Bears and garbage

[campigloo]

Hi all
We are taking our first trip to northern Canada and Alaska this year. We plan on doing some boondocking, not sure how much but we want to be prepared. I’ve seen and thought of several different contraptions to deter Yogie and his buddies but not sure what to use. One of the more intriguing was soaking a rag or something in pine-sol to help deter them from your garbage. I will either build a box or buy an aluminum tool box for storage that will be kept in the bed of the truck. Also thought about spraying it around the door and large windows of the camper. Am I on the right track or are you rolling your eyes and shaking your head? Need a little help please.
Thanks!

[profdant139]

ppine, you are right -- the photo makes it look lower than it really was. We have used this "trash in the sky" method a half dozen times in bear country -- so far, not even a squirrel has bothered the hefty bag.

But there could always be a bear with a stepladder . . . .

[kazmir]

Hahaha!:)

[ppine]

profdant,
I usually keep my trash in the back of the pickup with a canopy on it and out of sight with the windows closed.

I hang food and trash when backpacking. The concept still works. You have to get it much higher off the ground and out on a limb where it is much harder for bears to reach. The pose of the photo makes it look like you are leaving the bag as an invitation to visit your camp site.

[profdant139]

If anyone is interested in reading the whole article (titled "Bear Proofing Your Camp," excerpted from The Backpacker's Field Manual by Rick Curtis), here it is:

Bearproofing

[profdant139]

ppine, what do YOU do with your garbage when you are boondocking for several days in bear country? I'm open to suggestions -- I'm the guy in the photo!

A quick Google search shows that this is the preferred method when you absolutely have to have a place for garbage:

"Suspend food and garbage in duffel bags, stuff sacks, or sealed plastic bags at least 12-15 feet (3.6 - 4.5 meters) above the ground and at least 8 feet (2.4 meters) from the tree trunk. The bags should hang from a point where the tree can still support them but bear cubs and other critters will have difficulty reaching them. Make sure the bags cannot be reached from the ground, either."

So I am not the only fool who sets out bear bait, I guess. (This was published by Princeton University. You know how fierce the bears are in New Jersey, of course.)

But seriously. What to do? Maybe tote along a bearproof steel drum?

Obviously, when we are driving from our boondocking site back to civilization, we bring the garbage with us. But that is something that happens every few days, not every day.

[ppine]

Yosemite bears have PhDs. They are adept at dealing with humans and their contraptioins. Bears up North are a lot different. Most of them do not know much about people.

When the NPS changed their garbage management thanks to the Craighead Brothers it changed everything.

Bears are good climbers. The photo of the guy with the garbage bag is an example of setting out bear bait to attract them.

[Ralph_Cramden]

beemerphile1 wrote:
I have found it works well to just toss my trash under the neighbor's RV. :B

Along those lines if you ever have a total jerk as a campground neighbor in an area with a decent raccoon population. Going into stealth mode about midnight and tossing an open can of sardines under their rig, can be a hoot of a good time about 3 am or so. Especially if two or three show up and get to fighting over them.

[jfkmk]

Boon Docker....that is funny!!!

[agesilaus]

The bear bell idea has been debunked, if anything tests have shown that bells mildly attracted bear who are curious by nature like most omnivores.

"In the most advanced testing, bear biologist Tom Smith jingled bear bells in varying volumes in front of brown bears in Katmai National Park. Regardless of how vigorously he shook, 15 different sets of bruins ignored the bells. And yet they snapped at attention the second he broke a pencil in half. This isn't 100-percent proof that bears don't respond to bear bells; Katmai bears are known for being relatively non-aggressive. But it means that in this specific case, the bells failed to warn and change my behavior as intended."

Backpacker mag.

[campigloo]

beemerphile1 wrote:
I have found it works well to just toss my trash under the neighbor's RV. :B

Hahaha. Now we’re getting somewhere.

[Boon_Docker]

[beemerphile1]

I have found it works well to just toss my trash under the neighbor's RV. :B

[johnwalkerpa1]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

BizmarksMom wrote:
Keep the garbage inside the trailer until you're at a gas station or somewhere with a dumpster. Yosemite bears peel cars open to get at food - a lightweight aluminium thing in the bed of your truck will not work.

If the Yosemite bears peel cars open, I imagine they can have a real field day with some thin fiberglass, two pieces of 1/8" luan plywood, and styrofoam, or .024 or thinner aluminum siding and luan.

I often think of that same thing when I put my grill in a compartment so its not left out for the bears to bother!

[johnwalkerpa1]

agesilaus wrote:

Ava wrote:
Just dont leave any garbage or organic waste outside your rv or anywhere a bear could get to. There is no such thing as a bear proof container!

If any bears show up take pictures and enjoy the opportunity to see nature up close. Enjoy your trip!

Well of course there is such a thing, but thin aluminum sheet isn't it.

Yep, I made one when I lived in bear country... it was about 500 pounds of steel and bolted to a concrete slab 🙂

worked perfect but not too practical for mobile use!

[Lenny_K]

lmao