What is the difference between bear spray and pepper spray

For a charging bear, the best delivery method is a large dispersed cloud that the bear will run into and then be turned away. Anything that has mucus membranes will receive temporary pain from being sprayed by OC. The key is that the spray makes contact with the membranes. The effects of the spray generally wear off in under an hour.

Humans sprayed with higher concentrations of OC should flush their eyes with cool water. Burning and redness could last up to a day. For areas of skin exposed to spray containing OC the best thing to initially neutralize the burn is to use whole milk. Afterward, dish soap should be used to remove the oil that binds the OC to the skin, then flushed repeatedly with cold water. Because both sprays contain OC, in an emergency situation bear spray could be used to hopefully deter a human attacker, and pepper spray could work if you sprayed it directly into the face of a bear that had you pinned down!

The trick is to hopefully never get yourself into either situation! Capsaicin Capsaicin is a chemical substance found in different types of peppers that makes the peppers spicy hot. Capsaicin attaches itself to receptors in your mouth that normally tell you how hot food is.

Their job is to stop you from eating or drinking something that could burn your insides. Pepper spray canisters have a much shorter spray distance and duration—meaning the bear would have to be almost on top of you before you could spray it. Not an ideal situation. Bear spray is legal. The goal is to create a wide cloud like barrier that the bear must pass through in order to get to you. You will also have to keep wind conditions in mind. If you deploy bear spray with a loose grip you risk creating a bear spray cloud that is above the bear.

This makes it easy for the bear to charge underneath the expanding bear spray cloud. Lastly, you want to spray immediately when an aggressive bear is within 30 feet of you. Continue to spray if the bear approaches you. If the bear continues to charge at you and you are forced to play dead, make sure to continue spraying with one hand so that a spray cloud forms directly above you. Protect the back of your neck with the other hand as you lay belly down. Specifically, when it comes to grizzly bears, their brain is structured and devoted to the sense of smell.

To get even more technical, the brain structure devoted to smell is referred to as the olfactory bulb. For example, bear sprays will generally shoot further, around 20 to 30 feet, and wider compared to pepper sprays.

Also important: If you buy bear spray, you need to know how to use it. Familiarize yourself with your particular spray can, which will include a safety mechanism and trigger, Servheen says. When a bear is coming toward you, its head is likely to be low and close to the ground. Hold the spray up at shoulder level, and your aim may be too high to hit the bear in the face. Surprising a bear can provoke an aggressive response borne of self-defense, he says. The best way to walk stay out of trouble with bears is to avoid an encounter in the first place.

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