Question about "debris shelters"

O

oruacat2

Joined
Jul 30, 2009
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I realize I'm setting myself up for some "are you scared of bugs?" ridicule, but here goes:

Growing up hunting/hiking/camping with the old-timers, and during my long ago Army years, there were certain things I was taught regarding spiders and snakes: always look before you jump into that fighting position; always shake-out your boots before you put them on in the morning, or your sleeping bag before you climb into it at night, etc. Now, I've never been afraid of the creepy-crawlies and slithering critters, but after seeing the real life damage caused by a brown recluse spider bite, I darn sure took those lessons to heart.

That said, is that something you worry about while building/sleeping in these debris shelters, and are there any tips/hints to keep the critters from slithering in there with you in the middle of the cold, dark night? I figure that's the least of your worries in a true survival situation, but what about during all these training exercises, survival classes, contests, and the like?

Please, forgive me for my curiosity - I see so much great info on this board that I can't help but remember the old adage that "the only dumb question is the one you're too afraid to ask" - though I realize there's a limit. :)
 
one method to help clear them out is to smoke them out.....just be careful not to burn down the shelter...
 
The guy that showed us how to make them in the class said "Don't worry they won't eat much." I guess it's a small price to pay to keep from freezing to death if it's cold out.
 
Hobo-Jack said:
The guy that showed us how to make them in the class said "Don't worry they won't eat much." I guess it's a small price to pay to keep from freezing to death if it's cold out.
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Good point gotta weigh the odds, in freezing temps odds are with out shelter you get hypothermia. crawl into a pile of leaves that may or may not have bugs that may or may not be poisonous that may or may not wanna sting you.
 
I wouldn't get too worked up about it, I've slept under the stars many, many times and the only thing that ever worries me is mosquitoes.
Just work yourself into the ground before you rack out and it'll be the last thing you're thinking about!
 
Not a lot of bugs to crawl on you if it's cold weather. Debris shelters are great around these parts. With that said, if you take away the one in a million chance a venomous snake may bite you, there's really nothing here that could hurt you if it did bite or sting you. You could not do one in the jungle though and rest for the night. The ground is literally alive with crawling / biting / stinging stuff.
 
What about debris hut in tropical rain forest? Any comments?
I won't make any debris hut in my country too many thick, flea, leeches, scorpion etc.
 
I have a very un-natural, irrational fear of spiders. Other bugs bother me until I make sure they're not spiders, then I'm OK.

Snakes don't bother me in the least, which is a problem for me now. Growing up on the east coast, there were no dangerous snakes to worry about but now I live in Texaco and were swarming with them.

Had a kinda funny incident a few months back when I caught what I thought was a king snake. I showed it to the fellow who owned the house I was working on and he said "You didn't grow up in these parts didcha?" Yea, it was a coral snake.:o

I've slept out in the open plenty and I've never had an issue. Sure I've swallowed my fair share of bugs in my sleep but I doubt it was more than when I used to ride a motorcycle.:barf:

I practice making debris shelters from time to time but i've yet to sleep in one. It would have to be a life and death situation to get me to. (Spiders, spiders.....:eek:SPIDERS!!:eek:)
 
Where I live I'd be more worried about a skunk wanting to bed down with me...with one way in or out I think I would have to make a sky light in my shelter and GTFO!
 
razorback1595 said:
+1 on that one,

don't know what it is, but they sometimes can freak me out :o
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I grew up living on a creek in NJ.

I tell you, we would get spiders in the house that were as big as any I've ever seen. 6" leg spans weren't all that uncommon.

When my wife and I moved into our first house, 20 feet from the waters edge, we had a spider in our bed so big that when I tried to kill it with a rolled up magazine, I hit it 5 times before it took the magazine out of my hands and started chasing me around with it. I seriously considered shooting it with a 12ga., no joke, wall damage be damned. It was bigger than my hand. We slept on the livingroom floor for a week and I would go into the bedroom just long enough to get dressed in the morning and then run out vigourously rubbing my back and legs to make sure none of his brothers had dropped on me.

I had a monster drop on me while walking across my basement as a kid....never been the same since.
 
Joe Fowler said:
...Good thing I live in the desert! :thumbup:
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Well, in the desert you still have to be careful with spiders, scorpions, rattlesnakes... A good eye opener is to use a black light at night and see them glow. On the other hand, sometimes it's betten not know what is out there.:D
 
shotgunner11 said:
Had a kinda funny incident a few months back when I caught what I thought was a king snake. I showed it to the fellow who owned the house I was working on and he said "You didn't grow up in these parts didcha?" Yea, it was a coral snake.:o
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so, what does one do when he finds out there's a neurotoxic snake in his hands?
 
shotgunner11 said:
I have a very un-natural, irrational fear of spiders. ...(Spiders, spiders.....:eek:SPIDERS!!:eek:)
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Haha, I'm the same way. Frick'n wolf spiders up here would freak you out, they'll jump at you lol. I have a phobia towards bees too, but that's from traumatic childhood experiences (yes there were at least 3 I can think of :grumpy:).
 
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