A couple of tea bags in and of themselves probably won't draw a bear to your camp.

Your smell, cooking odors, campfire smoke will all dwarf a couple of tea bags.

I don't really think there's any way to 'smell proof' a camp - not as long as you and your gear are there.  Anything with human scent on it is a possible something for a bear to investigage.

As long as you're not worried about losing a couple of tea bags, or being a caffeine pusher to a squirrel or other varmint, you're probably ok.

We have problem bears in a few area campsites in my neck of the woods. They will come to within a 100 feet during the night before everyone is tucked in. If you have a bear problem then definately keep the scents down to a minimum. Short hikes to party spots are often visited by careless teens looking to get wasted and have fun. I've hiked into sites with hotdogs on the ground and raw hamburger that is half eaten. Beer will also attract bears. Anything that is food related and known in your daily life will attract a bears attention. Once an area has a party atmosphere then beware. Because once a beer relates humans to food then it doesn't actually have to smell food to be dangerous. He just has to smell you. Bear over population will also drive bears to out hunt and out eat their rivals. If there is a large amount of bears in an area then expect a better then average chance of seeing one. DEC should have records of the animal kills and what counties they are from. You might want to check out the list and look for local area's that have had a low kill count. You still want to remember though that your chance of being killed by a black bear are very small. It might feel like a real possibility but just look at the numbers. Less then 100 people killed by black bears in the last 100 years. That's less then 1 person a year and look at the massive amount of people who go into the woods every year. If a bear does get close then remember to not make eye contact, that to them is a threat, don't run, that's what they want you to do. You are much easier to take down well you are running away. If you have a backpack a jacket or a canoe then make yourself look bigger. Hold whatever you have high above your head. Most bear encounters end right there. Take a 6 inch buck knife with you and make sure its sharp. If a bear does knock you to the ground then go for its guts. Its one of the softest area's of a bears body. tie all of your food well away from camp and at least 15 feet in the air. Don't even keep toothpaste in your tent if your in an area of problem bears. If you go with a dog then keep it on a leash. Dogs have been known to find bears and when the bear attacks the dog it takes off right directly back to its owner. Wear bear bells on your pack. If a bear charges you then stand your ground and try not to poop yourself, the smell might attract him even more. Ok so I just threw that last part in for fun. A bear will do a bluff charge. If he doesn't like you and wants you to go then by all means back away slowly and yell at him. Just don't scream like a little girl, he might think your wounded and try to shut you up. I've read that indians use to talk in a deep monotone voice and its soothing to big game animals when they are to close for comfort. And I think my typing finger just went numb. Well I hope this helps you out and remember to have fun out there. Swizzle

Bearanoia, PFDs... How 'bout know the risks well enough to pick your battles?

No clue on tea bags but, if it helps:
I do know one bear that decided a moose calf might be a tasty breakfast.. That didn't go as planned.

After the fight, mama walked around my tent and continued right through my campsite w/ calf in tow and I was also standing right on her intended path! She never even paused and passed with a wild "you want a piece of me..." look in her eye. I backed off as far as I could. She knew where she was going and that I wasn't going to stop her. She was big and scary looking. My guess is the bear was the bigger threat to her.

Still hungry bear shows up a minute later. After a chase or two, it could (I think) smell scented bait from 5 feet away while being chased by a rock throwing solo camper who already had enough fun for one morning. Still hungry bear stopped to check it out and since I'm now closing fast, thought it might like a wooden paddle so that's what it ran off with only to drop it 30yds later and keep running.

A few chases later, I KNOW it didn't like white gas.
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Yet it stopped in the bushes not 20 feet away from me to find out.

Still hungry bear really does not like being hit in the head with rocks and chased and yelled at but it seemed nothing was going to stop it that day.

In the hour or so we got to know each other and for me to strike camp, my food pack was happily hanging, unnoticed, between two trees. It was the very last thing I put in the canoe when I left thinking good thing it's morning and not evening. While I did want to camp there one more night, the risk just wasn't worth it to me.

Odds are, we'll never know for sure if bears are tea drinkers or not. Don't sweat the small stuff. My Rum has never been touched. Guess they don't like rum. Could be wrong about that though.

wow...i guess i was told......

regarding the toothpaste comment.   hanging it or hiding it to avoid scent dispersal.....

when you brush, do you all spit into a nalgene or something?  and then hang/hide that too?     i doubt it.

Jan

Another thing that I remember reading is that indians (maybe not all tribes) would eat their last meal at noon time. By the time it was time to go to sleep there wasn't any food odor to worry about. Another thing you might want to keep in mind is that bears love the rocks and animals use waterways as highways from one place to the next. I've only had one bad night with bears being to close for comfort and it still doesn't stop me from solo hiking 8 to 10 miles round trip. Just use common sence and wear a bear bell and carry bear spray (which only works well in extremely close quarters), a bear bomb ( a flare type device that shots a bright flash at the bear and produces a loud boom) or a large caliber gun and a knife. More often then not I only have a jack knife folded in my pocket. I actually worry more about coyotes and rabies then bears. Most of my hikes in the past couple of years have been bushwacks because I like to see the forest, not the trail cutting through it. I don't see much wildlife as it is and I would feel honored to see a bear in the wild as long as we both respect each others bounderies. Don't survive the woods, live with it. Swizzle