Amber Ramirez concentrated intently as she whipped bright red streams of fake blood onto a spooky straw-stuffed scarecrow.

The figure, dressed in old clothes, a black hat, fake spiders and spider webs, was the creation of Ramirez and her fellow Girl Scout troop members.

“We basically just put random stuff on it until it looks scary,” she said, explaining the team’s strategy. “If it doesn’t look scary enough, we throw more stuff on it.”

The troop, No. 44195, was among 16 from the Oak Harbor area who visited Dugualla Bay Farms on Friday evening to decorate scarecrows, navigate the corn maze, peruse the pumpkin patch and enjoy ice cream.

Though the event was plenty of fun for the gaggle of scouts, it was also an opportunity for the girls to give back to the community.

For the past 10 years, Dugualla Bay Farms has hosted the Girl Scouts’ annual peanut-butter-and-jelly drive, in which the scouts each bring one jar of peanut butter or jelly to be donated to the Help House.

This year, the girls donated a total of 100 jars.

Jean Wieman, executive director for the Help House, said the Oak Harbor Girl Scout troops frequently give to the nonprofit, which provides food for those in need, as well as classes in subjects like shopping on a limited budget and how to prepare inexpensive, healthy meals.

Aside from the peanut-butter-and-jelly drive, the scouts also hold candy bakes and make gift baskets for the holidays and conduct other food drives throughout the year.

Help House, which serves an average of 580 families or 1,300 people per month, buys peanut butter but not jelly, Wieman said.

“PB and J is kind of a luxury,” she said, adding that she and Help House patrons greatly appreciate the scouts’ donations.

Shari Meagher, manager at Dugualla Bay Farms, said this year’s turnout was “phenomenal,” with a total of 98 scouts.

Meagher said the farm enjoys being a part of the Girl Scouts’ effort to give back.

The scarecrows, which included styles depicting fictional horror film characters such as Kayako Saeki from “The Grudge” as well as a bloody bride and a witch in a boa, will remain at the farm through Halloween.

Although there is no official competition, visitors will have the chance to vote on which scarecrows they enjoy the most, and which are the spookiest, cutest or weirdest.

“We’re not going for cute,” Ramirez said of her troop’s ghoulish decor.

“They’re always unique,” Meagher said.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had two that are the same.”