I don't know that you need to brush in a blind, but I am no expert. I got my first blind last season. I set it up in a field next to a bush that is about twice the size of the blind. So the blind was pretty much in the open and I did not brush it in. My first time in the blind I shot a buck that didn't even know I was there. In rifle season, I shot a doe that was only 20 yards away and didn't know I was there. Plus I had other deer around me that I didn't shoot. I think if you keep movement and noise down, they won't know the difference.