Yes. Bears have a great sense of smell and can smell food inside a refrigerator. Before you panic, though, keep in mind that just because a bear might smell your refrigerated food, doesn’t mean that one does or that it will take it upon itself to bust into your RV.
When it comes to keeping your refrigerated food safe, it’s a good question as to whether or not the food is safe inside of your RV refrigerator. Firstly, the food is kept inside your RV, which is generally not recommended — especially, like we said, if your camper isn’t super sturdy.
Secondly, the food in your refrigerator will be opened at some point, making it more susceptible to attracting bears should the windows, a door, or the roof vent be left open.
How Good Is A Bear’s Sense of Smell?
With summer right around the corner, you’re probably itching to take the RV out on the trails. After all, there’s nothing better than a family camping trip in the RV that you’ve carefully decorated, cleaned, and prepped for the season!
However, if you’ve ever gone camping in a tent, you’re probably well aware that bears have a great sense of smell.
Maybe you’ve stumbled upon one sniffing around your campsite or maybe you’ve had your backpack full of snacks ripped apart and devoured by a bear that couldn’t control his appetite — either way, it’s obvious that bears have way better noses than human do.
Bears have a great sense of smell. In fact, theirs is considered to be the strongest sense of smell within the animal kingdom.
As an example, we know that dogs have a pretty good sense of smell — their sense of smell in an average dog is 100 times better than ours. A bloodhound’s is 300 times better than ours and 200 times better than the average dog’s! Crazy right? It gets crazier.
Bears come in with a sense of smell that is 7 times better than a bloodhound’s, which makes it 2,100 times better than a human’s! Imagine what we could smell if we could smell that well.
This being said, bears can smell food when they are 20 miles away from it, which is why it’s always safe to assume that bears in the area can smell both you and your picnic lunch.
What Food Can Bears Smell?
Bears can smell nearly anything. As long as an item smells good enough to be considered food, it’s going to be attractive to them. As a rule of thumb, anything with a scent is considered “good enough to be food”.
They can smell things like soda, canned items, sunscreen, perfume, bug repellent, fuel, propane, fruit, meats, and boxed snacks. There have also been instances where bears were attracted by pet food, dirty dishes, grills and camp stoves, and cleaning supplies.
Can Bears Smell Unopened Food?
Bears cannot smell through unopened cans, however, they are very intelligent animals and have learned that cans contain food. This means that even though they can’t necessarily smell the food, they’ll know it’s there if they see it. When they see it, they will go to great lengths to get the can open.
In addition, canned foods are made in factories, which means that the cans the food is going into is around other food. This allows scents of other foods to be transferred to the outside of the can, where, of course, a bear can easily smell it.
Is Food In An RV Safe from Bears?
If you take your RV camping, it’s unlikely that a bear will break in to steal your food. However, it is possible — especially if you leave your RV unattended to go on a hike or for a swim. With no one in the RV, it’s essentially fair game for bears, who would rather sneak in without having to deal with the RV’s occupants.
How safe your food is inside of your RV depends on what your RV is made of. If it is made of durable metal and has hard sides with no cloth popouts like awnings or tents, it should be relatively safe inside. This being said, though, bears could still get in if they tried hard enough; they have been known to break down doors, after all.
RVs with cloth popouts and/or a more lightweight construction would fall prey to ears more easily should a hungry bear come looking for food. Since bears are so strong, it would be nothing for one to take down an entire RV or rip the popout off and make an entrance.
How to Keep Food Safe From Bears
With bears being such a force to reckon with, it’s lucky that there are a number of ways to keep both yourself and your food safe when taking the RV out for a spin.
We highly recommend always keeping a can of maximum strength bear spray like this one, by Frontiersman, on hand in case of an emergency. This spray is EPA approved and will work quickly and efficiently to safely deter any bear that has wandered into your campground.
Food Lockers
Food lockers are a handy invention. They are, essentially, large steel boxes that are designed to hold food and resist the advances of hungry bears. In many areas of the world that are prone to bears or considered to be “bear country”, these boxes are available for use at campsites.
They have a lock that is easy enough for you to use but that will also be enough to keep bears out despite how hard they rattle the lid. They are ideal for boxed, canned, and packaged foods, as well as fruits and vegetables that won’t spoil when it’s not refrigerated.
Some campers also keep their toiletries here, as bears are sometimes attracted to scented toothpaste and deodorant.
Don’t Cook or Eat in Your RV
A good way to keep your RV, person, and food safe is to avoid eating or cooking in the RV. When you cook, smells are released into the air and can cling to the things inside your RV, which bears can pick up on when your doors are opened.
Eating in the RV works much the same way — a package of cookies opened is a package of cookies that lingers.
Consider eating at picnic tables or by the river instead.
Keep Doors, Windows, and Vents Closed
If you have to keep food in your RV — refrigerated food, for example — then ensure that your doors, roof vents, and windows are closed when you leave the RV for any period of time. If there is no one at the campsite, the openings of your RV should be shut tight.
If it isn’t obvious, this should be the rule for during the night, too. It would be terrible to wake up to a bear outside your window!
Final Thoughts
Bears have a great sense of smell, even if the spaces are tightly closed or contained like a refrigerator.
Using best practices like incorporating food lockers, eating away from your campsite, and keeping all windows and doors shut will help to keep curious bears from wandering into your campsite.
Always be prepared while in an area that is highly populated with bears by having a few cans of bear spray in case of an emergency where you will need to fend off a bear from your campsite.