Scent Control
Get tips on how to minimize your scent in the field.
A Deer’s Nose Knows
Everything a whitetail does is to survive, and their greatest line of defense is their nose. Deer have nearly 300 million olfactory receptors (for perspective, we have about five million). People have certainly killed deer without worrying about scent control, but when you’re up against a nose that knows, you might consider ways to stack the deck in your favor.
Minimizing Scent
- Start with your body: Use scent-free shampoo, body wash, and deodorant.
- Use scent-free laundry detergent (one option is Elimishield).
- Use ozone generators like Scent Crusher. Ozone kills odor caused by bacteria.
- Consider rubber boots: Some believe they leave less ground scent.
- Look into odor-neutralizing apparel (sometimes made with things like impregnated silver).
Understand the Wind
One of the most important factors in scent control is playing the wind. With that said, it’s not just your stand location but also how you get to and from your stand and the scent you leave along the way from wind dispersion and all the foliage that touches you. Consider this while accessing your trail cameras or if you happen to fill bait stations or water holes, for example. Human intrusion can push mature deer away from your hunting area, and the more you go in and out without playing the wind or understanding the scent you leave behind, the more you will fail to harvest mature deer.
Adapted from an article by Dustin Prievo.
