New to Hunting... Really Excited! But--Spiders!

[brockgl]

Hey folks! I'm almost 25, and I have never been hunting before. But sometime last year I got the "itch," so I decided to get all the gear necessary to get the job done and go this year. I bought a .22, a 12-gauge w/smooth bore and rifled barrels, and I borrowed a nice bow from a friend for archery season.

A friend of mine is taking me squirrel hunting this weekend!!! We are going to hunt inside some woodlands owned by a conservation club we are both members of. So, I decided to go out tonight with a camera and do some pre-hunt scouting to see what it's going to be like. The woods are not old, but they are not young either. There are definitely a lot of tall, thick trees, but there are also a number of young ones scattered about as well.

And, at almost every clear passage through the brush there are spiderwebs crossing the gap, complete with live spiders crawling around on them... Some of these spiders look really weird, they have a shell on their back! I've never seen them before! But I'll get back to my point. I don't want to come across as a wuss, but this got annoying after a while--constantly running into spiderwebs and flicking them out of my hair and off of my hat. Spiders are creepy, and I was wondering if anyone has a good method of clearing these out of the way as they walk around the woods this time of year. Should I just carry a stick and wave it up and down in front of me to knock down the webs...? Is my phobia abnormal? Do I just need to get over it and appreciate this as part of the natural outdoors?

Thanks for the help!

 

[yesit'sloaded]

Let your buddy go first. I usually use a hiking stick to clear them out.

 

[Zip7]

Pretty common around here. They are harmless, but annoying as hell. A friend of mine has a 4 wheeler, and he will attach a long stick to the front rack standing up vertically so it catches all the spider webs before they hit him.

They're much worse if you are riding a 4 wheeler, BTW

 

[Art Eatman]

Most really harmful spiders, like the brown recluse or the black widow, are critters of cubbyholes and aren't out in the open. The webs across trails are usually of the "garden spider" sort of critter, which would much rather run than fight.

Any little old stick to brush the webs out of the way works just fine. The webs are actually good training to teach you to pay attention to the world around you and not walk along looking at your feet.

 

[Savage Shooter]

I know what spiders you're talking about I hate them things I ride my fourwheeler and hit them all the time. It sucks what I did was cut of a leafy branch from a tree and stuck it in the front rack so it would catch the webs the key is to having a leafy branch. I would snap on off and carry it while i'm walking and hit them with it, works good.

 

[JeepGeeek]

I'm pretty much right there with the OP, except I'm (wait, lemme do the math).... 37.

Don't much care for anything has less than 2 legs nor more than 4. but I loves me some venison.....

Season opens Saturday... and.. I gotta work.

 

[HB]

I usually just knock them down.... and then eat them
Just carry a stick or walk through them. Even though the webs drives you crazy, the spiders usually just fall of the web and don't climb onto you.

HB

 

[Cypress]

Very carefully detach the web from its anchor point,pass through quietly, and reattach. Be extremely careful not to wake the beast as they can be ruthless when disturbed.

 

[jmr40]

Only a problem here during archery season. As it gets colder they go away. When walking in the dark I just hold my bow or gun in front of me as I walk. One other thing. Keep your mouth shut while walking. Don't ask how I know.

 

[MCgunner]

I learned in my early years to walk with my .22 up in front of me to knock the webs down. They're just wood spiders, don't hurt anything. Irritating getting the web all in your hair, but it comes off. These little phobias pass. LOL

Very carefully detach the web from its anchor point,pass through quietly, and reattach. Be extremely careful not to wake the beast as they can be ruthless when disturbed.

ROFL!

 

[JohnnyOrygun]

jmr40, We can all only imagine how you know... Sort of like riding a quad with your mouth half open and well... a little extra protein never hurt anyone... right?

I hate those spiders too... the webs are a nuisance.

 

[yongxingfreesty]

was in victoria tx this weekend again, saw 3 big spiders the size of a golf ball and one as large as a tennis ball.

the .22lr and .22lr shotshell took care of them. hahah

 

[lgbloader]

Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I went rabbit hunting, my Uncle Joe said the same thing, use your rifle in front of you and don't worry, you'll get used to them. Well that was 30 years ago and I still hate the little b*stards!!!

 

[Regolith]

It's not spiders you've got to worry about. It's the ticks. Carry all sorts of nasty diseases...Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, etc.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

The phobia is fairly normal I guess. Summer and spiderwebs go hand in hand. It's just a PITA thing you have to deal with until after the 1st or 2nd freeze. Yes, you can carry a machete or just a stick to clear them out in front of you.

They are nothing to worry about though.

The spiders in your HOUSE - the brown recluse - they are something to worry about. The ones in the woods are harmless.

Yeah, check for and pull out (the correct way) all ticks within 24 hours, and the sooner the better.

 

[SomeKid]

Anyone know that the large yellow and black striped beast is?

They often make webs across my hiking trails/side of my house and are rather large. However, unlike most spiders, they don't run. If I disturb their nest they often come to me. Walked into one across a trail once and had that sucker climbing on me. Surprised me good I must admit.

 

[Cosmoline]

Spiders aren't half as bad as yellow jackets. A mess of those can be worse than a bear. I got nailed by a dozen of them on a hunt and was out of it for two days.

 

[SomeKid]

Cosmo, I have two nests in my backyard, one really close to the house. Found both while mowing my lawn. Can those evil critters survive up there?

 

[220_Swift]

Anyone know that the large yellow and black striped beast is?

Try a search on "Banana Spider" and see if that is the one. We get those around here quite frequently. Nothing worse than gettting one of those on your face at 0:dark thirty in the morning.

 

[SomeKid]

220,

That was not it, however it did jar me into search mode, and gave me the idea. Found it on my first search of my own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_garden_spider

True, not exactly dangerous, or large when compared to many others, but when it is crawling across your face or charging your hand when you touch the web...

 

[220_Swift]

My mistake, that is what we refer to a banana spider. Hmm, learn something new every day. Thanks for the link.

 

[Cosmoline]

Can those evil critters survive up there?

I believe they're Vespula vulgaris, the common ground wasp. I ran into a swarm on a chilly late August day after an early frost. I assume they were upset about the weather or something because they were all over me in a matter of seconds. The queens hibernate in deep burrows and their spawn come out of the ground in spring. You can't spot the nests till you're getting stung.

 

[Deer Hunter]

You think that's bad?

I hate mountain biking on wed-thurs on the trails, since I'm the first guy to go in most of them for a few days.

I'm peeling the webs off of me after just a mile. Not to mention the spiders in my hair.

 

[Cougfan2]

Spiders for the most part are a nuisance. Get stung by enough Yellow Jackets and you can be in the deep weeds quick! When we had hunter sight-in days at Tri-Count gun club out here, they were a particular nuisance. They get real testy in the fall while they are trying to stock up on food before hibernating.

When I was about 10 I was messing around on my bike and stopped on top of a hole to one of their nests. When the wheel of the bike rolled back off of the hole about a dozen Yellow Jackets FLEW UP MY PANTS LEGS and started stinging me. Not a pleasant experience.

 

[jimbob86]

I just don't hunt deep woods until after the first hard freeze..... less poison Ivy and fewer bugs...... not to mention the fact that squirrel and rabbit hunting is much easier w/o all the vegetation for them to hide in. Wait for the first snow, and it gets really easy.