1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide

2
00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,920
Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light,

3
00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,600
Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind.

4
00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680
Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host

5
00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,919
Speaker 1: Tony Peterson.

6
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,520
Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast,

7
00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:25,320
Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your host,

8
00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,080
Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about dealing with

9
00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:42,519
Speaker 2: insects while you hunt. This is a weird one, but

10
00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,680
Speaker 2: you gotta bear with me. The truth about what we do,

11
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,080
Speaker 2: whether that's I don't know, thinking solely about white tails

12
00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,160
Speaker 2: twenty four to seven, or turkey hunting or antelope hunting

13
00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,280
Speaker 2: or whatever, is that there are a lot of elements

14
00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,960
Speaker 2: to any hunt, and really any preseason scouting or prep

15
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,040
Speaker 2: work that we kind of just gloss over. One of

16
00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,320
Speaker 2: those is the presence of bugs, a category into which

17
00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,000
Speaker 2: I'm gonna lump spiders and scorpions and just about anything

18
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,280
Speaker 2: that sucks in as gross and could potentially bite your

19
00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,399
Speaker 2: sting you. This episode is all about those creepy crawley

20
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,080
Speaker 2: bastards and how to deal with them in the preseason

21
00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:32,000
Speaker 2: and throughout the season. Picture this if you will. Your

22
00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:38,039
Speaker 2: life is as a lab mouse, pretty rough right. The

23
00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,400
Speaker 2: odds are you're gonna be injected with some disease or

24
00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,880
Speaker 2: put through some tests that probably I would venture to say,

25
00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,400
Speaker 2: are not much fun, not as fun as hanging out

26
00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,400
Speaker 2: with a bunch of lady mice and eating cheese or

27
00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,680
Speaker 2: whatever mice daydream of. Nope, you're a lab mouse, and

28
00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,800
Speaker 2: one day some white coated human takes you and puts

29
00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,640
Speaker 2: you in a panic and do like maybe showing you

30
00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,560
Speaker 2: a video of a snake staring into your little mouse

31
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,760
Speaker 2: cage all of a sudden. Also introduced into this situation

32
00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:15,880
Speaker 2: is a cherry blossom, a sweet, smelling, entirely totally innocent

33
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,760
Speaker 2: cherry blossom. Now, imagine that they do this to you

34
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,760
Speaker 2: several times over the course of a study. And while

35
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,000
Speaker 2: you don't know what the hell is going on, because

36
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,560
Speaker 2: you're a mouse, you know that every time you see

37
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,799
Speaker 2: a snake, you smell a cherry blossom. Now, before you think,

38
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,160
Speaker 2: I've totally lost my marbles, and some of them have

39
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,079
Speaker 2: rolled under the couch, and some of them are rolled

40
00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,240
Speaker 2: into the driveway and eventually into the storm drain, to

41
00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,480
Speaker 2: never be seen again. What I'm actually describing was an

42
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,320
Speaker 2: experiment real scientists did to see if genetics play a

43
00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:53,160
Speaker 2: role in our fear responses. Specifically, can one generation pass

44
00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:59,000
Speaker 2: down a fear of something to another generation or several generations.

45
00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:05,200
Speaker 2: What one experiment nature neuroscience study showed was that a

46
00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,119
Speaker 2: terrifying experience that changed the genetics of mice in such

47
00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,280
Speaker 2: a way it actually manifested itself as a phobia. And

48
00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,480
Speaker 2: what's wild is that it passed down through a couple

49
00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,760
Speaker 2: of generations of mice. So even the offspring of those mice,

50
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,079
Speaker 2: when they smelled cherry blossoms, without being exposed to panic

51
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,680
Speaker 2: inducing situations at the same time, still exhibited a real

52
00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:34,760
Speaker 2: and measurable fear response. Even mice that were created with

53
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,760
Speaker 2: in vitro fertilization from those original mice inherited the same

54
00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:45,720
Speaker 2: fear response. In other words, through a traumatic experience, an

55
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:52,640
Speaker 2: echo of fear was created that several generations could hear. Now,

56
00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,920
Speaker 2: this is just mice, you might be thinking, and those

57
00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,840
Speaker 2: scientists probably don't know what the hell they are talking about,

58
00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,720
Speaker 2: and blah blah blah. But the truth is that's pretty wild,

59
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,160
Speaker 2: and it's prevalent in us humans too. If you don't

60
00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:11,240
Speaker 2: think so, ask yourself, why are you so scared as

61
00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:18,560
Speaker 2: snakes or maybe heights, small spaces? What's your phobia, my friends?

62
00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,440
Speaker 2: Because I bet you have one, and if you don't,

63
00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:23,719
Speaker 2: I bet you know a lot of people who do.

64
00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,560
Speaker 2: And also you're probably lying. Now ask yourself, why would

65
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,760
Speaker 2: someone I don't know living in New York City where

66
00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 2: chances of exposure to wild, venomous snakes are probably almost zero,

67
00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,840
Speaker 2: Yet you could find plenty of people living there who

68
00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,799
Speaker 2: have lived there their entire lives, who are terrified as snakes.

69
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,040
Speaker 2: It's not rational, which is the cornerstone of a lot

70
00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,760
Speaker 2: of our current phobias. Or I don't know how about

71
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,559
Speaker 2: public speaking. I ever stood in front of a large

72
00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,279
Speaker 2: crowd and had to address them sober. That sucks for

73
00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,480
Speaker 2: most people, even the repercussions for a bad speech or

74
00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,880
Speaker 2: saying something dumb, you know, even they're pretty small, But

75
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,719
Speaker 2: the fear is large, so large, in fact, that it

76
00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:13,359
Speaker 2: creates a real metabolic response, a fear response. Or I

77
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,479
Speaker 2: don't know how about spiders. That's my big one, and

78
00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,840
Speaker 2: I freaking hate it. I hate them. I can't describe it.

79
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,600
Speaker 2: I don't know why it is but I hate spiders. Snakes,

80
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:32,279
Speaker 2: no problem, heights, mild problem, big cats, bears, whatever, fine,

81
00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:36,840
Speaker 2: But spiders, uh no, thank you. I know, and I

82
00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,600
Speaker 2: mean I know this, even if I can't prove it.

83
00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:44,080
Speaker 2: Somewhere way back in my bloodlines, some of my ancestors

84
00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,280
Speaker 2: had some rough run ins with spiders and that made

85
00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,760
Speaker 2: a scar on our genetics that is visible today. They

86
00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:52,960
Speaker 2: are gross and dumb, and I know they eat a

87
00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,840
Speaker 2: bunch of bugs and are mostly gentle and whatever, but

88
00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,479
Speaker 2: I just don't care. I don't like them. Of the

89
00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,719
Speaker 2: places I want to visit in the world, Australia is

90
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:06,760
Speaker 2: super low on my list, mostly because of their spider situation.

91
00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,760
Speaker 2: But if you hunt, you'll deal with spiders. If you

92
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,440
Speaker 2: set stands in the summer or just live down south

93
00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,559
Speaker 2: in general, you're going to run into some eight legged buddies.

94
00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,239
Speaker 2: They're going to show up at your party at some point.

95
00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,640
Speaker 2: It just happens. In fact, if you do this stuff enough,

96
00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,680
Speaker 2: you'll probably deal with all kinds of creepy crawlees that

97
00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,480
Speaker 2: can bite or sting or just generally ruin a good time. Hell,

98
00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:36,080
Speaker 2: there are even caterpillars out there that should be cartoon like,

99
00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,480
Speaker 2: fun loving, slow movers that should pose no harm to humans,

100
00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,640
Speaker 2: but some, specifically one with a name that I can't

101
00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,640
Speaker 2: say on here because people think I'm making it up,

102
00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:50,839
Speaker 2: are covered in soft hairs that actually cover spines that

103
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,320
Speaker 2: will break off in your skin and cause severe pain.

104
00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,039
Speaker 2: This is one of the reasons why when I travel

105
00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,040
Speaker 2: to hunt Southern States, or maybe to catch some fish

106
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,400
Speaker 2: down there, I'm always leery of all the bugs, even

107
00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:05,800
Speaker 2: the cute ones that look like they should be in

108
00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,520
Speaker 2: a Disney cartoon. You never know which little caterpillar or

109
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:11,560
Speaker 2: fly or whatever is going to send you to the er,

110
00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:16,080
Speaker 2: or at least make you very, very uncomfortable. But they

111
00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,520
Speaker 2: are out there and we have to deal with them.

112
00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,480
Speaker 2: In fact, if you go out this month to scout

113
00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,200
Speaker 2: or hang some stands, or hell crawl across the prairie

114
00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,000
Speaker 2: to try to arrow an antelope, you will find yourself

115
00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:32,600
Speaker 2: dealing with bugs and spiders and bees. I have bad

116
00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,120
Speaker 2: luck with bees, and I can only attribute it to

117
00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,520
Speaker 2: the reality that I spend a lot of time outside

118
00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,080
Speaker 2: disturbing the world around me. As I read this, I'm

119
00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,680
Speaker 2: fighting the urge to scratch and scratch and scratch. Some

120
00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,800
Speaker 2: spots on my legs and some spots way up on

121
00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 2: my legs that might make it look like I caught

122
00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,120
Speaker 2: some kind of venereal disease recently. The truth is I

123
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,240
Speaker 2: mowed right over a yellowjacket hive, and those satanic bastards

124
00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,560
Speaker 2: took it upon themselves to not only me a few

125
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,560
Speaker 2: times on my lower legs, but also to work their

126
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,880
Speaker 2: way up into my shorts. And this is only speculation

127
00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,720
Speaker 2: on my part, so take it for what it is.

128
00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:10,760
Speaker 2: But I think they might have been trying to sting

129
00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:12,640
Speaker 2: me on the old knackers because they got a little

130
00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:28,120
Speaker 2: too close for comfort. Late summer and early fall that's

131
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,080
Speaker 2: bee time. And if you're out hanging stands and maybe

132
00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,080
Speaker 2: running a chainsaw to clear out some trails on your

133
00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,880
Speaker 2: deer ground, pay attention. I average a couple of stings

134
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,240
Speaker 2: out there a year. And while most situations are just

135
00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,360
Speaker 2: painful and leavey, shaking your fist at a dumb insect

136
00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,439
Speaker 2: with a weapon on its ass and a poor attitude,

137
00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,360
Speaker 2: you can get into trouble you. Obviously, if you're allergic

138
00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,600
Speaker 2: to bees, you should know how to keep yourself safe

139
00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,040
Speaker 2: and how to get your EpiPen in your hands if

140
00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:55,760
Speaker 2: you need it. But getting whacked a bunch of times

141
00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:59,200
Speaker 2: can cause non allergic folks to have bad reactions too.

142
00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,360
Speaker 2: My personal record for one encounter was eight bee stings

143
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,079
Speaker 2: while I was hanging stands and my black lab found

144
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,080
Speaker 2: a ground nest that didn't take kindly to a black

145
00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,400
Speaker 2: bear looking dog poking her nose into the entrance hole.

146
00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,960
Speaker 2: I've had a couple other close calls, like when I

147
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,840
Speaker 2: went to hang a stand one time and I realized

148
00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:16,719
Speaker 2: that there was a ground nest below me at the

149
00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,360
Speaker 2: base of the tree. So when I figured that out,

150
00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,840
Speaker 2: I was like eight feet up, and I realized that

151
00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,520
Speaker 2: if I descended in normal fashion like we would all

152
00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,240
Speaker 2: get down from our tree stand, I'd have to go

153
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,439
Speaker 2: right through a swarm of perturbed bees. So I executed,

154
00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,800
Speaker 2: in at least my assessment, a near perfect dismount out

155
00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,000
Speaker 2: of the tree, complete with a barrel roll at the end.

156
00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,040
Speaker 2: Think about it this way. They are all over out there,

157
00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,400
Speaker 2: and they won't take kindly to you messing with them.

158
00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,000
Speaker 2: And what's even more annoying is how often you're in

159
00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,439
Speaker 2: a stand minding your own dang business when a couple

160
00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:54,679
Speaker 2: of bees just take a keen interest in you for

161
00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:59,120
Speaker 2: some reason. At least caterpillars never do that shit. You'll

162
00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,360
Speaker 2: also deal with mosquitoes, which, according to a lot of people,

163
00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,040
Speaker 2: are the deadliest bug out there, since they are vectors

164
00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,640
Speaker 2: for bad diseases like malaria. Here in the States, we

165
00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:11,600
Speaker 2: have plenty of mosquitoes, and they can mostly be dealt

166
00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:16,000
Speaker 2: with by wearing clothes that they can't poke through. Sure,

167
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,240
Speaker 2: they're annoying, you know when you hear them buzzing in

168
00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:20,080
Speaker 2: your ear or watch them flying in front of your

169
00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,000
Speaker 2: face over and over and over again. But mostly mosquitos

170
00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,560
Speaker 2: are pretty easy to handle, at least until they get

171
00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,199
Speaker 2: to the point where they are overwhelming. Now, I've had

172
00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,560
Speaker 2: this happen down in the Everglades of Florida, and here

173
00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,839
Speaker 2: at home in Minnesota, and across the river in Wisconsin

174
00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,120
Speaker 2: on those big wood situations where the mosquitoes can be

175
00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,960
Speaker 2: a pretty special experience. But I'll tell you what. One

176
00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,960
Speaker 2: of the worst mosquito situations I ever found myself in

177
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,080
Speaker 2: was in western South Dakota, of all places, while I

178
00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:53,000
Speaker 2: was hunting antelope. As you may well guess, there isn't

179
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,160
Speaker 2: a ton of standing water in western South Dakota. You're

180
00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:58,560
Speaker 2: as likely to see a bunch of small cactus growing

181
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,839
Speaker 2: than you are to see a wall. But boy, oh boy,

182
00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,360
Speaker 2: when you do find standing water at the right time,

183
00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,880
Speaker 2: you find every mosquito in the county. And those prairie

184
00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:11,400
Speaker 2: mosquitoes are built with a little extra armor and a

185
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,839
Speaker 2: tenacity that no big woods mosquito can match. I've found

186
00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,280
Speaker 2: some of those same style of mosquitos on early season

187
00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,360
Speaker 2: velvet hunts in Nebraska too. They are kama Cozi mosquitoes

188
00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,800
Speaker 2: that come in hot, and they don't do a whole

189
00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,720
Speaker 2: lot of courtesy laps around you to figure out where

190
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,240
Speaker 2: a good spot is to land. They see skin, I guess,

191
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,280
Speaker 2: and they go for it. Mosquitoes can be managed pretty

192
00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,480
Speaker 2: good with clothing, as I've said, and a thermicell unit.

193
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,640
Speaker 2: Now they don't pay me. I don't even really know

194
00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,240
Speaker 2: anyone who works for the company. I just know that

195
00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,360
Speaker 2: if you deal with mosquitos and you need some help,

196
00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,840
Speaker 2: that Thermoicella is legit and there isn't a better product

197
00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,760
Speaker 2: on the market. Seriously, they're incredible, although you probably wouldn't

198
00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,400
Speaker 2: want to use one in an enclosed space, I don't think.

199
00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,400
Speaker 2: And yes, the deer can smell them, but they can

200
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,640
Speaker 2: also smell you. If they can smell a thermosol, so

201
00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,240
Speaker 2: it doesn't matter. There's also I don't know the gnats

202
00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,199
Speaker 2: and no sums that make early season hunts no fun.

203
00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,840
Speaker 2: Oftentimes I end up with itchy gnat bites on my

204
00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,120
Speaker 2: forehead and my ears and my hands for my early

205
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:19,079
Speaker 2: season hunts, which is annoying but not super bad. They

206
00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,400
Speaker 2: do have a knack for flying right into your eyeballs,

207
00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,560
Speaker 2: which is also real annoying, and no sums can be

208
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:30,680
Speaker 2: almost worse because well, you can't see them. Do you

209
00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:33,360
Speaker 2: wish we named other critters that way? I do. No

210
00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:37,040
Speaker 2: sums are a pain, and while I've never experienced them

211
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,080
Speaker 2: horribly on any hunt, I have had the displeasure of

212
00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,160
Speaker 2: fishing close to mangroves in Florida at first Light, where

213
00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,560
Speaker 2: the largest free ranging population of those minuscule blood sucking

214
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,080
Speaker 2: bastards live. And while they made me itch like crazy,

215
00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,000
Speaker 2: they made my little girls swell up like little blonde balloons.

216
00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,640
Speaker 2: I bet no matter where you live and hunt, you

217
00:12:56,679 --> 00:12:59,560
Speaker 2: probably have some kind of bug in your region that

218
00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,400
Speaker 2: causes you fits at certain points of the season. Maybe

219
00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,760
Speaker 2: it's scorpions, which I know aren't really a bug, and

220
00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,320
Speaker 2: I also have had very limited experience with him. And

221
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,160
Speaker 2: I'm not too sad about that. I've been stung exactly

222
00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,679
Speaker 2: one time by a scorpion, and that was enough to

223
00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,199
Speaker 2: get me to cross Texas off my list of places

224
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,440
Speaker 2: to live now. My cowboy hat wearing buddies from the

225
00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,840
Speaker 2: Lone Star State are pretty nonchalant about scorpions and other

226
00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,439
Speaker 2: gross critters because they deal with them all the time.

227
00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,240
Speaker 2: Oh they shake out their boots before putting them on

228
00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:31,559
Speaker 2: and look real closely at the ground when they sit

229
00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,240
Speaker 2: on it to call turkeys or try to shoot a

230
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,360
Speaker 2: pig or a deer. I do too now when I'm

231
00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,760
Speaker 2: down there, but one time I didn't, and I leaned

232
00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,000
Speaker 2: right up against a scorpion that probably holds the world

233
00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,079
Speaker 2: record for largest stinger. At least it felt that way

234
00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:46,960
Speaker 2: when he shoved it right into my back, which was

235
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,640
Speaker 2: pretty rude. That feeling a throbbing pain and the uncertainty

236
00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:52,600
Speaker 2: of knowing whether I was going to die for a

237
00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:56,120
Speaker 2: really terrible axis deer hunt was not my idea of

238
00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,720
Speaker 2: a good time, But it happened where it usually does

239
00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:04,000
Speaker 2: in the outdoors when you're in Texas or quite a

240
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:08,240
Speaker 2: few states. Now you also have to consider fire ants. Now,

241
00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,160
Speaker 2: I've been lucky. I've never had a run in with them,

242
00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:12,320
Speaker 2: at least to the point where I got to learn

243
00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:15,240
Speaker 2: firsthand why they are named as they are. But I've

244
00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,240
Speaker 2: seen plenty of them, and honestly, if spiders are on

245
00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,600
Speaker 2: my list of creepy crawleys that I really hate, ants

246
00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,520
Speaker 2: are probably close second, or maybe third, after bees and wass.

247
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:29,680
Speaker 2: I don't know what it is about ants, but if

248
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,840
Speaker 2: you've ever had the displeasure of getting bit by them,

249
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,680
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. Now. I know we aren't

250
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,720
Speaker 2: dealing with bullet ants here in the States, at least

251
00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,800
Speaker 2: not yet. Probably if we give it enough time, they'll

252
00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,360
Speaker 2: make their way to Florida or somewhere, but we do

253
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,920
Speaker 2: have plenty of ants that can ruin your day. I've

254
00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,000
Speaker 2: been stung or bitten by a lot of ants a

255
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,320
Speaker 2: few different times, and I'll bet you if I was

256
00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:55,640
Speaker 2: a mouse, my offspring would have a real fear of ants.

257
00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,080
Speaker 2: In fact, my one daughter does, so maybe it already

258
00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,240
Speaker 2: changed my genes. My worst experience was while I was

259
00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:07,440
Speaker 2: hunting blacktails in California. And this is an estimate on

260
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,080
Speaker 2: my part, but at least a million big black carpenter

261
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,600
Speaker 2: looking type of ants crawled up my legs in the dark,

262
00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,080
Speaker 2: and they all waited for the go ahead signal to

263
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,960
Speaker 2: bite me at the same time. It was horrible mooey

264
00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,560
Speaker 2: or eblay and made me really appreciate Minnesota winters in

265
00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,840
Speaker 2: the five months of brutal cold that comes with them.

266
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,080
Speaker 2: Bugs and spiders and creepy crawleys, they're all over. They

267
00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,880
Speaker 2: are a part of our lives as outdoorsmen, and can

268
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,520
Speaker 2: actually even be a positive part. Just think about how

269
00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,720
Speaker 2: much Mark Kenyon loves pollinators. Without them, we wouldn't have

270
00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,200
Speaker 2: all kinds of food and stuff, and also Kenyan wouldn't

271
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,600
Speaker 2: have anything to weirdly obsess over. Now, a lot of

272
00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,600
Speaker 2: those creepy crawleys out there, they're actually not They're not

273
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,920
Speaker 2: really threatening at all, and they're mostly welcome around us.

274
00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,560
Speaker 2: Butterflies are a good example. I've never felt threatened by

275
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,400
Speaker 2: a butterfly ever, draggonflies or another. I spent quite a

276
00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,680
Speaker 2: few hours watching dragonflies hunt over high country water holes

277
00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,400
Speaker 2: last September while waiting on a bull elk, and if

278
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,000
Speaker 2: there is a more impressive hunter out there, I'm not

279
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,640
Speaker 2: sure I've seen it. Sometimes bugs can be entertainment, and

280
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:16,360
Speaker 2: sometimes they can just be a part of the whole

281
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:21,400
Speaker 2: experience well without causing us extreme pain or multi generational phobias.

282
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,280
Speaker 2: They aren't a reason to stay home, obviously, but in

283
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,720
Speaker 2: certain environments, at certain times, they can be a reason

284
00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,760
Speaker 2: to be super cautious. Think about that as you head

285
00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,120
Speaker 2: out with the best intentions to watch a bachelor group

286
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,280
Speaker 2: of bucks as the clock winds down to the most

287
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,000
Speaker 2: wonderful day of the year, the deer opener. Or maybe

288
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,600
Speaker 2: you aren't quite there yet, but know that a bunch

289
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,160
Speaker 2: of trees have fallen down across your favorite access trail.

290
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,360
Speaker 2: It's time to fire up the old chainsaw and get

291
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,400
Speaker 2: to cutting. Maybe it's as simple as taking a pole

292
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,240
Speaker 2: saw on your favorite ladder stand to trim up a

293
00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,320
Speaker 2: few trees around those stand and open up some shooting lanes.

294
00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,440
Speaker 2: Make sure there isn't a paper wasp nest in one

295
00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,800
Speaker 2: of those shot blocking limbs. Trust me on that one.

296
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,480
Speaker 2: Or maybe you have a hunt book to a new state,

297
00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,160
Speaker 2: a new environment, and you're laser focused on killing whatever

298
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,880
Speaker 2: animal happens to be on the menu. That's great, develop

299
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,919
Speaker 2: a good plan, work with what your outfit or advises,

300
00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:17,240
Speaker 2: or whatever the DIY forums tell you to do, but

301
00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,000
Speaker 2: also remember that if you're from Pennsylvania or Wisconsin or

302
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,199
Speaker 2: somewhere and you decide to go hunt I don't know

303
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,080
Speaker 2: Arizona coups deer, you better check your sleeping bag for

304
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,760
Speaker 2: unwanted snuggle buddies. You don't want to start a cuddle

305
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,920
Speaker 2: puddle with a scorpion, and if you do, go seek help,

306
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,320
Speaker 2: professional help. Please and please keep listening to this podcast

307
00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:37,480
Speaker 2: because I'm going to talk about more stuff next week.

308
00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,720
Speaker 2: Stuff that might help you kill a deer, for example,

309
00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:43,800
Speaker 2: or to put it in another way, stuff that might

310
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:45,280
Speaker 2: help you kill a big buck early in the BO

311
00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,840
Speaker 2: season or later in the BO season sometime maybe gun

312
00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:54,240
Speaker 2: season two, whatever. Just listen. This has been the Wired

313
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,480
Speaker 2: to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is brought to you by

314
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,320
Speaker 2: First Light. I'm your host, Tony Peterson. As I always,

315
00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:01,720
Speaker 2: thank you so much for checking in and for listening.

316
00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,879
Speaker 2: We hear a meat eator. We really appreciate all your support.

317
00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,160
Speaker 2: I can't thank you enough for it. If you want

318
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,960
Speaker 2: some more content, whether it's podcasts, whether it's videos, whether

319
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,960
Speaker 2: it's articles, themeeedeater dot com has you covered, go there

320
00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:20,120
Speaker 2: and you'll see everything we produce, which is a lot

321
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,440
Speaker 2: of content. Trust me,