11 things lurking in New Jersey's forests
- Thread starter dogg57
- Start date
The only one in this article I consider a serious threat would be the very bottom one. How often do you hear of deaths by Bobcats or Coyotes? Poison Ivy is a plant form hell but I have never heard of it killing anyone.Hogweed is an unknown to me.Has anyone on the forum encountered it in South Jersey? Now Amanita will kill you graveyard dead but if you go around eating mushrooms you can't identify well you can't expect to live very long with a mind set like that anyway. The snakes are entirely harmless if let alone.Don't step on them or sit on them or grab them and there should be no problem.Skeeters can kill you but I haven't heard too much about them killing anyone around here. Haven't heard of ticks killing anyone either but I know folks with Lymes and it will make you wish you were dead. I didn't see anything on here about drunken hunters or drunken orv drivers. I"ve encountered both and had close calls. Also I"d add lightning strikes and forest fires to the list.Especially lightning,the number one outdoor killer.
I'd add other humans as a more likely threat. Especially the way the shobies drive this time of year
I might also add. My mom loved her lily of the valley and kept a whole patch of them in our yard.
My version of the list of things to worry about in NJ:
1. GSP, Turnpike, I-80, 287, etc.
2. The stress of getting there
3. Politicians
4. Etc.
My version of the list of things in the woods to watch out for:
1. Bees/hornets, etc.
2. Domestic dogs
3. Drunken partiers/people up to no good
4. Ticks, ticks, ticks and...ticks
5. Rabid mammals
6. Deer (vehicle collisions)
7. Non-fauna hazards (hypothermia, widowmakers, drowning,
, etc.)
8. Bear
9. Rattlers
10. Coyote
11. Everything else in this article
1. GSP, Turnpike, I-80, 287, etc.
2. The stress of getting there
3. Politicians
4. Etc.
My version of the list of things in the woods to watch out for:
1. Bees/hornets, etc.
2. Domestic dogs
3. Drunken partiers/people up to no good
4. Ticks, ticks, ticks and...ticks
5. Rabid mammals
6. Deer (vehicle collisions)
7. Non-fauna hazards (hypothermia, widowmakers, drowning,
8. Bear
9. Rattlers
10. Coyote
11. Everything else in this article
8,9 and 10 I don't really see as a threat but everything else is spot on.forgot about wasps. I"ve trod on more then a few yellowjacket nests. Being observant is of no help with an underground nest.
Yeah I figured they had a place on the list but purposely put them at the bottom. Raccoons scare me more than coyote, I should have put them there.
Truth be told I do get a bit weary when in bear country. Chances are slim but they do get kooky sometimes.
When I lived in Belleplain I remember reading a story in the paper that a man I believe in Woodbine was lying under his van in the day time working on it when a coon ran across the yard and bit him in top of the head.he killed it with I believe a lug wrench and it tested positive for rabies which meant he had to go through those painful shots.Yeah I figured they had a place on the list but purposely put them at the bottom. Raccoons scare me more than coyote, I should have put them there.
Truth be told I do get a bit weary when in bear country. Chances are slim but they do get kooky sometimes.
I have had quite a few bear encounters,mostly in WV and only one started to get nasty. Me and my wife were walking down an old woods road during a hot summer day.Apparently Momma and cubs were sleeping just up the hill in a thick Rhodo patch.They spooked as we walked by and Momma ran down the hill into the trail in front of me.(Yes they really can run quite fast down hill as well as up)She was looking the wrong way for me when she hit the trail.Thats when my wife behind me said "Cubs" Without turning I said "where".She said their running up the hill.Thats when Momma turned and looked at me and dropped her head (about 50 ft away) and started popping her jaws and huffing.I knew this meant that she was about to make me whoop her bear ass.All I had was a big sheath knife on my hip and about 210 lbsback then to back it up.She had a mouth full of teeth (I was even then starting to lose mine) and about 300 lbs.Just when I thought she was about to make her death charge she apparently got wind the cubs were headed up hill (If they had of come down they would have been behind us and hence we would have been between them and Momma) and then she wisely turned and ran up hill to get them.I was so glad i didn't have to orphan those cubs.Every other encounter was the bear high tailing to get away from me. Younguns can make a bear Momma pretty brave.