Camping is fun and there is no deny.  Long rides through changing forest, adding extra blankets to your hard shell roof top tent. When exploring the woods, the last thing you want to worry about is having an unpleasant or even deadly encounter with animals. You would like to make sure that you and your belongings are safe and that the animals do not encounter anything that might hurt them or the wonderful environment in which they dwell.

Following are a few helpful ideas from Christian camps in Pennsylvania for avoiding unwelcome animal interactions when camping so that you can protect yourself and your family (including pets) safely while also saving wildlife and the environment.

What Attracts Wildlife to Your Property

You are seeing a wild animal in its native habitat while camping may be an unforgettable experience. When you wake up to find a raccoon, deer, or even a bear going through the garbage bag linked to your tent, it’s a whole different ballgame.

One of the simplest methods to attract animals is to leave rubbish or food out. Furthermore, certain foods and culinary ingredients are more likely to attract animals than others.

Attracting Wildlife Can Be Dangerous

While the prospect of being attacked by a bear or mountain lion while camping is frightening enough, there are more dangers than you would anticipate.

Some animals may get overly used to people and human food, placing them at risk of being euthanized by wildlife management. Interactions with people may sometimes be unexpected and unpleasant for wild animals, prompting them to use energy that they should be saving on evading prey in the wild.

Not to mention the possibility of drawing a wild or hostile animal to your campground.

Knowing what attracts animals is the first step in ensuring that these objects are cleaned up and placed away from where animals cannot access them. Continue reading suggestions from Christian camp Pennsylvania to learn how to accomplish just that.

1) Properly Store Your Food and Trash

Wild animals, like humans, are attracted to the enticing aroma of a tasty camp dinner. Assist the animals in resisting temptation by carefully storing your food once you’ve finished with it.

• If you’re staying at a well-established campground, ask the Christian conference center Pennsylvania what practices they recommend for keeping yourself and your animals safe.
• To keep animals away from scents, put all food and utensils in airtight containers or special camping canisters.
• After everything has been placed in its assigned containers, place it in a cooler or utility box that may attract an animal.
• Citrus is an ordinary to repel bears, so kept some oranges or peels for further protection.
• Keep all food out of your tent and away from it to keep animals at bay.
• Keep an eye out for food leftovers that have been left behind after cooking. Place them away in a Zip bags, and clean up any leftovers.

Also, never, ever feed wildlife since they want to return – maybe with a company!

2) Pick Your Campsite Carefully

Many factors, such as your view and proximity to water and wildlife interactions with you, can affect the location of your campsite.

When picking a scattered camping area, keep animal habitats in mind. Remember that while that enticing place by the lake or river is lovely, it may also attract more mosquitos, raccoons, and bears, who prefer to congregate near water sources.

Similarly, bears, raccoons, and skunks may be found in thickly forested areas, while sites with long grass may be home to various snake species, depending on the location.

Pick a spot that is open and free of dense grasses or plants. A few trees will suffice as a location to hang your rubbish bags to keep them out of the reach of most wildlife.

Keep a safe distance of 30 m from freshwater resources, preferably away from trails, as animals utilize them just as much as humans. Human excrement may pollute an animal’s water supply very rapidly.

3) Take Care of Your Garbage

Another option that attracts wildlife of all sizes is through the trash. Drawing wildlife with garbage can jeopardize both you and the animals by scaring or frightening them out, possibly resulting in a dangerous encounter (or other issues, like the animal growing accustomed to snuffling around campsites for snacks).

Before tossing away any food scraps, store them in sealed plastic bags. While many campsites feature bear-proof garbage cans, if you’re camping in an undeveloped region, you’ll want to take extra precautions.

When feasible, twofold the bag of your trash and place it on a branch high off the ground and 8-10 feet away from the trunk in odor-killing bags. This keeps raccoons, rats, and the snakes that they attract at bay.

If you’re camping with others, attempt to hang garbage on a different tree than they do, as too much rubbish in one spot will make your site a target.

4) Use Animal Repellents Made from Natural Ingredients

Animals can be deterred by odors that are scarcely visible or even pleasant. Place the repellants in all-around regions you want to protect, such as your camping ground, tent, meals, and garbage, to make one of these all-natural methods of keeping your campsite safe.

• Put a few garlic cloves out to deter insects, foxes, and rats.
• Bears, mountain lions, and other nocturnal creatures are kept at bay by flashing lights.
• Mosquitoes are repelled by ground coffee.
• Snakes are scared of cinnamon and clove.
• Raccoons and bears can be deterred by using natural dog and cat repellents.

Keeping Wildlife Safe from You

While you’ll want to be safe from wildlife, you’ll also want to return home knowing that the environment you loved remained protected. Here are a few suggestions from Christian retreat center Pennsylvania:

1.      Water Should Be Kept Clean.

Use all-natural, recyclable toiletries to avoid contaminating water sources, and dump any filthy water from laundry or dishwashing at least 200 feet away from the water source.

If you need to take a soapy shower, carry additional water and do so at least 200 feet away from any natural water source.

Bring water-saving containers with you: a little squirt bottle, for example, can let you wash your face with less water.

2.      Leave No Trace

Overall, your goal should be to leave your campground and the sites you toured in the same condition as when you came, if not better. That is to say:

• “Pack it out,” or bring all of your garbage, recyclables, and other leftovers outside the campground to be disposed of.
• Please keep your dog close by to avoid startling or injuring other animals (or themselves).
• To relieve yourself when you need to go to the bathroom in the wild, dig a 6-foot hole at least 200 feet away from a water source. When you’re camping, see additional possibilities for “when nature calls.”
• Disperse any rocks you gathered from your bonfire and dispose of ash away from water sources.

Stay Safe and Sound High above the Ground in a Roof Nest

You can keep pests and animals at bay by dwelling safely high above the ground in a Roof nest hard shell root top tent. Roof nests connect to the top of your car, maintaining squirrels, snakes, skunks, and other animals at bay.