Last Updated on September 11, 2022
Key Takeaways
- Bear sprays in containers larger than 4 oz are not permitted to be packed in checked luggage
- It takes more than 4 oz of pepper spray to effectively stop a bear attack
- You cannot check bear spray in a plane because manufacturers don’t make a 4 oz travel-size bear spray canister
TSA Bear Spray Rules
The Transportation Security Administration screens checked luggage to make sure no prohibited items are packed in passengers bags.
Here is what their website says about bringing bear spray on a plane:
The TSA website is pretty clear.
You cannot bring bear spray in carry-on luggage.
You cannot bring bear spray in checked luggage.
I was a little confused because I knew that passengers are permitted to take a 4 oz canister of pepper spray in checked luggage.
Since bear spray is essentially pepper spray I was curious why you could not pack bear spray.
So I checked Twitter and found this:
It turns out that you could check bear spray if the canister was under 4 oz and the active ingredient is less than 2%.
But bear sprays always come in canisters larger than 4 ounces it makes them unsuitable for packing in checked luggage.
Bear spray would not explode if packed in checked luggage it’s just that a typical 8 oz can of bear spray exceeds the FAA permitted size of animal spray repellant.
That means you no way of transporting bear spray by flying.
You could try mailing bear spray to your destination.
Or alternatively you can rent bear spray or purchase bear spray on location from an outdoor store.