My irrational fear...

[S. Heisley]

I said it before; but, here it is again: DO NOT USE WASP SPRAY ON ANIMALS.

Yes, I'm shouting that. Wasp spray can blind a person or animal for life! If you tell a person to wash his eyes and get to the hospital or he'll go blind,he'll most likely at least wash his eyes out until they no longer hurt. Animals can't or won't wash their eyes out and, therefore, it will blind them for life. Around here, several dogs have been blinded by stupid people who used insect spray on the dogs to scare them off or just to be mean. Now, people know to watch for that.

I would think that a blind bear could be more dangerous than a seeing bear. Wasp spray would probably anger a grizzly to the point that he would still come after you, just going by your smell and sound. A permanently blind black bear would become desperate and start raiding people's homes/yards, killing pets, etc. Also, I believe Bear Spray sprays 30 feet to Wasp spray's 20 feet, giving you an extra 10 feet of safety before the bear reaches you. As fast as they run, you need that extra 10 feet.

For bears, get the Bear Spray.

PS: It's perfectly legal to keep a can of wasp spray in your home, teardrop or tiny trailer; but, if you walk around on a trail with it, it may not be.

[S. Heisley]

Oh! And, one more thing.....

You probably will want to avoid using pepper spray inside your home or trailer because sometimes (maybe all times) you can't wash the stuff off. You'll have to re-paint your room or the inside of your trailer to kill the stuff and be able to use in that enclosure again. So, unless it's a bear, you can use wasp spray inside. Use bear spray outside. If it's a bear, use bear spray.

And, Slow? I've been told that you can rent bear spray in some places around and in Yellowstone National Park. You might want to check that out and see if that's true and if it's a better deal for you.

[MtnDon]

If you don't already own a gun I would say you should think twice or three times about whether or not you want one now if the sole or main reason is for self defense. A lot of responsibility goes along with a firearm.

I own an assortment, revolvers and pistols through assorted long guns. Different ones for different purposes, just like owning an assortment of kitchen knives. Mostly I do not carry but have a CC permit if I want to. NM is an open carry state and I often open carry when in the boonies. CC permits are not all that difficult to understand using web resources. Things can change, but at present all the surrounding states (around NM) have reciprocity agreements as do all the states in the center of the country (17, plus 12 in the east). If anyone is curious about the CC reciprocity there is a map at http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry ... _maps.html

I'm not sure about the legalities of using a spray sold as bear spray on humans here in the USA. I do have bear spray but have only carried it with bears in mind. I do know that any product designed for personal protection against another person is illegal to carry in Canada, so be careful when planning to cross the northern border if you live here in the USA. However if the spray is designed (labeled) for personal protection against bears or dogs it is okay to carry that in Canada.

[jstrubberg]

If you're thinking seriously about carrying, please remember that city and county laws can sometimes trump state and even national laws, if they are stricter. Rules for concealed carry can change with each boundary you cross.

Think positive. What you heard may have been immature "friends" scaring somebody on their first camping trip or even honeymoon. The neighboring camper may have been over-reacting because he didn't know better. If the victim(s) knew the people harassing them and thought them friends, they would not be speaking up and saying so.

I believe that it still applies that you are 35% less likely to have a problem when you are camping than you are in your own home. However, go with God and a can of wasp spray. Why wasp spray? Because it hits a target that is close or 20 feet away, temporarily blinding them; and, if you've had to use it, you tell the human (don't use it on animals) that they have to wash their eyes out and get to the hospital within 20 minutes or they'll damage their eye sight and possibly go blind. Once you've told them that, it becomes their choice what they do. Odds are, they'll leave. Once they are gone, you high-tail it out of there and never go back to that location. Call 911 as soon as you have reception and let the authorities know what happened. Will you ever have to use that can of wasp spray? ...Maybe on insects but probably not on humans. But, you will have saved yourself the worry of local laws or of somebody other than you getting hold of your gun because you won't need a gun along unless you're going to hunt for dinner.

Probably (& hopefully), the above is a plan that you'll never need and maybe it'll make you feel better about camping.

...Just my 2 cents.

I like the wasp spray idea. Or pepper spray (large bottle for bears and such). K.I.S.S. is my mantra! I don't need the complications of a gun and changing regulations every time I pass into another jurisdiction. And explaining what happened after the fact. I'm sure there would be doubts in my story no matter the facts.

Sharon, your two cents are worth a fortune to me. You just saved me countless hours perusing the internet about what handgun to buy. Then hour upon hour making sure I know the regulations and getting a CC license. And the money saved! Hundreds at least...

I would think long and hard before firing off pepper spray in or near a small enclosed space like a teardrop.

A good friend of mine takes 12 gauge shells, open the end with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, dumps out the shot, then uses a pencil to pack toilet paper into the end of the shell. The. Close the shell back up and load the shotgun.

When you fire them off, no one gets hurt. What does happen is about 25 feet of fireball before the toilet paper burns up and a godawful bang. What also happens is just about anyone hitting the ground as fast as they can and covering up like a turtle.

I've never felt unsafe in a campground. We tend to stay in corps of engineers campgrounds whenever we can. Still, if it bothers you there's nothing wrong with taking reasonable precautions to reassure yourself.

[pete49]

for slow wasp spray and bears. I think the voice would more than do the job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5cMZymSr0
Pete

[lrrowe]

for slow wasp spray and bears. I think the voice would more than do the job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5cMZymSr0
Pete

The voice would surely make me want to run away.

[Shadow Catcher]

We have only had a problem once in a dark sky campground up in Michigan. We took it to the camp post who called the state troopers who eventually evicted the campers. I have no intention of being held hostage to fears!

[captbobh2o2004]

Just installed a can of bug spray over the top of our new door, We were camping at a Texas State Park 2 years ago and forgot it was the wk end the kids got out of school Ugh!! about 10 or 12 of them had an all night party just a few spots down from us. At one point we heard them say "Let's flip the camper with the old goats in it" It was around 2AM and we got underway! That's a great advantage of a TD, you can beat feet fast! Just to say "Bugs" come in all sizes!