Do you find shelter mouses cute?

smashed flat ones that don't move any more are.

See "Bob the Mouse" in wildlife photos. I swear the little b****rd was a base jumper in a previous life. He was doing kamikaze dives off the rafters to get around the tuna cans. I wonder if Doug the Snake eventually ate him?

They're cute, but the last one that touched my stuff got skewered with my hiking staff and then I made a paper boat and gave it a viking funeral.

The only thing worse than mice scampering across your head, feet, whatever is a shelter skunk crawling in your bag with you. I had the bottom of my bag zipper open one night at Little Laurel shelter and the stinker crawled in past my knees. He turned around and went on his way after a few tense (for me anyway) moments.

Skewered? That made me cringe and I've done cardiac punture and brain extraction on mice for drug metabolism research. I'm cringing with a grin, of course.

The cute ones come up to greet me as soon as it starts getting dark. Friendly little critters. The nasty ones wait till I'm asleep.

:-? I'd rather kill a man, than a mouse........etc.

Swift death to all mice Orcs.
The Wizard

I was wondering how these mice taste??? I figured it might make a good trail snack if you could clobber a few of them. Poke it with a stick, BBQ it and hold it over the fire till its nice a crispy. Yummy

Mice might be cute, but the rats that live in the shelters in the Shendoahs certainly are not. They completely ate my shoestrings off and I mean completely! That was the reward for sharing their space on my last night of my 2002 thru hike which just happened to end up at Rockfish gap. My shoes were only a foot or two from my head. Yikes!

RATS.....?!?

Saluki Dave....I too have witnessed the little furry b@stards jumping from the rafters onto food bags. They are small but very clever. BTW...have you learned to leave your cup upside down at night?

I don't know if it's still there, but Cold Spring shelter in N.C. used to have a hamster wheel on the inside shelf. I think that was to keep them busy during the day so they would sleep at night.

Watch out for the those little airborne ranger mice down in Georgia...they're equipped with night vision equipment and stealth stuff.

...be all you can eat.

My cup?? Check that, I just don't want to know the details.

Mice are cute in Georgia.
By North Carolina, they're an annoyance.
By Maryland, they're just voracious little ba****ds.
By PA, they're the living incarnation of Satan.
By Mass, they're prey.
By Maine, they're meat for the pot.

If you stay in shelters, check your pack every morning to make sure you're not carrying a new family with you. It's kinda like checking your boots in the morning in the desert - to make sure the scorpions haven't established a new home there.

mice (besides possibly carrying all kinds of diseases) arent cute!



there's nothing worse than one (or more) of these little critters running over your face in the middle of the night....

i'd like to see each shelter have its own resident garter snake or black snake
to keep the "cute" critters away. (& of course eat them up!):D

How about this with optional battery pack: http://www.izola.co.uk/pest.htm or http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000066JZ4/qid%3D1086598648/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-1650961-0620139?spage=C832&sterm=%20%20mice%20portable%20sonic%20%20&stterm=mice_portable_sonic

i'd like to see each shelter have its own resident garter snake or black snake to keep the "cute" critters away. (& of course eat them up!):D

I'm with YOU, Jaybird!!! Mice cute? NO. Snakes, on the other hand? YES!!!

:sun

Rain Man

.

The "Bear Proof" food storage box at Campsite 2 in DWG, http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/7655/sort/1/cat/500/page/3 , is not mouse proof. Little scavengers destroyed my stash of tasty granola bars and emptied out my packets of oatmeal. Mickey Mouse is cute, trail mice are just evil.

See "Bob the Mouse" in wildlife photos. I swear the little b****rd was a base jumper in a previous life. He was doing kamikaze dives off the rafters to get around the tuna cans. I wonder if Doug the Snake eventually ate him?

Saluki Dave....I too have witnessed the little furry b@stards jumping from the rafters onto food bags. They are small but very clever. BTW...have you learned to leave your cup upside down at night?

I don't know if it's still there, but Cold Spring shelter in N.C. used to have a hamster wheel on the inside shelf. I think that was to keep them busy during the day so they would sleep at night.

Back in the spring at Sassafras Gap Shelter, we had an ice storm and the shelter was full so I set up my hammock in the overhang area of the shelter (I made sure it was sturdy first.). Well the little buggers would climb to the top of my fly and then slide down, like a regular mouse theme park. After a few times, I would wait till they started to slide then I'd pluck them off from underneath. :D

Of course, they got even..... one climbed in my pack and chewed a hole in my rain shell and a new shirt I had just bought like a week before.:(

karma strikes again!

Well ...this mouse was kinda cute. Taken on my thru in 2003 at the Firewardens Cabin on Smart Mountain ...

'Slogger

I hate mice most likely more than I hate anything. I will go to get lengths to avoid them and hate the thoughts of them getting on me or my gear. Obviously, I will rarely sleep in a shelter.

I love mice.......taste like chicken!

On my thru-hike this year I never had a problem with mice at all! I was shocked. I slept in shelters most every night after the Smokies. Only once did a mice crawl on my face (Cosby Knob Shelter), and a mouse never ate into my food bag or pack. I always left my pack in the shelter, sometimes with my toothbrush and toothpaste in it.

I rarely even saw mice after Tennessee....maybe I just started sleeping more soundly the more comfortable I got on the trail.

my cat thought they were!
geek

Here's some suggestions for natural mouse repellent using natural oils...

http://www.chicopee.com/theherbarium/pages/10032.htm

It wouldn't hurt to try the peppermint idea for your gear...heck, at least it will smell good.

there cute in a mouse trap....

Mice are *so* not cute. The two times I have slept in a shelter I have been kept up by the buggers who searched for food for hours. Luckily, no run in's with any other type of rodent, like rats.

I was a cute mouse, but now am starting to show some age now that I am a older RAT :-)

RAT

The worst is when they sleep in your beard for warmth. I wonder how many people on the AT have ever gotten that hanta virus?

I have heard of two, one of which I actually met. Was contracted at a shelter in Va that was torn down afterwards. (cant think of the name, too many dead cells)

RAT

You left off another choice in your poll.

Mice...the only good one is a dead one. :mad: they are nasty, disgusting, and filthy. That's why I am taking a tent. I lived with mice climbing on me in a college owned house and in the military out in the boonies. never again!!!

I own many cats now that take care of the mice problem at my home. True, they sometimes bring in the baby squirrel or bird but they earn their keep with killing all of the field mice.

as dennis miller would say, "just my opinion, I could be wrong"

Coopdog,
cats work great!
geek

Mice might be cute but I prefer pussy in bed. :D

Found the secret to a nondestructive remedy to Rampaging mice. I take 2 Viagras (a friend's);) and smash them up in a quarter cup of cracked corn mixed with 2 tablespoons of grated american cheese. Leave it out on the rafters where they can easily access it and after just a few nibbles they have other "hungers" than for food. The only down side is the squeals and moans they make all night. In the morning you'll find them lying on their back,totally satisfied, near the rear wall. It's a simple matter to pick them up by their tails and slip them into the pack of a South Bounder.

Lets all hkike with a kitty kat. -SunnyWalker

They are cute until they chew a hole through your pack or eat your food

They might be spies. (http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1274983,00.html)

Anything that poops in my Cheerios must die.

Hantavirus (Cardio-)Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS or HCPS)

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans can contract the disease when they breathe in aerosolized virus. HPS was first recognized in 1993 and has since been identified throughout the United States. Although rare, HPS is potentially deadly. Rodent control in and around the home remains the primary strategy for preventing hantavirus infection.


These symptoms, which are very similar to HFRS, include tachycardia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachycardia) and tachypnoea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachypnoea). Such conditions can lead to a cardiopulmonary phase, where cardiovascular (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiovascular) shock can occur, and hospitalization of the patient is required.

"I hang my food, sweep my spot, and otherwise ignore the little b**stards. If someone in the shelter wants to go to the effort of killing some of them, it's fine with me. I'm not going to carry the extra weight of mousetraps or otherwise spend the time to fight them, though."

It Takes approx 400 Mouse Skins and a whole lot of pattience to make a waistcoat. I suppose if you went at it with a vengence from Georgia to Main you could have one by the end of the trail. I am told by one of my oriental coleauges that the bodies are very tasty if roasted and covered in honey.

Found the secret to a nondestructive remedy to Rampaging mice. I take 2 Viagras (a friend's);) and smash them up in a quarter cup of cracked corn mixed with 2 tablespoons of grated american cheese. Leave it out on the rafters where they can easily access it and after just a few nibbles they have other "hungers" than for food. The only down side is the squeals and moans they make all night. In the morning you'll find them lying on their back,totally satisfied, near the rear wall. It's a simple matter to pick them up by their tails and slip them into the pack of a South Bounder.

Just be sure it's the tail you're picking them up by:banana

Best way to keep mice out of your food bag, is to put sunflower seeds in someone else's food bag. :D

Cute but destructive. Best to do whatever you can to minimize their feeding.

Rats are just big mice, they are welcoming us to their home at night. I remember watching a mother rat move her family, one at a time, from a shelter foundation to a rock wall surrounding the fire pit back in '81. She provided entertainment for our lunch, and didn't really seem to mind that we were using the picnic table. If I remember right, this was the first shelter north of Thorton Gap, Pass Mountain Hut?

For sleeping purposes, I prefer a shelter with a resident snake. They aren't as interested in sharing my food.

We were section hiking and were staying upstairs in the Overmountain Shelter. We had placed our food in plastic garbage bags and had suspended them from the rafters. The cords had the "mouse proof" cans on them but that did not stop the mice. All night long you could hear the mice hit the side of the bags, slide down and hit the floor. I would love to have had a movie of this. This was in addition to the constant scurrying along the base of the wall. Everything was pretty cool until some time around 2:00 am there was a blood curdling scream. One of the guys with me had a mouse run across his face. It is hard to believe that someone can come out of a zipped up sleeping bag in one motion without unzipping it. I agree, mice are cute until they touch me or my stuff.

Mice are part of the trail experience.(at least the shelter experience) I'm not crazy about em' but I deal with em' when I have to and make sure my gear and food is stored in such a manner as to minimize the risk. On the plus side there is nothing funnier than watching a 210 pound ex-marine acting like a 1950's stereotypical housewife at the first site of these creatures. You know who you are.

I was wondering how these mice taste??? I figured it might make a good trail snack if you could clobber a few of them. Poke it with a stick, BBQ it and hold it over the fire till its nice a crispy. Yummy

Ever see the movie "Never Cry Wolf" ? :eek:

Stay out of shelters , I tent and never have even seen a mouse camping. Now skunks are another thing,

On the plus side there is nothing funnier than watching a 210 pound ex-marine acting like a 1950's stereotypical housewife at the first site of these creatures. You know who you are.

musta been a navy squid in disguise. a former Marine would not act that way

They don't bother me... i don't think i would get very far if i freaked out at mice.

I don't know about CUTE, but they sure look FUNNY when they get caught in a trap. The look of surprise in their beady little eyes almost makes up for the sad thought that their little hectic lives were ended with a sudden SNAP! :D

I am definitely not into killing them ..I live in AK and have seen the horrors first hand of trapping a wild animal.

I don't advocate killing them in shelters, just when they get inside the house. :)

I am definitely not into killing them ..I live in AK and have seen the horrors first hand of trapping a wild animal.

A mouse trap will make short work of a mouse. Not at all like what happens to animals in leg traps.

The one that was chewing on my mustache was and he turned out be a flying mouse! ask yourself if they are cute when they have eaten a granola bar or cookies.

good to add to oddles of noodles can also use the tail as a tooth pick

I'd prefer to spend a night in a shelter with 7 mice over 7 hikers.

I am not gonna break down the pros and cons of trapping ... however and to whatever it happens. it is a disgusting way to die however it rolls.

I agree Mowgli...:)

Where is the poll option for "Mmmm protein!"

At least they help trim pack weight!

lol right on FF..

They are good scrambled with ground hog.

I am not gonna break down the pros and cons of trapping ... however and to whatever it happens. it is a disgusting way to die however it rolls.

I agree Mowgli...:)

Um, do you mean like when the mouse is struck across the back of the neck and is killed instantly? or do you mean when the mouse is caught by it's leg and gnaws it off but can only go around in circles after it does? Or do you mean when the mouse is struck low on the back and it's guts shoot out of it's mouth? Are these pros or cons?:)

to each his own... my ethics say don't. I am not into killing anything if I can help it while I am on a trail.. I mean, my God... if folks can't take a freaking mouse they might want to reconsider. We are really getting to be weanies in this country. For instance we sure talk alot of about the weather... on and on about the cold. I used to do it before I moved up here, Now I know what COLD is... and it ain't 0. In fact.. up here I talk about it more then most. Folks up here don't EVER mention the cold... They just deal.

Do Voles qualify as mice, rats, or neither?

How about cooking and eating the little mices!!?!?! I jus watched the movie "Never Cry Wolf". The photography is out of this world. I don't know if it is Alaska or what, but wow, its great. Funny movie in a way, the scientist eating the mice to show that a carnivore could subsist on a diet of mice. I guess the wolves are not the Big Bad Wolves, after all?

How about cooking and eating the little mices!!?!?! I jus watched the movie "Never Cry Wolf". The photography is out of this world. I don't know if it is Alaska or what, but wow, its great. Funny movie in a way, the scientist eating the mice to show that a carnivore could subsist on a diet of mice. I guess the wolves are not the Big Bad Wolves, after all?

Northern Alaska. True story...got a laugh at the supplies the gov't. gave him... cases of light bulbs, toilet paper, asparagus and requisition forms. :D

If you really want to try eating the shelter mice, you could do no worse than to turn to the Romans and consult that first great cookbook writer, Apicius. He gave a recipe for stuffed dormice (which aren 't quite the same species, but you have to make do on the trail, right?) Here's the best translation of the recipe I can find:

"Stuff the mice with minced pork, mouse meat from all parts of the mouse ground with pepper, pine nuts, laser [an extinct North African herb], and garum [a fermented Roman fish sauce like Thai nam pla]. Sew the mouse up and put in a stock pot. Or roast in a casserole in an oven."

If you survive it, I'd love to know how it tastes.

I was wondering how these mice taste??? I figured it might make a good trail snack if you could clobber a few of them. Poke it with a stick, BBQ it and hold it over the fire till its nice a crispy. Yummy

how could you eat them?they will clean your teeth over-night,no spitting and rinsing eather.

If you really want to try eating the shelter mice, you could do no worse than to turn to the Romans and consult that first great cookbook writer, Apicius. He gave a recipe for stuffed dormice (which aren 't quite the same species, but you have to make do on the trail, right?) Here's the best translation of the recipe I can find:

"Stuff the mice with minced pork, mouse meat from all parts of the mouse ground with pepper, pine nuts, laser [an extinct North African herb], and garum [a fermented Roman fish sauce like Thai nam pla]. Sew the mouse up and put in a stock pot. Or roast in a casserole in an oven."

If you survive it, I'd love to know how it tastes.
I would give this recipe a try in a survival situation. The recipe calls for minced pork. I think I would throw the mouse meat away and eat the minced pork instead.:rolleyes:

Um, do you mean like when the mouse is struck across the back of the neck and is killed instantly? or do you mean when the mouse is caught by it's leg and gnaws it off but can only go around in circles after it does? Or do you mean when the mouse is struck low on the back and it's guts shoot out of it's mouth? Are these pros or cons?:)

Guys like you are the only thing that scare me on the trail. I've only met two in ten years so clearly you're not really an important threat and are easy to avoid.

Never had much trouble with them but cute isn't the word I would use to describe them.

They're funny little guys. Besides, it's their house, i'm just stopping by for a nap.

I thought this one was cute that was running around @ shelter on the Tuscarora Trail...

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/1/8/9/8/picture_162a_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=35371&c=member&imageuser=11898)

I was hammock camping nearby and checked out the shelter right after dark. There were at least 3 mice running around in the shelter. All I could think about was how much fun my cat would have with them and also thinking about that guy who thru-hiked with a cat...

I thought this one was cute that was running around @ shelter on the Tuscarora Trail...

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/1/8/9/8/picture_162a_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=35371&c=member&imageuser=11898)


ever notice they all look like Marty Feldman :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oes5IMmaKAk&feature=fvw

ever notice they all look like Marty Feldman :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oes5IMmaKAk&feature=fvw

Only the dead ones.

TW

To date, keeping a candle lit all night has kept the quadrapeds away w/o exception. I use the lightweight tea lights - 1 per night......

Kill em all!!!!!! Anyone that finds em cute is whacked in the head...or should I say, its cool when you whack em in the head. I like that little scream they do!