I had caught him at the time, he might have got a lead headache, cause that was the only beer left for the rest of the trip.

 

[Canoeyak]

Bears are very curious of most things that are scented. For some reason, they also like biting into tubes or containers with "creamy" liquids like sunscreen, some insect repellant, toothpaste, lotions, etc. This always ends up making a big mess. They even like things as simple as lip balm, but I guess they get chapped lips too. Nothing that a bear would try to eat would surprise me. Go to a dump and watch some of the things that they will bite into, you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it yourself. Open dumps are getting to be a rare site as more dumps are starting to get fenced and gated to keep animals out. A guy I know had a bear chew up and half eat a tube of grease, that he forgot in the box of his truck. They will try nearly anything that has a scent.

Anything with a scent or items that could be seen as food is best left with your food, out of the tent. I've even heard of clothing washed and dried with highly scented soap or dryer sheets being an attractant. Perfume like smells are best left at home as the insects also like them.

 

[Philtrum]

NO. Scents. In. Tents.

 

[Rippy]

Spring time is likely mating season. You might want to leave your fancy smelling cologne at home.

 

[red langford]

NO. Scents. In. Tents.

I got some news for you, just because you can't smell it doesn't mean there is no scent.

You clothes smell, your feet smell, your own body has an odour. Smells from cooking, smells from brushing your teeth, smells from washing, smells from the last labrador tea batch you walked through. They are there.

If a bear concerns you that much try hanging a cheesecloth bag of dog hair from your tent. There will still be a scent but that scent may be enough of a discouragement to keep any curious bear at bay.

 

[memaquay]

I'm more worried about what attracts a Samsquantch!

 

[Canotrouge]

Red is absolutely right, Some people up here and in Alaska, where we have a lots of bear and a lots of big bears, even keep the cooking cloths with the cooking gear. Common sense make for a big part of being safe in bear country. When you get to shore, planning to make the spot your camp site, first look around, look for bear signs, if there is none, it is a better place than if there is signs!! If there is signs and especially fresh signs, get back in you canoe and keep on looking. In 18 years of tripping in the Yukon, we never had a bad encounter with bears, if they came close to camp, we always manage to make them go away.... That said, you don't really sleep well that night...

Pissing around you tent and gear is a good deterrent for bears, like marking your territory, about 10 to 20 feet perimeter seams to work!!

 

[Odyssey]

Pissing around you tent and gear is a good deterrent for bears, like marking your territory, about 10 to 20 feet perimeter seams to work!!

This needs to be discussed before our first camp on Marshall L this summer; before someone takes matters into their own hands
(so to speak).

 

[Canotrouge]

If you guys decide to use the pissing technic, you don't have to do it all at the same time....

I would had that if we are more than 4(adults) on a trip, I won't worry to much about bears coming into camp. for group of 4 or less, then I'm more cautious for sure!!

 

[Mihun09]

This needs to be discussed before our first camp on Marshall L this summer; before someone takes matters into their own hands
(so to speak).

There will be plenty of beer, so it should be easy, at least for some of you.

 

[Rippy]

I'm more worried about what attracts a Samsquantch!

Beer and beef jerky.

 

[Odyssey]

I was driving the other day in my van with the windows down, It was a nice day. My wife M was in the passenger seat looking just a little disturbed. I've been married long enough to know I'd be better off not to ask why, but know enough that I better anyway.
"What's wrong?"
"Its...that...smell."
"Oh. That."
My van can get a little musty, dusty and fusty; I use it for work, and eat and drink coffee on some commutes. Working with paints, stains and varnishes can add to the mix. I drop the windows when I can, and clean it out too. I thought I'd help things along by decorating the dash with a little bling. Just a small car deodorizer on a string hung from the dash vents. Not the usual "pine scent" variety, no not me. I tried something different.
"It smells AWEFUL. I don't think I can ride in your van anymore."
As I pondered the upside of this comment she added "It smells like...I don't know. A bathroom? A BAD bathroom."
That's when the olfactory memory struck me. It smelled like a Portopotty. In summer. The kind with chemically blue water swilling around beneath your bum.
"It was supposed to be Fresh Linen. Or something like that."
"None of my linens smell like that."
The dash scent bling thing is gone. My honey is back in my passenger seat again. Don't ask.
I was wondering if bears might be attracted to nonfood scents, even deodorizers. Even Fresh Linen. Next trip I'm seriously gonna make sure our vehicle is well ventilated before the put in. And no dash deodorizers, just in case.

 

[memaquay]

Marshall Lake Participants have no fear! I had a good day yesterday, was on my feet for most of the day, so took my short barrelled 12 guage out with a bunch of slugs and did some target practicing. By the end of the session, I could knock a buzzard off a crap wagon at 50 yards. Bears will quake at the site of me! Well, actually, they might quake at the smell of me, but in any case, there are no worries about bears up there, never had a bad experience, we'll be fine! As for pissing around the tents, well, you got three guys all over fifty, I'm sure the tents will get pissed around several times each night. Now if you're talking volume, we might have to leave that to my younger wife. I bought her one of these for fun:


It's called a Shewee, and is designed to allow the ladies to urinate from a standing position, just like a man. The instructions contain such pearls of wisdom that men already know, like "Don't piss into the wind". Not being all that familiar with how the lady plumbing works, all I can tell you is that it does work, and seems to be accompanied by a lot of giggling. I seem to recall after a party in the winter tent finding her initials in the snow out back the next day.

Now I know the Shewee might be a bit of a thread derailment, but let's face it, most bear threads are a derailment from the opening salvo.

 

[snapper]

Mem - Campmor sells a product like that. It's called the "Lady J" and is and aid for the ladies when black flies are bad. I did have one friend who used it and she loved it once she got used to it. No more bare butt or exposed areas during the height of bug season. Sounds like a winner to me; although I'll never know.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[ppine]

Glenn,
Everything on your list qualifies, and lots of things that are not on it. I feel sorry for anyone that thinks that a big vestibule on a tent is a good idea so they can store their packs there. Some people do not sleep in the same clothes they cook in. Be careful about cooking in a tent in winter and then sleeping in it in the summer when all the predators are up. Usually it is best to smell like humans instead of deodorant, cologne, and skin cream.

I have had the up close and personal inspection from 15 inches by a sow and two cubs and do not want to smell like anything that they might be interested in.

I have mentioned before the lady on the Chilkoot that was rolling up her sleeping pad at 0900, and had a black open the tent with his claws and come in the tent with her. Turns out she had her pack in the tent with her that had one granola bar in it. Packs have food odors so don't sleep with them, and maybe it is a good idea not to ever have one in the tent with you either.

Samsquantch????

 

[memaquay]

Samsquantch is a Canadian East Coast derivative of the term sasquatch. It came about from Sunnyvale trailer Park, a wild community outside of Bedford, Nova Scotia. Some Canadians might know what I'm talking about.

 

[shanks]