Heard a guy in a diner say he uses bear spray as bug repellent

I was grabbing coffee at a truck stop in Wyoming last week and overheard two hikers talking. One swore he sprays bear spray around his tent to keep mosquitoes away. That sounds like a bad idea to me, especially in bear country where you might need it for real. Has anyone here actually tried that or is it just a good way to waste your spray?

3 comments

3 Comments

alexw751mo ago

Wait wait wait, did he actually spray it around his tent or did he spray it directly on his skin? Because I feel like that's a huge difference. I can't imagine putting bear spray on your skin, that stuff is basically pepper spray on steroids and would probably burn like hell. But if he's just making a perimeter on the ground, that still seems pointless since bugs don't land on the dirt near tents, they fly straight to your face. Plus, you're right about wasting it. A can of bear spray isn't cheap, and if a real bear shows up and your can is half empty from fighting mosquitoes, you're in a bad spot. What's his backup plan if he actually needs it?

robinp721mo ago

Agree with @alexw75, using it on the ground is basically setting money on fire.

skyler4313d ago

Two cans of bear spray emptied in one season taught me that lesson. I used maybe a quarter can making a perimeter around my tent one night in Montana. Woke up with mosquito bites anyway. The wind shifts and your little bug barrier is gone in ten seconds. That stuff is designed for a direct face shot at a charging bear, not for misting trees. Now I just keep a Thermacell in my pack and leave the bear spray for bears. If a mosquito is that bad I just wear a bug net.