Does anyone have ideas of how to keep bears from messing with a trail cam? I haven't gotten any deer pics for the last three weeks. The camera is always on the bottom of the tree or spun around. I've got two bungee straps holding it on cinched down.

What type of camera do you have?

Some companies make "Bear boxes" for their trail cams.

Basically it is almost like a steel cage for your cam.

You might want to look into either trying to find one for your trail cam or if you are handy enough, try making one.

spray it with HOT PEPPER or Tobasco Sauce.. He wont touch it again

What if it is one of them cajun bears?
I would tend to guess that anything that makes a mucuos membrane sting on a human would work on a bear. Then again, they are beefy critters. Try some on Dave's Insanity Sauce...the hottest hot sauce in the world

Is it 35mm or digital. I had a 35mm last year and a bear had it for lunch...I read somewhere that a bear can smell the film, and that it gives off a certain oder...anyone else here this?

Dave's is pretty hot , but nowhere near the world's hottest , nearly any habanero based pepper sauce is hotter . Good stuff though .

Rub the case of your trailcam with the inside of freshly sliced habanero peppers , at 250,000 Scoville units they are 50-100 times hotter than the hottest jalapeno and are in fact the hottest peppers in the world . Alternatively , you could use some pepper spray on it , but be sure to wear rubber gloves the next time you handle it.

Its a moultree digital, might try some dried pepper on it. The habinaro goes on my eggs, I would waste a tasty pepper like that on a bear. I'm also thinking of applying for a bear permit and hunt over my cam.

I have had 2 trail cameras destroyed by bears... half eaten and torn apart. They do make the bear cases that are like an armor... but I don't know if the fit all cameras.
I would get rid of the bungee's and at least use a ratchet strap or something to hold it better.

I feel your pain. I had a Cuddeback destroyed by 2 bears in June. I'll never forget the feeling I had as I approached the camera/feeder area. The PVC pipe feeder was dislodged from the tree and the camera face was ripped off. At first I thought that some trespassers had found my cam and got decided to vandalize everything. I then noticed that the PVC pipe, which was painted brown, had claw marks on it.

I was able to retrieve the compact flash card and get the images off of it. It seems that these 2 bears had been lolly gagging around my feeder for about 3 days and the flash probably made them mad. So that was a $300 waste, lesson learned. I won't be putting anymore trail cams up. I know there are deer on the land and I'm a meat hunter anyway. Just another whim, albeit an expensive one, to put under my belt.