View Full Version : Snakes and Tarps?
Hey Everyone, So I have been tarp camping in NZ and I am now in the US. Hoping to thru in 2018. I have a question. Do any of you fellow tarp user ever have problems with snakes coming into your sleeping area? I ask because NZ has no snakes, no bear, and really no tick problems.
I've been either cowboy camping (ie. Sleeping under the stars with no shelter) or using a tarp exclusively since 2006. I do most of my hiking out west, but I did do a large chunk of the AT back east, and I've never had problems with a snake. I think this is the number one fear most people have with tarps, but I have never heard of it happening other then fear filled rumors with no first hand accounts. I once had a frog encounter when hiking the PCT though. I was sleeping too close to a creek and I was in between him and the creek. I haven't had much issues with crawling insects, but I do look for them before setting up camp. If the area is swarming in ants, best to move on. No bear problems, but once was was visited by a large buck deer grazing about 2m away that I thought was a bear since it was really dark and all I knew was it was big. Also a couple of mice issues, but my tent neighbors also had issues with them. That's all of my encounters over the past 11 years.
MuddyWaters
06-18-2017, 22:55
Hey Everyone, So I have been tarp camping in NZ and I am now in the US. Hoping to thru in 2018. I have a question. Do any of you fellow tarp user ever have problems with snakes coming into your sleeping area? I ask because NZ has no snakes, no bear, and really no tick problems.
Never heard of an actual instance of a snake.
Given the choice, a normal nake wants nothing to do with you. You arent on its menu.
Nocturnal visits by mice, skunks, etc arent uncommon.
I would be more worried about spiders than snakes but that's just me.
I've never had any problems, never heard of any actual problems except one.
It was at a shelter in PA. A thru hiker I knew was hammocking. There was a known rattlesnake who lived in and around the shelter. In the evening, the rattler had been found on one of the tent platforms. When the person occupying that platform returned to their tent, the snake left and proceeded to the area under the hammocker's tarp to hang out a while. He was forced to postpone going to bed for a half hour or so, until the snake moved on.
That is the extent of any snake encounters I have personal knowledge of when tarping, and it wasn't really an encounter so much as a sighting.
Rain Man
06-19-2017, 07:45
I sometimes tarp or cowboy camp. Never had an issue with creatures of any sort. Have used a treated headnet for mosquitoes, though.
Martzy13
06-19-2017, 09:17
I've never had (nor heard) of problems with snakes entering a tarp for the evening, but a guy I was hiking the AT with earlier this season had a skunk try to dig under his tent to get to his warm body. It was also about -15° out, so can you really blame the little fella?
No snake issues. But, I have awoken to slugs all over the underside of my tarp as well as on my sleeping bag and pillow(I thought it was me drooling but it wasn't) when I camped in a meadow near a stream. I have also had to evict various insects or spiders (it was dark and I just grabbed and tossed) from my sleeping bag during the night. These were all on backpacking trips in Pennsylvania.
I've never had (nor heard) of problems with snakes entering a tarp for the evening, but a guy I was hiking the AT with earlier this season had a skunk try to dig under his tent to get to his warm body. It was also about -15° out, so can you really blame the little fella?
+1
skunks can behave like a persistent house cats that insists on cuddling with you. Raccoons will look around for scraps of food.
best strategy is to camp away from well used areas.
you may want to consider a borah bivy for the ticks and creepy crawlies.
BuckeyeBill
06-19-2017, 11:31
I never had any snake problems when I was section hiking. I did have to dump a few scorpions out of my boots when hiking in the Grand Canyon.
Feral Bill
06-19-2017, 11:51
I never had any snake problems when I was section hiking. I did have to dump a few scorpions out of my boots when hiking in the Grand Canyon.
Really? I guess that is not a myth after all.
BuckeyeBill
06-19-2017, 11:56
Yes. I don't know why they did it, but we were told by the Park Ranger when we were getting our back country permits, that scorpions were extremely active. He also said that their numbers were higher than normal that year.
I remember watching a skunk come strolling into a crowded camping area and walk right up under someone's tarp and crawl into their pack and start eating from the food bag. There were a couple dozen people there and we all pretty much just watched it happen. I remember thinking "I'm glad I have a tent." Having said that I've cowboy camped lots of times because I was too lazy to set up my tent and the weather was good and there weren't any mosquitoes out and have never had any problems.
BuckeyeBill
06-19-2017, 15:49
My parents loved the Smokey mountain and usually spent part of their vacation time. I stopped by to see them on my way to Florida one year and a crowd started to gather around something. We walked over and there was a skunk with one of those small paper Dixie cups stuck on its head. It couldn't see and was bumping into stuff. Nobody made an effort to help, so I carefully walked over and it took tries, but I got the cup off its head. He just stop and looked up at me, shook head a few times and walked away. Actually was pretty comical. that year for Christmas mom gave me a stuffed toy skunk with a Dixie cup on its head.
I had to dump cockroaches out of mine once, but that was in a shelter.
We seriously need a like button
jimmyjam
06-19-2017, 17:59
I got harassed by a buck and two does while camped just south of Black rock in the SNP. Turned out I was camped in a blueberry patch and they were there to graze. We reached an agreement and they grazed and I slept. They did actually come right up to my tarp and sniffed.
The only critter that ever bothered me while cowboy camping was a porcupine that munched on the salty webbing of my pack. I thought it was the wind flapping!
Oh, and if you happen to have a beer, watch out for slugs, ugh.
You're going to get bitten by a snake, tick and a bear. They love chewing on NZ. I through hike the AT in 2011 and the southern portion of the PCT this year and have mostly either bivy sacked or cowboy camped without a problem. How ever in 2011 I did get bit by a tick on the lower left leg. Never saw the tick, but it did leave the bullseye to let me know it had been there. I took the prescription for Lyme's disease and didn't have any problems. Whether my camping style of many decades was a factor in the tick bite I'll never know. You may face that problem and it may be that you used a tent. Can't say either way. May be it just my turn, perhaps not. I'd camp as the circumstances dictate and not worry if you'll get Lyme disease just be aware it's a problem and get the prescription if you get bite. As far as snakes and other critters I wouldn't worry about them. If you leave your food unattended you can expect a visitor so I carry a UrSack and sleep with it. Remember if you hang your food it's unattended and most likely it's not hanged properly (assuming it could be hung properly).
Enjoy your hike.
Smithereens
06-19-2017, 21:00
I remember watching a skunk come strolling into a crowded camping area and walk right up under someone's tarp and crawl into their pack and start eating from the food bag. There were a couple dozen people there and we all pretty much just watched it happen. I remember thinking "I'm glad I have a tent." Having said that I've cowboy camped lots of times because I was too lazy to set up my tent and the weather was good and there weren't any mosquitoes out and have never had any problems.
I was on break one night, talking on the phone to my wife when I spotted a skunk walking right to me. I just stood still.. she came straight to me and rubbed against my leg just like a house cat would. She walked on her way and I just laughed and wished her a good night.
Violent Green
06-24-2017, 16:15
I've had 2-3 grand daddy long legs crawl on my head, but nothing else besides that.
I've been either cowboy camping (ie. Sleeping under the stars with no shelter) or using a tarp exclusively since 2006. I do most of my hiking out west, but I did do a large chunk of the AT back east, and I've never had problems with a snake. I think this is the number one fear most people have with tarps, but I have never heard of it happening other then fear filled rumors with no first hand accounts. I once had a frog encounter when hiking the PCT though. I was sleeping too close to a creek and I was in between him and the creek. I haven't had much issues with crawling insects, but I do look for them before setting up camp. If the area is swarming in ants, best to move on. No bear problems, but once was was visited by a large buck deer grazing about 2m away that I thought was a bear since it was really dark and all I knew was it was big. Also a couple of mice issues, but my tent neighbors also had issues with them. That's all of my encounters over the past 11 years.
Same here other than dealing with insects. I cowboy and open tarp in tropical and semi tropical areas. Insects are a concern that needs IMHO to be considered pre hike in shelter options. For example, in Hawaii and Costa Rica I often hammock or UL tent enclosing myself. It makes sense also because I'm often in hilly or extremEly rocky areas. Never a snake issue. In Australia I would also hang or enclosed tent.
I had a bunny one night get stuck between my tarp and net tent. I was asleep and thought it was a bear grabbing my head. I got my headlamp out and untangled him and the little bugger spent the rest of the night bouncing off my tarp, keeping me awake.
When concerned about ground insects, snakes, and even mice I'll spray a wide band of bug juice around my cowboy or open tarp sleeping site. Many ground creatures will not cross this barrier including snakes which I've observed turn around upon reaching the band of bug juice. It also helps with cockroaches, ants, millipedes, slugs, etc. A burning incense also helps deter these creatures.
nsherry61
06-25-2017, 20:35
When concerned . . . I'll spray a wide band of bug juice around my cowboy or open tarp sleeping site. . .
Or, you could do like hunters do to keep bears away from their kills if they need to make multiple trips to pack out the meat . . . just spray a wide band of pee around, in this case, your bed. :eek:
FWIW: In all my backpacking and camping I rarely use an enclosed shelter and I'll have to add my experiences to the list above . . . nothing but mosquitoes, flies, ants, spiders, rodents, slugs, deer, etc. Nothing ever dangerous.
Harrison Bergeron
06-26-2017, 19:34
On the AT, mice are a much bigger problem than snakes. Not to mention ticks and mosquitoes. They'd craw all over you in a tarp. I don't sleep with my food, but I've often had to bounce a persistent mouse off the netting in the middle the night.
I've never seen a snake in camp on the AT, but years ago I was backpacking one Spring in northern New Mexico and woke up to something squirming under my tent in the middle of the night. I scrambled out, flipped it over, and shined a light. Apparently I'd pitched my tent over a clutch of rattlesnake eggs in a crevice or something, because there must have been twenty little baby rattlers squirming around right where I'd been sleeping.
Nowdays you can get a full tent with netting for under 2 pounds. I don't know why anyone would mess around with a tarp if they don't have to.
Pringles
06-26-2017, 20:28
On the AT, mice are a much bigger problem than snakes. Not to mention ticks and mosquitoes. They'd craw all over you in a tarp. I don't sleep with my food, but I've often had to bounce a persistent mouse off the netting in the middle the night.
I've never seen a snake in camp on the AT, but years ago I was backpacking one Spring in northern New Mexico and woke up to something squirming under my tent in the middle of the night. I scrambled out, flipped it over, and shined a light. Apparently I'd pitched my tent over a clutch of rattlesnake eggs in a crevice or something, because there must have been twenty little baby rattlers squirming around right where I'd been sleeping.
Nowdays you can get a full tent with netting for under 2 pounds. I don't know why anyone would mess around with a tarp if they don't have to.
You've just created my worst nightmare. In Technicolor. With Surround Sound. Sheesh.
saltysack
06-27-2017, 09:06
On the AT, mice are a much bigger problem than snakes. Not to mention ticks and mosquitoes. They'd craw all over you in a tarp. I don't sleep with my food, but I've often had to bounce a persistent mouse off the netting in the middle the night.
I've never seen a snake in camp on the AT, but years ago I was backpacking one Spring in northern New Mexico and woke up to something squirming under my tent in the middle of the night. I scrambled out, flipped it over, and shined a light. Apparently I'd pitched my tent over a clutch of rattlesnake eggs in a crevice or something, because there must have been twenty little baby rattlers squirming around right where I'd been sleeping.
Nowdays you can get a full tent with netting for under 2 pounds. I don't know why anyone would mess around with a tarp if they don't have to.
Damn I'm glad I just ordered a bivi!
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nsherry61
06-27-2017, 09:22
. . . I don't know why anyone would mess around with a tarp if they don't have to.
Many good reasons:
1) My summer tarp setup is still less than 1/2 the weight (yes, less than one pound) of your 2 lb tent that is probably really closer to 3 pounds.
2) For the same reason I pitched a tarp and slept in my back yard during a big storm. Under a tarp one is much more intimate with their surroundings than being encased in a tent and thus sleeping outdoors becomes aesthetically more pleasing and downright spiritual.
3) Pitching a tarp is easier than pitching pretty much any tent I've ever used. Sure, it takes some knowledge, imagination, and practice, but once you've done that, it's generally much simpler.
And, to comment to the OP: Snakes tend to be active during the day and hidden away somewhere safe during the night, generally the same place they were the night before, not a new unfamiliar sleeping bag. Unless you are setting up your sleep system during the day, the snakes are probably already in bed when you hit the sack and thus unlikely to ever be a problem at night. . . now, scorpions on the other hand . . . :eek:
Or, you could do like hunters do to keep bears away from their kills if they need to make multiple trips to pack out the meat . . . just spray a wide band of pee around, in this case, your bed. :eek:
FWIW: In all my backpacking and camping I rarely use an enclosed shelter and I'll have to add my experiences to the list above . . . nothing but mosquitoes, flies, ants, spiders, rodents, slugs, deer, etc. Nothing ever dangerous.
I'll be tanking up shortly before sleeping to prepare my sleep site then. :D
Many good reasons:
1) My summer tarp setup is still less than 1/2 the weight (yes, less than one pound) of your 2 lb tent that is probably really closer to 3 pounds.
2) For the same reason I pitched a tarp and slept in my back yard during a big storm. Under a tarp one is much more intimate with their surroundings than being encased in a tent and thus sleeping outdoors becomes aesthetically more pleasing and downright spiritual.
3) Pitching a tarp is easier than pitching pretty much any tent I've ever used. Sure, it takes some knowledge, imagination, and practice, but once you've done that, it's generally much simpler.
...
This^^^. Why should I carry tent poles, bug netting, or zippers/Velcro etc when I'm already using UL trekking poles, there are no bugs, there is no real need for zipper/Velcro etc. It's also nice to be closer to Nature rather than always seeing Nature as something to separate oneself one. Fear is what often drives considerations. I'll not be driven by fear. Of course, situations should be considered though. This is why a tarp and/or bivy is but one shelter option in my shelter quiver. I like options. Options that include wisely lightening my kit.
BuckeyeBill
06-27-2017, 14:05
I go along with Dogwood. That is one of reasons I went from tent camping to hammock camping. My tarp with everything needed to hang it is still less then 10 ounces.
BuckeyeBill
06-27-2017, 14:12
Sorry I just could not resist. Spiders and Snakes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TRJUAaQ2WU)
saltysack
06-27-2017, 20:18
I'll be tanking up shortly before sleeping to prepare my sleep site then. :D
[emoji23]exactly what I was thinking!
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Harrison Bergeron
06-27-2017, 20:46
Many good reasons:
1) My summer tarp setup is still less than 1/2 the weight (yes, less than one pound) of your 2 lb tent that is probably really closer to 3 pounds.
2) For the same reason I pitched a tarp and slept in my back yard during a big storm. Under a tarp one is much more intimate with their surroundings than being encased in a tent and thus sleeping outdoors becomes aesthetically more pleasing and downright spiritual.
3) Pitching a tarp is easier than pitching pretty much any tent I've ever used. Sure, it takes some knowledge, imagination, and practice, but once you've done that, it's generally much simpler.
And, to comment to the OP: Snakes tend to be active during the day and hidden away somewhere safe during the night, generally the same place they were the night before, not a new unfamiliar sleeping bag. Unless you are setting up your sleep system during the day, the snakes are probably already in bed when you hit the sack and thus unlikely to ever be a problem at night. . . now, scorpions on the other hand . . . :eek:
Actually, according to my postal scale, my SMD Trekker was 24.4oz. My current Lightheart Solo is a little heavier: 28 oz. Of course that doesn't include trekking poles.
And those baby snakes weren't in my bag, they were cuddled up to the warmth under my bag. I didn't use a pad back in those days, but fortunately I did use a dome tent with a full floor, or they might have tried to get into bed with me. In fact, being early Spring, I suspect my warmth might have caused them to hatch.
Lots of rattlesnakes and scorpions on the CT. Beware of the deadly Coloradan Scorpion that accounts for many deaths in CO each yr. :p
Actually, according to my postal scale, my SMD Trekker was 24.4oz. My current Lightheart Solo is a little heavier: 28 oz. Of course that doesn't include trekking poles.
And those baby snakes weren't in my bag, they were cuddled up to the warmth under my bag. I didn't use a pad back in those days, but fortunately I did use a dome tent with a full floor, or they might have tried to get into bed with me. In fact, being early Spring, I suspect my warmth might have caused them to hatch.
That would truly be a Medusa experience feeling a bunch of squirming baby rattlers under where ya sleep.
BuckeyeBill
06-27-2017, 23:22
That would truly be a Medusa experience feeling a bunch of squirming baby rattlers under where ya sleep.
Just don't look at her face and you will be fine.
middle to middle
07-14-2017, 00:56
One morning very early waiting for water to boil in comes a skunk with four young ins following. Just walked right through camp and and out the other side. I just froze and watched and lived to tell about it !
If snakes and tarps was a real thing few people would tarp.
Like my tarp a lot more than a tent. There's a learning curve but once you get relatively proficient pitching one you can't help but love the simplicity.
BuckeyeBill
07-14-2017, 10:42
^^^^ What he said.
If snakes and tarps was a real thing few people would tarp.
Like my tarp a lot more than a tent. There's a learning curve but once you get relatively proficient pitching one you can't help but love the simplicity.
Folks have been sleeping on the ground without benefit of shelter in places like Big Bend NP since forever and living to tell about it.
I wish I could convince myself to do it. I'm working on it.
Wayne
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jimmyjam
07-14-2017, 11:22
I wouldn't worry about a snake under the tarp unless you've sleeping with a mouse.
iAmKrzys
07-14-2017, 20:38
While this may be quite unlikely to happen, I did find a snake under my tent floor once after a one night stay at a campground in New Hampshire. It was an Eastern Milk Snake, so nothing scary, but I was pretty surprised.
39873
Do some of you people not inspect the ground you are setting up camp on? If there is a hole there, something likely lives in it. Best to move over some. Actually, if I see holes or other signs of burrowing, or just ants crawling around, I usually move on and find another campsite. More likely to have a rodent living down a hole than something else, but I have no interest in having a rodent nibbling on my stuff at night. About 3 times in my life I've gotten up in the middle of the night, rolled my stuff up in my ground cloth like a burrito and moved to another campsite (once as far as 1/4 mile away) when I was awaken to a mouse chewing on my pack which I keep near my head. I guess I should be glad that I'm normally a light sleeper. And before you think a tent is better, I've had friends who had a mouse chew into their tent. Which can be funny to everyone else around them as you hear them freaking out and then trying to get it out of their tent.
Would really like to know your set up. As my CF tarp, sleeping pad and guide lines comes in at 20oz
I go along with Dogwood. That is one of reasons I went from tent camping to hammock camping. My tarp with everything needed to hang it is still less then 10 ounces.
saltysack
07-15-2017, 18:29
Would really like to know your set up. As my CF tarp, sleeping pad and guide lines comes in at 20oz
Folks don't count pad in shelter weight...
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Thanks everyone, for your stories. :0 Much more confident now. Slugs on pillows are gross we have them in NZ too so no worries there.
Folks don't count pad in shelter weight...
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Right. My air mattress weighs 20 ounces. Never changing it. Good sleep is critical.
Wayne
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BuckeyeBill
07-16-2017, 21:58
Would really like to know your set up. As my CF tarp, sleeping pad and guide lines comes in at 20oz
HG Cuben Fiber Tarp with Doors 7.28oz, 6 Titanium Hook Stakes (.29 x 6) 1.75oz, 37.5 ft of Zing It ..68oz and 2 Dutch Tarp Flyz .10oz = 9.80oz Hope this helps.
Oh my! Yet another reason to get off the ground. Compromise 8-14oz on a hammock and stop worrying about it.
Folks have been sleeping on the ground without benefit of shelter in places like Big Bend NP since forever and living to tell about it.
I wish I could convince myself to do it. I'm working on it.
Wayne
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You summed up my thoughts very well. I want to tarp, but just can't.....where i live here in FL, there's just too many bugs and things to make it seem fun at all, except in the really cold spells mid winter. I know it is much more doable in the mountains and elsewhere, but I just have tegh whole keep the tent zipped up always so I have my little bubble of no biting and crawling things.... except myself...
You summed up my thoughts very well. I want to tarp, but just can't.....where i live here in FL, there's just too many bugs and things to make it seem fun at all, except in the really cold spells mid winter. I know it is much more doable in the mountains and elsewhere, but I just have tegh whole keep the tent zipped up always so I have my little bubble of no biting and crawling things.... except myself...
I did it! The first week in the full tent. The second week without the full tent. I'm Alive!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170923/f7c454dc1dbca7fdd48387ee02adda8b.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170923/184a0c88efecbfc87d9fe074ed35dc84.jpg
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I even survived the morning when the moose galloped past my feet.
Go for it!
Wayne
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nsherry61
09-24-2017, 17:36
I love just rolling out my ground sheet, pad, and bag or quilt and bedding down. It's much closer to being one with the world than when I'm hidden away inside a cloth chamber.
. . . that is, unless the bugs or the weather are really bad.
I love just rolling out my ground sheet, pad, and bag or quilt and bedding down. It's much closer to being one with the world than when I'm hidden away inside a cloth chamber.
. . . that is, unless the bugs or the weather are really bad.
Very quickly habit forming.
No doubt I may change my mind just as quickly the first time I get rained on.
Wayne
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nsherry61
09-25-2017, 10:48
Very quickly habit forming.
No doubt I may change my mind just as quickly the first time I get rained on.
I can't count the number of times I've been sleeping in the open with "very little chance of rain" and been rained on for a few minutes to an hour or so. Make sure you have either have a bivy to crawl into or, more often in my case, your ground cloth is big enough to throw over your bag and head to keep you and your gear dry in a short bit of rain. It helps to have a couple baseball sized rocks near by to weight down the corners of your pulled over ground sheet so the wind doesn't blow it off you again. If you're being a tarp (or poncho) using minimalist choosing not to pitch your tarp for the night, you can also just keep your tarp near by so you can throw it over you and your bag for a few minutes if it starts to rain.
Feral Bill
09-25-2017, 11:11
I can't count the number of times I've been sleeping in the open with "very little chance of rain" and been rained on for a few minutes to an hour or so. Make sure you have either have a bivy to crawl into or, more often in my case, your ground cloth is big enough to throw over your bag and head to keep you and your gear dry in a short bit of rain. It helps to have a couple baseball sized rocks near by to weight down the corners of your pulled over ground sheet so the wind doesn't blow it off you again. If you're being a tarp (or poncho) using minimalist choosing not to pitch your tarp for the night, you can also just keep your tarp near by so you can throw it over you and your bag for a few minutes if it starts to rain. Or, you can st up you tarp so you can duck under it if the weather turns. And do not forget the hazard of dew.
Bill,
In my last photo, my Xtherm and bag are on top of the tent fly. Hopefully I could flop it over my bag before getting soaked.
Wayne
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Tipi Walter
09-26-2017, 14:19
While this may be quite unlikely to happen, I did find a snake under my tent floor once after a one night stay at a campground in New Hampshire. It was an Eastern Milk Snake, so nothing scary, but I was pretty surprised.
39873
If a person is outdoors long enough he/she will get all sorts of critters under their tarps or inside their tents or vestibules. My tent is like a giant tarp on occasion when I leave both big doors open and it's common to get wolf spiders and trap door spiders inside. One time I found a small scorpion on my pillow and another time found a scorpion hiking thru my vestibule.
Over the years I've had two snakes in my tent vestibule---and one a copperhead coiled up to sleep by the tent door. Another time I was relaxing on Bob Bald at night with my buddy Bryan and he was reclined on his ensolite pad. A garter snake got on the pad and slid around his body. He jumped up and I went looking for it.
40394
Here's Bryan right before the incident.
One time I had a skunk come into my tent vestibule to say hello.
40395
If you want to completely avoid snakes the guaranteed method is to pack a snake bag made of ripstop (3 feet by 18 inches is enough to show you're serious, might weigh a couple of ounces) and invest in a field guide of snakes. Doesn't have to be the Audubon version (they're heavy) but it does need to be a reasonably legit guide (must be paper, electronic doesn't work.) Trekking poles work nicely as snake hook decoys.
Now, as you walk, lament the lack of snakes. Speak loud enough for the snakes to hear that you "really would like to see a nice specimen" and occasionally wax poetic about exceptional snakes you've come across in the past.
The snakes will quickly identify you as a serious collector (the bag and guide are the icing on the cake) and give you a wide berth.
Works every time I go snake hunting, I see no reason it won't work for everyone else when hiking!
Do some of you people not inspect the ground you are setting up camp on? If there is a hole there, something likely lives in it. Best to move over some. Actually, if I see holes or other signs of burrowing, or just ants crawling around, I usually move on and find another campsite. More likely to have a rodent living down a hole than something else, but I have no interest in having a rodent nibbling on my stuff at night. About 3 times in my life I've gotten up in the middle of the night, rolled my stuff up in my ground cloth like a burrito and moved to another campsite (once as far as 1/4 mile away) when I was awaken to a mouse chewing on my pack which I keep near my head. I guess I should be glad that I'm normally a light sleeper. And before you think a tent is better, I've had friends who had a mouse chew into their tent. Which can be funny to everyone else around them as you hear them freaking out and then trying to get it out of their tent.
I'm again in line with Miner's advice. Inspect your CS no matter your shelter choice. If there are holes around like in rock piles, which one should usually avoid sleeping around anyhow, or at the base of trees, in down logs, etc that's not the place I choose to sleep or sit. This carries more risk IMHO if CS's like these are well established. From holes like these crawl out snakes, centipedes(large 12-14" stinging ones in Hawaii), rats, and the ubiquitous meeses that all arrive in the middle of the night. Occasionally a nosing around armadillo, raccoon, skunk, opossum, fox or coyote might make a night visit too. Again, tarping while being concerned about various critters should be taken in context of where and at what season one is employing a tarp as shelter. It should also be noted that different tarp configurations and shaped tarps can eliminate some of the critter concerns.
As Trauma said in a recent Backpacker Issue much of the ink goes towards fears of bears and, IMO snakes or ground critters, when it's rodents and insects that are the biggest problems for campers.
MuddyWaters
09-26-2017, 20:04
As Trauma said in a recent Backpacker Issue much of the ink goes towards fears of bears and, IMO snakes or ground critters, when it's rodents and insects that are the biggest problems for campers.
Porcupines kind of suck. The bigger the rodent, the more of your stuff they eat.
While this may be quite unlikely to happen, I did find a snake under my tent floor once after a one night stay at a campground in New Hampshire. It was an Eastern Milk Snake, so nothing scary, but I was pretty surprised.
39873
That's a nice specimen.
I've two stories to share about tarping in HI and on the AT. Before going to sleep under a tarp configured A frame style on Maui the entire perimeter of where I slept was sprayed with a 6" wide of permethrin. During the night I was awakened to a scene out of a horror movie as I felt a few flying insects landing on me and an almost imperceptible scratching/food crunching noise. When I turned on my headlamp there were about a dozen flying cockroaches that had landed on me. They can bite and irritate the skin! The real horror was the literally 100's upon 100's that were only being kept off me from the band of insect repellent. They were of all different sizes with the largest cannibalizing the smaller beetles and cockroaches. I jumped up, packed up, and moved. BTW, in tropical areas cockroaches inhabit the beaches so sleeping on the beach doesn't necessarily afford protection from these insects.
I've had a moma skunk and her three babies nosing around camp on the AT. As I layed there motionless the moma put her nose on my face. It was too late to startle them as they were so close when they awakened me I would have likely been sprayed where I slept. After her wet nose touched me she quickly backed off with her three babes with her tail up. I thought I was going to get sprayed but I didn't startle them.
MuddyWaters
09-26-2017, 20:15
I've had a moma skunk and her three babies nosing around camp on the AT. As I layed there motionless the moma put her nose on my face. It was too late to startle them as they were so close when they awakened me I would have likely been sprayed where I slept. After her wet nose touched me she quickly backed off with her three babes with her tail up. I thought I was going to get sprayed but I didn't startle them.
skunks are pretty docile unless you startle them. I guess thats why they make good pets descented.
there was a hiker on here once yrs ago that posted they had skunks come in very cold shelter and curl up with him to stay warm. Baby skunks slept in his beard. In morning they left.
In my long observed opinion avoiding beaten down by human CS's - like AT Lean To's - and front country and many back country NP CS's lessens the risks of encountering snakes, rodents, and bears. IMHO it's OFTEN humans that initially and ongoing create and foster the environment where wildlife causes issues. Stay away from where humans congregate on trail especially those high use areas.