Keeping Bugs at Bay in the Turkey Woods

For turkey hunters or anyone else tromping through the wilds, three effective ways to defend against spring’s insect hordes.

I’ll admit that I’m a little concerned about Lyme disease, but not so much about Zika virus, West Nile virus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, dengue, or even chikungunya. I think that’s most of the insect-borne ills that turkey hunters have to face each spring. But I am terrified of chiggers. Let me tell you what body part chiggers seem to prefer. Actually, I won’t tell you. I will only say that these tiny demons flock to the moist places, the dark places, and set up shop in cracks and crevices. And they never come alone. So, use your imagination.

But what I really worry about is scratching a bug bite itch right when Ol’ Gob comes through the oaks. I don’t like blowing chances in the turkey woods, and I don’t like taking chances with bugs. When it comes to repelling the spring hordes, be they flying, creeping, or crawling, a strong defense is the best offense. I’ve used all three of these products, and all three work very well, in the turkey woods, on a farm pond, or on the back porch.

Check out the full article written by T. Edward Nickens here.

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Journalist
T.Edwards Nickens

T. Edward Nickens, columnist and editor-at-large for Field & Stream, is a New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist. He also serves as a contributing editor for Garden & Gun, Ducks Unlimited, and Audubon. His monthly column for Our State magazine, Ramblin’ Man, is in its sixth year of publication. He lives and writes in Raleigh and Morehead City, North Carolina.

Among his books is the recent The Last Wild Road, a collection of essays and long-form narrative stories from the pages of Field & Stream magazine. He’s also the author of the new The Total Camping Manual and five other titles in the Total Outdoorsman series, including The New York Times best-selling The Total Outdoorsman Manual, which has been translated into four languages.

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