Bears and food in the fridge of the rig

[sebm]

Are you guys worried about bears when you have a fridge with food in it?
I hear they can smell it from inside.

 

[KonzaLander]

It is always in the back of my mind. I do keep the doors locked at night when in bear country.

 

[Viking1204]

I have a Diamondback cover on the back of my truck and built a DIY slide for my fridge and other camp gear. At night I push the slide in and close the tailgate even though my fridge is metal with hasps that lock it shut.

 

[John and Mandi]

No. We also have cooked extensively in our van so it definitely smells like food. We did have a sow and two cubs come up snooping one night in NC, woke us up when one of the cubs started leaning on our passenger side running boards to get a better sniff. We tried to be quiet to get a good look at them but once they noticed us they were off like scalded dogs. Another time in Canada we had a sow and cubs climb a tree about 15 feet in front of the van at dusk to sleep for the night. We got up early but they had already moved on. The most startling wildlife encounter we had was something jumped on our roof in El Salvador, whole van rocked hard so it had substantial weight. Our top was down because it was cold but was still 8 feet off the ground. I smacked the roof and whatever it was hopped off without a sound but we felt the van shift from the removal of the weight. I went up the ladder the following morning, everything was fine and no prints, Mandi said my weight didn't move the van as much. We jokingly refer to that as our big cat experience but who knows what it really was.

 

[Akicita]

Are you guys worried about bears when you have a fridge with food in it?
I hear they can smell it from inside.

No - Over the last 50+ years and countless hundreds of nights living, working, and playing in the backcountry of the entire western U.S., I have only experienced two Bear encounters in camp, and they were both unrelated to food left secured or unsecured in camp. . . mice, raccoons and other creatures are far more significant and common problems than Bears.

 

[grubworm]

let 'em snoop. the wife is cajun and cooks with a lot of spice....

 

[MattLew]

Depending on your area, bears are a definite hazard. They have been known to do major damage to vehicles here in the Smokeys. I probably hear of 2-3 vehicle break ins per year by bears just in my region alone. I keep my food locked away in the vehicle when not in use, or I have it in a bear bag depending on how I am camping and cooking on a given trip. I also use deterrents (including pepper spray on nearby foliage, and trip wire sirens (or even old cleaned out tin cans on a string)) around the camp to spook the bears if they get too close. I also use deer hunting field spray on a lot of my gear, but I still worry about bears getting into and making a mess of my camp stove when I am camping.

I used to have one of those nice metal Coleman coolers, but it rusted out a decade or so back and my current cooler is just a low cost plastic cooler so I do keep it locked up in the bed of my truck...

I do not spend a lot of time in bear country as it stands, so I have not invested in better bear proofing at this point.

Overall, I strongly recommend keeping foodstuff in a lockable metal container, bear barrel, or hanging in bear bags outside of camp... your refrigerator best I can tell you is keep it locked up when not in use, and if you are in bear country, keep bear spray with you.

I clean up my camp eliminating trash, I burn remnants of food stuffs when I can have open/ground fires (including emptied cans and non-plastic packaging), I scrub all pots and pans (and plastic packaging) as soon as possible after use. I set up perimeter alarms to scar off critters, and I keep food storage locked up (in one form or another). (I also pack a firearm, and bear spray JUST IN CASE, but that is a different topic of discussion). I try not to pack glass ware when I camp... I have seen too many camp sites where broken glass litters the area, but what glass I do pack in gets packed out stored in the same place.

As you are on the west coast, you have a different bear situation than we do out here in the southeast I would recommend that you talk to your state park rangers, or your department of wildlife for more specific ideas on protecting your food from bears. A lot of difference between what you will find there, or in the midwest, or in the southeast, etc. Because each area has different threats, each area likely has different solutions. Keeping your camp clean, and storing foods where wildlife has to really work to get to it are just basics... but as others have pointed out... not everywhere really has much of a bear threat. Other areas it may be significant. If I go east into the mountains, I run a greater risk of black bear encounter... but my chance of seeing a brown bear are non existent outside of a zoo. A friend out in PNW has probably seen more brown bears IRL than I have in pictures :)

 

[ZombieCat]

I’ve had several bears in camp while backpacking and have seen them wandering through established campgrounds searching for easy pickings. Store your food and other odorous items in your fridge or IGBC approved cooler, inside your vehicle (not in an open truck bed) and you should be fine. My food is all in a cooler, fridge or Plano box. Don’t forget to put away your grill, too. Burning food wrappers in the campfire can also be an attractant. Put it in your trash bag - pack it in, pack it out. Most bears are averse to human interaction and will flee when they see you. Make your campsite less enticing to reduce the chances of an encounter. I agree that rodents and raccoons are more a concern than bears. Mice are relentless and can squeeze through the smallest openings.
DO NOT spray foliage around your camp with bear spray. That’s not how it works. It also exposes both your party and subsequent campers to OC exposure. I’ve gotten some on my lip once and buddy, it’s painful!
Peace out!

 

[John and Mandi]

We were hiking in Grand Teton last year and walked into something caustic, so bad Mandi started running back from where we came. Breathing was extremely difficult. We were less than 100 yards from the end of the trail that is next to a boat ramp. The only thing we could think of is someone probably "tried" their bear spray. We asked around but nobody knew anything, no bear seen or person spraying, and many complained about whatever it was too. It could of been a bear encounter but usually you hear about it, we sure do hope someone didn't just spray whatever it was just to test it. Imagine everyone always popping off a round just to make sure, Forrest Gump has a saying.

 

[Sparksalot]

I’ve camped in bear country since my backpacking days in the 90s, and Not had an issue before. in my rig or teardrop,I’m always made sure the ice chest or frig was closed and residue wiped off.
One thing to remember is bears are smart. Many have learned a visible thing that looks like an ice chest, is something worth pursuing. Breaking up the shape or hiding the cooler/fridge to disguise can help reduce the chance of a bear breakin.

 

[TCorona]

Camping in areas with bears can be tricky...
There are those areas where the bear are use to humans, here in California while camping in Yosemite/Sequoia NP they will walk thru the camp in the middle of the day, and have learned to recognize coolers, will totally rip the doors off the vehicle to get it... then there are those areas where bears are not use to humans, while camping in the NF, if they smell campfire smoke or hear dogs, they will stay away and avoid camp...

 

[Z Adventures]

Mattlew mentioned using bear spray on foliage around camp as a deterrent. I have a pool that uses chlorine tablets. I've thought about having an open container of that near the tent and truck. If they have sensitive noses they surely wouldn't want to smell that and it may cover up the food smells. What do ya'all think?

 

[John and Mandi]

Mattlew mentioned using bear spray on foliage around camp as a deterrent. I have a pool that uses chlorine tablets. I've thought about having an open container of that near the tent and truck. If they have sensitive noses they surely wouldn't want to smell that and it may cover up the food smells. What do ya'all think?

Just spread around sulfur, it's supposed to keep the boogers away so maybe it'll work on bears too

 

[MattLew]

Mattlew mentioned using bear spray on foliage around camp as a deterrent. I have a pool that uses chlorine tablets. I've thought about having an open container of that near the tent and truck. If they have sensitive noses they surely wouldn't want to smell that and it may cover up the food smells. What do ya'all think?

No... I did not say spraying bear spray on the foliage, I specified that I use pepper spray, though zombie cat makes good arguments against... There is a difference between pepper spray and bear spray... (Primarily in the concentrations used... 2% vs 10% is a significant difference)

Chlorine sounds like a bad idea given its toxicity, and sulfur (mentioned by John), while recommended (and sold) as critter deterrents in a number of places, will alter soil PH... good for blueberries, bad for most other plant life.

 

[John and Mandi]

No... I did not say spraying bear spray on the foliage, I specified that I use pepper spray, though zombie cat makes good arguments against... There is a difference between pepper spray and bear spray... (Primarily in the concentrations used... 2% vs 10% is a significant difference)

Chlorine sounds like a bad idea given its toxicity, and sulfur (mentioned by john), while recommended (and sold) as critter deterrents in a number of places, will alter soil PH... good for blueberries, bad for most other plant life.

In full transparency I didn’t know that about sulfur, I was making a Bigfoot joke so thanks, I love randomly learning things. We have only spread something around once for invasive Argentine ants. I can’t remember what it was but we were asked to do it by a ranger so we went out and bought some, used it, and gave the rest away when we left. It was in a Florida State Park.

 

[MattLew]

Argentine ants??? Had not heard of them... When I lived in Alabama in the 90s the fire ants where a pain (literally)... We quit gardening because the ants would march up the hoe and attack. <LOL> (fresh double stick tape wrapped around the handle helps with those buggers as I later learned). Sulfur is used for soil amendment (said to be the best soil amendment) on blueberries with 3/4 pound being estimated to lower (acidify) PH in the soil by 1 point. (I suppose the pine barrens up in jersey would not notice as pine also acidifies the soil)

Oh and I was having trouble remembering which critters sulfur was supposed to keep at bay... there is a wives tale it will keep snakes away, but I have found no evidence to support that, however it IS known to be a deterrent for chiggers and spider mites