zski wrote on Mar 12^th, 2013 at 7:34pm:


I got my set-up for when solo and leaving food pack unattended at one end of a long portage or when I saw fresh scat and knew a bear was in vicinity.
Mine is really just a jogger/personal alarm about the size of a pack of cigarettes and runs on 9 volt battery.
It has a on/off switch and a pull pin attached to short lanyard.
I set food pack off trail and put alarm in food pack side pocket or secure under flap and tie the lanyard to tree/limb, using extra cord if necessary.
Idea is if bear grabs pack, the noise will scare him off, it's very loud, like a smoke alarm.

I've read that doesn't deter some bears, but I don't know how anything could listen to that hi-decibel sound blasting in it's ears for long.
If nothing else, it will alert you to the problem and you can easily track the bear by the sound if it manages to carry it off.
You could probably use it in the right circumstances as a emergency signaling device if you don't have a whistle for that purpose.

You could also use it like a perimeter alarm similar to how they did in Vietnam.
Tie off the alarm to tree near your tent and string fish line around area your trying to "secure". Keep it high enough little critters won't trigger it but bears would.
I don't know how a moose would react to it late at night so use that idea at your own discretion/peril. 

I usually travel solo and have not had a problem with bears.  Had a small one - the size of a Newfoundland dog - in camp Sept. 2010 but ran it off (I wanted to pet it but knew better).

Anyway, my dog serves as the smell-ability tester of my food pack.  He knows what goes in the Bear Vault because he smells it on the way in.  When it's loaded, I close it up and set it down.  He looks at it, gives it a single sniff, and turns away.  As soon as I open the lid, though, he's right there.

I do the same thing with the other food containers, which hold either low- or no-odor items, all packaged in Ziploc-type bags that don't transmit odors, such as those used for dog treats.

Bears' noses are supposedly much better than dogs' but until I find a better tester I'll continue to rely on my current method.

Also, I stash my food pack in a low spot, since odors sink at night.

Dave

Quote:


I wonder if it's the gas smell that attracted them, or the human scent/oils from handling them that they find appealing

I never used to hang my toilet kit, but one year I left my little toothpaste tube/brush in a cup on the rim of the fire-pit overnight.
I woke to find a little red squirrel holding the toothpaste tube and eating/licking it's contents
I wish I would of had my camera handy. When it turned to look at me, it had white foam all over it's face. Looked like Mad Squirrel Time

At the Quiet Journey supper I mentioned how bears near my MN cabin liked to bite my motor oil and gas cans. The motor oil containers seem to be the preferred lube.For a few years there was a problem at a canoe access point because a bear was biting tires and the black rubber bumper strip on that was popular at the time. There is a strong odor to these when the sun heats them. Woods lore said to put Pinesol around and the bears would leave them alone. Which begs the question; Is it the smell or the fact that it overwhelms all other odors? I splash Pinesol around my cabin when I leave and the break-ins have ceased. I am not sure if its a lucky charm or actually works.

I agree with JJS...bears just BITE everything!!!  They are often more of a nuisance because of that than from stealing one's food pack.