The thing I'm most 'scared' of in the woods....

[Dogwood]

Scretch owls. I got under one that was in the tree I was under hunting for deer. It was completely dark and I was freaked out a little to begin with. As the Doc said in the movie ( The Thing ) ' I hear things. I hear strange things out here ' . That makes me a little uneasy to begin with. I was trying to relax waiting for the sun to rise. All of a sudden one of those owls went off and I sh**, pissed, puked and belched with a finishing 4 minute fart after that. I vowed the next time I get under a tree in full darkness I will have a set of ear plugs in. Blood curdling scream is all you hear and when you are 20 feet below it, it's a hair raising experience to say the least.

My father who I never knew to be afraid of anything said a screech owl scared the holy crap out of him one night while on a coon hunt. Bobcat jumped out in front of him at the exact time the owl let loose right over his head.

 

[24on48hunting]

My buddy had seed ticks so bad one time that the Dr told him to get them with a shaving razor.

 

[Usmcvet]

Eat a lot of garlic, that keeps the ticks off of ya. Been doing it for a few years now and havent pulled a tick since. I swear by it. Garlic salt aint as bad when used as a seasoning. I eat a couple pieces of pickled garlic every night.

 

[Comanche]

There are two things I started consuming every day a few years ago, and I haven't had a tick stuck to me since. I will find them crawling on my every once in a very rare while, but they do not attach. Mosquitoes also rarely bite me.

The first is a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, which I think is what does it, and the second is a salad dressing I make with garlic. I'm pretty sure it's the apple cider vinegar, but it could also be the garlic.

I spent a large part of last weekend brush cutting through some very thick areas on my property and not one tick. I used to get them all the time, but they have stopped. And I don't use bug spray either.

I try to stay away from garlic if I have to hunt next day not so.
Deer seem to hate garlic emulating from human sweat.

Spiders. I freak the F out when I walk through a spider web.

I’ve taken so many faceplants by spider webs that they don’t even bother me anymore but Ive seen people freak the heck out when they do it...lol.

Those little ground hornets will screw up your day around this time of year and I stay away from mounds, small depressions and rotten deadfall because of it.

Always keep your head covered in the woods, and I’m sure most deer hunters here are aware that small ground vegetation and grasses hold chiggers plentiful in warm weather.
I try to avoid and remove any ground vegetation on my paths leading to my hunt spots to keep from getting chiggers and to keep from getting my scent on the vegetation.
It’s hard walking through the woods trying not to touch anything including tree limbs, sticks and grasses but pre season prep can go a long way for better hunts but those little cridders can still find ways to get you.
I don’t use bug spray because I can smell it and I haven’t found a scent free bug spray that still doesn't have smell......if I can smell it so can bambi.
Those ozone thingys are for rich people...lol.
I’ve tried the wafer burners and they smell too much for my liking.

I can go walking through the woods with my buddy and he will have bug spray on so strong it takes my breath away and I won’t have any.
The next day he will have chiggers all over his feet and ankles and belt line and I may have a couple or none at all.
Then he asks me how I don’t get bit up and I tell him “Because I told you to avoid vegetation and tall grass and quit trudging through stuff like an elephant.”....lol.

Those nosiums are rough early season getting on your hands and fingers, glove up.

Nothing conjures up a dry heave like turning over an early season harvested deer just to see the incredible amount of ticks holding olympic games on the underbelly in which you are ready to plunge a knife into for some awesome smells, warmth and he thought of your arms being ramps in which for them to find a new host.
I guess it’s the price we pay to enjoy doing the things we love.

I just hope I never get sick from these darn things as many as I had on me over the years and as much time as I spend in the woods.
Some days when it’s real hot and the skeeters are buzzing my ears and my eyeballs I may resort to wiping a small dab of scent free (scented) spray on my ears and cheeks but I don’t like to.
I know native Americans used sweetgrass for their natural chemicals and wouldn’t cover themselves and their homes with it to keep bugs at bay.
I need to look up where I could get some in bottled form unless it’s full of other ingredients not good for deer hunting.

Food for thought.

 

[batoncolle]

I try to stay away from garlic if I have to hunt next day not so.
Deer seem to hate garlic emulating from human sweat.

I've never had a problem seeing deer so I'm not to worried about it. I take pretty small amounts of garlic anyway so if I had to guess, I'd say it was the apple cider vinegar. But I ain't quit either because I'd much rather not have ticks, and I haven't had one in years.

 

[Comanche]

I've never had a problem seeing deer so I'm not to worried about it. I take pretty small amounts of garlic anyway so if I had to guess, I'd say it was the apple cider vinegar. But I ain't quit either because I'd much rather not have ticks, and I haven't had one in years.

I’m gonna have to try that.
Haha when I eat garlic I dont play any games....

on another note.....nothing worse than putting your hunting clothes outside in a box with pine branches that you rinsed and dried for a few days , brought them in the house to get changed into once you get out of the shower.
Take your shower......get out of shower to realize your wife moved your clothes to the kitchen table while she’s cooking a garlicky Italian meal and now your
clothes are totally garlic bombed......happened once , never again.
Lucky I had a backup set of hunting clothes.

 

[batoncolle]

I’m gonna have to try that.
Haha when I eat garlic I dont play any games....

on another note.....nothing worse than putting your hunting clothes outside in a box with pine branches that you rinsed and dried for a few days , brought them in the house to get changed into once you get out of the shower.
Take your shower......get out of shower to realize your wife moved your clothes to the kitchen table while she’s cooking a garlicky Italian meal and now your
clothes are totally garlic bombed......happened once , never again.
Lucky I had a backup set of hunting clothes.

Yeah I'm the same way with garlic. When cooking with meals, I use a ton. But the amount I eat every day is small. It's one or two cloves that I mince up and eat in a salad dressing I make that will last for several days. I also take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar every day.

 

[greg vess]

Some of the biggest dear I have ever seen were taken in a stand when my uncle was drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette. One my dad was sitting down on a portable stand and a doe walked right up on him. When the did left a freaking turkey mosied on by. Some people can do no wrong and still land trophy deer. Meanwhile you Joe shmo over hear ina full gillie suit, head to toe in odor block, 80 feet in the tree and never even see a deer. It baffles the mind.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Fire-breathing alpacas.

 

[Comanche]

Nuther thing I’m most afraid of in the woods and it happened the other day.

Stepped in a rotted tree hole and sunk about 16” while a sharp,pointed pine branch damned near pierced my body between my hole and my hose if you get my meaning.
Got a nasty bruise and sore as F.