Home is the ultimate safest place in the world. But in reality, it does not remain safe all the time. There are some criminal groups in almost every community that poses a threat to safety. These criminal groups are often found engaging themselves in illegal activities like robbery, and sometimes it can also lead to death.
Not only this, but attacking bears also pose an alarming threat to our safety as taming an aggressive bear is not everyone’s cup of tea. To be safe in both instances, you must take a precaution that will help you in both. As a result, we need to follow safety measures even in the house.
However, there is various safety equipment available in the market. Among them, you can trust bear spray for home defense whole heartedly. My introduction with bear spray happened via a real-time incident that happened with my elder sister. My sister had to encounter a house robbery situation a while ago. The intruder tried to steal the commodities in the house and tried to treat my sister indecently.
Well, at first, the robber thought there was no one in the house. But later, when he found out about the presence of my sister, he tried to attack her. Luckily enough, my sister bought bear spray a few weeks back as it helped her get some time and call 911 for help.
Though she bought it in case of an encounter with a bear as they are pretty frequent in her locality, it also helped her save herself from the near danger. According to her, everyone should be bought bear spray for home defense whether you encounter a bear or any other trouble.
What is Bear Spray?
Bear spray is a form of pepper spray that contains capsaicin, an active component derived from chili peppers. Capsaicin, when sprayed into the face of a human or a bear, produces inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and lungs, as well as, in some cases, breathing difficulties.
As the name ‘bear spray’ suggests, the main focus of this spray is to save you from the danger of an attacking bear. Bear spray works well to keep furious charging bears at bay. Every person who goes hiking, camping, fishing, or hunting in bear country should have at least one canister of bear spray with them.
A highly efficient bear deterrent, it includes compounds that cause inflammation and irritation in bears. It must pass through an expanding, well-atomized cloud before it can reach you. Moreover, bear spray for home defense a must in every household.
Bear Spray For Home Defense (History)
Carrie Hunt, a doctorate student at the University of Montana, was the first to develop a bear spray containing capsaicin in the mid-1980s. In a prior study, Hunt had found commercial pepper sprays as an efficient bear deterrent; but, they were unreliable and required proximity.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service released Hunt’s thesis in 1984. Bill Pounds, who eventually produced Counter Assault bear spray, offered Hunt assistance and promised to help him develop a prototype for a viable aerosol bear spray canister for his studies.
Furthermore, they created a bear spray mixture with a range of more than 30 feet (9 meters) and a spray time of more than 7 seconds. The pound was instrumental in the development of bear spray’s chemicals, dissemination technique, and suggested parameters. Counter Assault, the company he started, was the first to be registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an aerosol bear spray.
Mechanism of Bear Spray
Despite the fact that the aerosol may fire absorbed capsaicin in bursts as far as eight meters away, it is most effective when used at close range. Using bear pepper spray causes the membranes of the bear’s eyelids, nose, and lungs to expand, which results in the bear losing nearly all of his vision and breathing capacity.
Bear spray, on the other hand, must make direct contact with the bear’s eyes and nose in order to be effective. Consequently, bears that have been sprayed will typically leave the area, giving you ample time to flee. This type of bear spray is made from ground up hot peppers that are forced out of a compressed canister under pressure. Those bears who come into contact with the mist sprayed from the container will have their eyes and noses burnt.
Depending on the product, the effective range may be anywhere from 18 to 30 feet, depending on the application. Despite this, the smell-related regions in a bear’s brain are 5-7 times larger than those in ours, according to research. According to observational evidence, as a result of this, their sense of smell is hundreds of times more sensitive than normal. As a result of their high sensitivity, bears are particularly vulnerable to the active compounds in Bear Spray.
Effectiveness
Capsaicin deterrents are particularly effective when applied appropriately on a hostile bear. According to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, a federal and state government program to help bear populations rebound in western North America, bear spray effectively “deterred unwanted behavior” more than 90% of the time in a study of occurrences in Alaska.
The fountain was employed on grizzlies on 20 well-documented occasions, and the bears were halted. However, three of the bears returned later and attacked. Six black bears returned after being sprayed in 26 cases, but none struck. Thus, there are probably just approximately 70 known instances of bear spray being deployed in the field.
Bear spray was used to put a halt to the bears’ bad behavior. When used on brown bears, it works 92 percent of the time, 90 percent of the time on black bears, and 100 percent on polar bears. In close-range interactions, 98 percent of bear spray users were unharmed. Moreover, all three bear-inflicted injuries linked to bear spray involved brown bears and were minor.
Bear Spray Pros
The main focus of bear spray is to save you from the attack of black bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, and polar bears. Bear Spray contains high-quality solvents and the active component capsaicin and related capsaicinoids, ranging from 1% to 2%.
Besides, bear Spray featured a revolutionary nozzle mechanism that increased the spray cloud’s distance, duration, and expansion. Nevertheless, bear Spray was now released in a powerful expanding mist, forming a barrier through which the bear could pass.
Instead of being aimed, this cloud may be steered. The duration of Bear Spray has been raised to 7+ seconds, allowing more spray to compensate for the wind, multiple bears, zig-zagging bears, those who stop to recharge, and the trek out. Bear Spray range was expanded to 25+ feet, allowing a bear charging from 60 feet to encounter a spreading cloud at 30 feet. You don’t need to aim your bear spray; create a cloud barrier that allows the bear to pass past.
Furthermore, even if the bear is mauling your companion, bear spray permits you to spray the bear. Bears react to the active ingredients in Bear Spray far faster than they do to a bullet. On the bright side, it is not necessary to see the bear spray it. A charging bear may be deterred by the orange spray cloud and a whooshing sound.
Bear Spray Cons
There is nothing without some disadvantages as nothing can be 100 percent perfect. In this respect, our bear spray is also no exception to the rule. As an example:
- Wind and cold harm bear spray.
- A sudden close call may not give you enough time to deploy Bear Spray or a handgun.
Moreover, while using bear spray, we need to be cautious.
Ingredients Of Bear Spray
The components that we can find in a bear spray are as follows:
- As a result, the bear’s eyes, nose, mouth, throat and lungs are affected. The bear’s senses are temporarily overpowered by the odor. An active ingredient, it can be found in many products.
- The liquid propellants aid in releasing the active component from the container. “Other Ingredients” is what it’s called.
- Solvents, for example, 134A, combine all elements to create a powerful atomized expanding cloud that may be projected from the container. “Other Ingredients” is what it’s called.
Bear Spray Cautions
While using any chemical substances, we need to be cautious. Otherwise, accidents may happen. However, while using bear spray, we need to maintain some precautions to ensure our overall safety. Such as-
- Store in an excellent, dry location out of reach of youngsters.
- Temperatures above 120°F should not be stored. As the temperature rises, the pressure rises, potentially causing seals and seams to fail.
- After 3-4 years, the cans should be replaced. Consult your manufacturer’s instructions.
- After any use, even if it was only partially used, the can should be thrown off.
- Avoid keeping cans at temperatures exceeding 120 degrees Fahrenheit. At these temperatures, cans may burst. Avoid magnification by avoiding direct sunlight or looking via a window.
- It’s important to keep bear spray away from any sources of heat or sparks because it’s flammable.
Bear Spray Accidental Discharge
Though we told you to remain cautious, accidents still happen. So, if an accidental discharge occurs, you do not need to panic anymore, as with the following hacks, you can overcome it. For instance-
- In 48 to 72 hours, the bear spray cloud will dissolve in the sunshine, but the oil will not.
- Open all of the doors and windows.
- Wear gloves and clean surfaces with soap and water.
- On a calm day, empty the container outside and into the ground.
- Wrap in paper and throw away with the regular trash.
Well, we hope the above hack comes in handy to you in time of your need.
Emergency Aid
In this section, we will focus on hacks in case you have somehow managed to affect yourself. Due to accidents, bear spray for home defense may act against you. It is possible to take the following steps in this situation:
- Make your way to an area that isn’t contaminated.
- Remove your contacts as soon as possible. They may need to be replaced.
- Spray-sprayed garments should be removed and replaced.
- Rinse the afflicted areas thoroughly with cool water.
- Use non-oil-based soaps and gently rub the afflicted region.
- Use no lotions or creams.
- Irritation can persist for up to 45 minutes.
- Seek medical help if your symptoms persist or if you have breathing or eyesight difficulties.
Bear Spray vs Pepper Spray for Self-defense
Pepper Spray and bear spray both have a wide range of uses. Although the bear spray is useful for bear protection, bear pepper spray can be used for everyday purposes such as personal safety and self-defense. Here are some comparisons of bear spray and pepper spray:
Which to Use?
Many people turn to bear or pepper sprays when they feel that their safety has been compromised. Although bear spray and pepper spray are more or less the same – bear sprays have a lower concentration of capsaicin, which is an active ingredient found in pepper sprays that gives them their “heat.”
The main difference between bear sprays and pepper sprays is bear sprays’ ability to stop bear attacks by using a bear repellent. This bear pepper spray is available in both bear deterrent and bear pepper spray forms, which use stronger bear pepper spray ingredients to stop bears that are more aggressive or persistent.
Which is More Powerful?
Both bear sprays and pepper sprays contain the same capsaicin concentration; however, bear sprays are more powerful than bear pepper spray. Pepper spray is used for bear protection, but bear pepper spray uses bear deterrent ingredients that are more effective against bear attacks. Bear sprays contain oleoresin capsicum (OC) as the active ingredient, which is also found in bear pepper spray.
Which is More Effective?
Bear spray is more effective than bear pepper spray because bear pepper sprays are not as potent. Both bear spray and pepper spray contain the same bear repellent ingredients, but bear spray has a higher concentration of OC. The capsaicin in bear spray makes it up to 10 times more bear spray effective than bear pepper spray.
Which is Easier to Use?
Bear sprays are easier to use than bear pepper sprays because bear repellent ingredients such as beer taste the same as other food sources, such as berries. When a bear tastes something that doesn’t agree with bear spray, the bear spray will bear spray eat and not attack. Bear pepper sprays may taste like food to a bear, but they don’t bear spray want to stay around for bear give them the chance to eat the bear repellent.
Conclusion
Well, we can find ourselves under the attack of animals such as bears on any passing day. While in typical cases, animals are not hostiles. But if luck is not on our side and we encounter an aggressive one, we may need some help. However, in such cases, bear spray for home defense acts as our rescuer. Moreover, we hope that this article comes in handy for you and always stay safe.
Frequently Asked the Question:
Though we have tried to cover all the bases regarding bear spray for home defense, some places may still be uncovered. The amount of inquiries concerning bear spray has increased as a result. However, this article aims to cover everything regarding bear spray. So, we are going to give answering some frequently asked questions a try.
Question 1: What Happens When A Human Is Sprayed With Bear Spray?
Answer: A person exposed to bear spray will have swelling and irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and nose, which will cause the eyes to water. Emotional reactions include uncontrollable tearing of the eyelids, nasal bleeding, and coughing.
Question 2: Is Bear Spray Essential?
Answer: Even though guns appear to be a more effective tool, scientific evidence shows that bear spray is more effective. According to studies, bear spray is 90 percent effective in deterring bear assaults, compared to 76 percent for long rifles and 84 percent for pistols. So, I can proudly say bear spray is worth every dime.
Question 3: What Odors Do Bears Despise?
Answer: While bears enjoy anything sweet (including honey), they have been known to avoid pine-scented items. Bears are repulsed by the aroma of pine-scented cleansers, which include pine. Bears can be deterred by using pure pine oil or a cleaner containing pine oil, such as Pine-Sol.
Question 4: Can Bear Mace Blind You ?
Answer: Bear Mace is an aerosol product that contains about 1% of chili pepper oil. When this chemical comes in contact with the eyes it causes inflammation, pain and temporary blindness.
Question 5: Is Dog Spray The Same As Bear Spray?
Answer: Bear spray is made out of oleoresin capsicum (OC), a chemical compound that affects mammals’ eyes and respiratory systems. While homemade dog sprays made of vinegar and dish soap because they are less expensive and work just as well.
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