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Going up to Northern Wisconsin for a hunt and my baiter says the mosquitos are the worst he has ever seen. Any one with some thoughts on using a therma cell on the stand?
I use mine in the swamps hunting hogs in South Georgia and in the north hunting bears in NB. I always make sure i have mine with me.
Any negative side affects with the bears and its odor?
I have had bears come in to the bait with the therma cell on. They will see you moving sooner as you are going batshit crazy swatting mosquitos without a therma cell.
I've killed 3 black bears while using a thermacell. Would not go bear hunting without one.
I'd rather not bear hunt than leave my therm a cell at home. Fall hunting after a frost is no problem but spring bear is too buggy without it.
The Thermacell is the greatest invention since trousers with zipper flys!!!
It works EXACTLY as advertised, a backwards Luddite like me can actually operate one successfully without breaking it and best of all there's NO BATTERIES OR MICROCHIPS INVOLVED!!!
So far all the bears I have killed knew I was there. Not because of the Thermacell just that they knew. Thermacell was burning for all of them.
Never leave home with out it
I wouldn't even think about hunting without it.
you may even want to consider bringing two.
They know you are there - period.
You will do more damage by not taking it and moving your arms swatting at them....use it.
The thermacell is nothing to the smell of man. If the bear can smell the Tcell, he can smell you.
BTW, big bears are much more sensitive to movement than younger bears. No man made can sit stone still under a swarm of biters.
If you can find an older one, buy it. Hell, buy them all. I have a couple of the newer ones (with the dial switch) and they are crap by comparison.
Was in Ontario last week. Hunter every night and saw bears every day. Bears came in everyday with the thermacell on. They DO smell them - Had one bear come in about 5, smelled and went about eating. Left. About 7 I changed pads in the thermacell. Bear came back in about 7:15. Immediately stood, sniffed and walked toward the stand. Dropped back down and went back to eating and was there about 45 minutes this time. Only thing that changed was the new thermacell pad and they are strong at the start.
if you are sitting a bear bait and the bugs are as bad as they often are..............who cares if they smell it or not.
it is brutal to sit in a swarm of skeeters or blackflies in a hot humid forest. honestly, i would rather have a t-cell and no bow than a bow and no t-cell. if you leave the bow at home you will still have an enjoyable night in the woods. if you leave the t-cell at home when the bugs are out you will be in hell for 6 hours and won't be able to wait to get down and out of there.
i don't thin bear care, or at least not the one's you would otherwise see anyway, but even if they do so what. anyone who thinks they can sit 10-15 yards from a bears dinner plate and him not know it is deluding themselves. you see the bold ones regardless and you'll never see the shy one's anyway.
I won't hunt early season without one. The bugs are bad in WI. and the northern half of the state has had much more rain than the southern part. Buy one and plan on using it.
I hunted bear and shot one 25 years ago in Ontario without a thermacell because they were not yet invented. It was one of the most miserable experiences of my life the bugs were so bad. I disliked it so much I never went back again until after thermacell was invented. Now it's a pleasure!
Take two!
The bugs here are the worst ever. They do have an odour and can sometimes see whisps of smoke from them. But take Bou Bounds advice, he's a veteran archery bear hunter.
They don't work on Spring black fly's, just slows them down a bit. Its amazing how bad the Mosquito's are when you first walk in, then 10 minutes after you light the TC they are GONE!
You should spray your clothes with the odorless mosquito repellent called Permethrin. (any Walmart sells it)
Spray your clothes before you go out allowing it to dry.
Bring extra TC pads and butane!!
Fill a tiny spray bottle with baby oil he mosquitos will be around you but you will not get bitten.
stay well !!
Absolutely use it! BUT... definitely get the earth scent pads! The standard pads smell like citronella. One of my guides recommended getting one prior to a bear hunt. I didn't realize there were separate types and grabbed the standard pads. Couldn't figure out why everyone was seeing multiple bears at every sit while I was seeing nothing the first 2 days. I was also nervous about the scent but figured everyone else was using them and seeing/taking bears so the scent must not bother the bears. Finally figured it out one night at camp. Switched out the pads (my buddy had some extras) and my clothes and took a nice bear during my next sit. I have never made that mistake again! Make sure you have the right ones.
When the thermacell first came on the market,there were no earth scented pads,only the original ones. I have never used the earth scented ones,but I get a bear every trip to Quebec. Guides always told me it doesn't matter if you are upwind,downwind,or what scent you are giving off,the bear KNOWS you are there.
Bob
I first got a Thermacell on a very hot, humid July day in a year when our skeeters were as big as turkeys and thick as fleas. That evening just before dark I figured I'd give it the acid test.
I put shorts on, gritted my teeth, told my wife I may very well soon be needing a blood transfusion. I fired up the Thermacell, walked outside and sat spread eagled in the grass with the TC between my legs. After about half a minute a cloud of mosquitos came over me but they stopped just above me. One came and landed on my leg....and then immediately got back up and flew off.
SOLD!!!!!
I have three of them now... First bear hunt this spring in Edmonton... Can't wait to try them
loved the therm cell in Arizona but it will not burn on my 10000ft+ hunts in Colorado bummer
