Tents can provide excellent protection from the elements, but they can also be expensive/broken/stolen/somehow not available when you find yourself in need of one.
As most probably already know, debris shelters can provide an effective and perhaps more importantly; free, alternative to the modern tent. They are fairly easy to make, with useable materials found in just about any forested region in the world. There are however, already many guides for making different variations of debris shelter on this site and others, so I'm not going to go into the process of making one here.
Whilst a properly constructed debris shelter can do a fine job of keeping you warm and dry even in wet weather, one thing it is not inherently good at is keeping bugs out. Nobody wants a sleepless night of swatting away mosquitoes, worrying about spiders, or waking up covered in ticks.
Fortunately, there is a really easy method for keeping them outside. What you want to do is get some branches (with leaves if possible), and stick them into a fire. Let the wood burn just enough to get a little ember action going on, then blow out the flame and quickly (but very cautiously) bring the smoking wood into your debris shelter. Try to keep it smoking as much as possible, you want that smokey residue to soak in real good. This may take a few repetitions to get it sufficiently stanky, but is well worth the effort.
Wildlife, bugs included, instinctively avoid fire. By triggering those self-preservation instincts, you get yourself a bug-free existence for at least a night or two between each smudging.
(Just don't be the asshole who leaves their smudge-stick unattended while it does it's thing. Forest fires are no fucking joke.)
As most probably already know, debris shelters can provide an effective and perhaps more importantly; free, alternative to the modern tent. They are fairly easy to make, with useable materials found in just about any forested region in the world. There are however, already many guides for making different variations of debris shelter on this site and others, so I'm not going to go into the process of making one here.
Whilst a properly constructed debris shelter can do a fine job of keeping you warm and dry even in wet weather, one thing it is not inherently good at is keeping bugs out. Nobody wants a sleepless night of swatting away mosquitoes, worrying about spiders, or waking up covered in ticks.
Fortunately, there is a really easy method for keeping them outside. What you want to do is get some branches (with leaves if possible), and stick them into a fire. Let the wood burn just enough to get a little ember action going on, then blow out the flame and quickly (but very cautiously) bring the smoking wood into your debris shelter. Try to keep it smoking as much as possible, you want that smokey residue to soak in real good. This may take a few repetitions to get it sufficiently stanky, but is well worth the effort.
Wildlife, bugs included, instinctively avoid fire. By triggering those self-preservation instincts, you get yourself a bug-free existence for at least a night or two between each smudging.
(Just don't be the asshole who leaves their smudge-stick unattended while it does it's thing. Forest fires are no fucking joke.)
