How to really see the critters! new product

[Wise Old Owl]

So you dont see many critters when hiking? part of the problem appears to be too much noise from the bear bells.... then after you get some resonable quiet kind of self indulgent karma of hiking you still don't see much. Because of the smell.

I like the idea of getting the scent down to see more wildlife. unfortunatly the bug spray sends a different message down wind. A Bass Pro Shop employee invented this little gem for your boots and clothes. Very Cool Idea.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10209584____SearchResults

[Snowleopard]

Many animals have a sense of smell so much better than humans that it is difficult for us to understand what they can smell. Hunting shops sell a number of products for reducing human smell.

Personal care products, soaps, shampoos, deodorants, etc., contain ingredients with powerful smells, both added fragrance and the active chemical ingredients.
Commercial laundry detergents and fabric softeners also contribute strong smells to your clothing; apparently the whiteners are the main culprit in detergents.

Often overlooked are the strong odors of household or commercial cleaning materials (mainly for floors and carpets) make to your 'human smell'. If I go into a Walmart, I can smell their chemicals on my clothes for a day or two.

Many of these chemicals and fragrances are strong respiratory irritants and are very powerful causes of asthma attacks in sensitive individuals. Artificial fragrances and fabric softeners are notorious as asthma triggers. The reason I know anything about all this is that all these things trigger my asthma.

What probably does work for seeing critters is to use clothing and personal care products that contain none of these chemicals. Hunting shops sell laundry detergents and personal care products that eliminate the chemicals that they believe animals react to most. They also sell plastic bags that seal against odors for storing your hunting clothes. My best guess is that some of these products work. I would also guess that Dr. Bronner's baby shampoo that has no added fragrance would also work.

I'm very skeptical of products that claim to mask odors. I think they merely add another smell that overwhelms the smell of the other stuff. I'd need to see evidence that they mask human odors so that animals don't smell us.

[Colter]

I respectfully suggest that far more important than scent for most hikers is paying close attention to one's surroundings, learning how to look for animals, hiking quietly, and hiking early and late in the day.

I definitely agree that using bear bells is a great way to scare away animals, not just bears.

[Wise Old Owl]

Well Colter, you are right, I do all that and without wearing camo - just green & brown clothing is clearly also part of it. And as observant as I am I still get a surprise or two, just last month I was kayaking a small river estuary and was quietly moving up a source, when I came upon rabbit hair all over the water. I looked up at a Bald Eagle I had paddled underneath and before I grabbed the camera he was gone.