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Do Thermo cells spook deer?

Slabzilla73

Slabzilla73

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Jun 26, 2021
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In the favorite un minimalist item thread, I see a lot of fellow saddle peeps giving props to the Thermo cell? I use it during turkey season & used it one time in the fall years ago, hunting out of a pop up tent. I got my thermo cell as a product tester for North American Hunting Club. Again years ago. My question is, do any of you notice it spooking the deer? The only time I used it deer hunting, I had deer blowing at me for an hour before I shut it down & hunted in quiet the rest of the evening. I know its a scent dispenser but I bought the mosquito pads and it did keep the skeeters away. So what say you?
 

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If a deer is downwind of your thermacell, it’s also downwind of you. I’m sure a thermacell produces enough unnatural scent to spook a deer but if it’s in the tree/blind with you, animals are catching your scent as well.

Thermacell was pretty much mandatory for one of my old hog hunting spots in Hawaii. I arrowed a bunch of hogs out there under 10 yards but the wind had to be favorable.


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Thermacell's are pretty much a necessity here early season. I've used them so much that I instantly associate the smell of them with bowhunting. I have rarely had any deer spook from what I would consider the Thermacell and it was probably my scent drifting along with the smoke that made them blow. I use the earth scent pads most of the time.

I've had swarms of mosquitos in a holding pattern ten feet in front of me all evening before and I could tell they were just praying the butane would run out.
 
Gonna be honest, I love hunting. The thought of a deer busting me or a big buck busting me isn’t fun. What’s less fun is laying awake all night scratching mosquito bites. And or getting sick from a mosquito bite. These days you never know what they will have. Carry the Thermocell man! I will be.
 
The deer didnt smell me. I turned it off & didnt have a problem after that. Havent used one since.
 
Does anyone have mosquito problems while their ozonics is on??? If deer cant smell us with one running, shouldnt skeeters not smell us also?
 
I won’t hunt without a thermacell in the southeast before we get some really cold weather. Even if I knew it cut my chances of killing deer in half. I only have room for 3-5 deer in the freezer each year…I wouldn’t want to kill 10.
 
I’ve had deer hang out directly under my tree for long time frames without ever scenting my thermocell. If you’re upwind of the deer it’s gonna smell you thermocell or not. I just know down here the mosquitoes and the No see ums (sand gnats) will eat you alive if you don’t have a thermocell. And the yellow flies will fly right through a thermocell and still bite. As I’ve said before I’d go hunt without my bow before I’d leave the house without my thermocell :sweatsmile:
 
Slabzilla73 said:
The deer didnt smell me. I turned it off & didnt have a problem after that. Havent used one since.
Click to expand...
were all the variables exactly the same when the next deer walked in? wind direction, speed, deer direction, thermals, time of day, etc.
We get superstitious real quick when a deer busts us and blame it on something new. Tons of hunters use thermacells. I know all of my early season areas would be impossible to hunt for 5 min without a gallon of bug spray or a thermacell. I guarantee your gonna get busted swatting and scratching and cursing quicker than you will running a thermacell.
 
I’m in SC and it’s a must have. As mentions above, IF a deer were to smell thermacell it has smelled other things prior to that. And like FL, I always have mine on around 15-20ft and I’ve had deer directly under me with zero reaction.
 
weekender21 said:
If a deer is downwind of your thermacell, it’s also downwind of you. I’m sure a thermacell produces enough unnatural scent to spook a deer but if it’s in the tree/blind with you, animals are catching your scent as well.

Thermacell was pretty much mandatory for one of my old hog hunting spots in Hawaii. I arrowed a bunch of hogs out there under 10 yards but the wind had to be favorable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

If you’re done out there go ahead and PM me those coordinates, I’ve got a Marine finishing out his career out there that just got settled in. He’ll be there 3 years.
 
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