View Full Version : Fear of .....
OwlsRevenge
05-13-2008, 15:22
Well, this is going to sound absurd coming from someone that loves the outdoors as much as I do - not to mention being an avid flyfisher - but I can't seem to bring myself to consider the tarp-as-shelter thing because of one thing......
no, not snakes.
no, not bears.
no, not rain.
no, not wind.
no, not even mice or rats or rabid deer.
because of ....
BUGS.
You 'packers that sleep out in the open.....do you ever wake up covered in ants? A moth in your ear? A spider on your nose?
I hate....no, I have a phobia of things that crawl and fly and bite.
Ok, go ahead and laugh now. :)
take-a-knee
05-13-2008, 15:24
Well, this is going to sound absurd coming from someone that loves the outdoors as much as I do - not to mention being an avid flyfisher - but I can't seem to bring myself to consider the tarp-as-shelter thing because of one thing......
no, not snakes.
no, not bears.
no, not rain.
no, not wind.
no, not even mice or rats or rabid deer.
because of ....
BUGS.
You 'packers that sleep out in the open.....do you ever wake up covered in ants? A moth in your ear? A spider on your nose?
I hate....no, I have a phobia of things that crawl and fly and bite.
Ok, go ahead and laugh now. :)
I don't have a bug problem under my tarp because my hennessy hammock has a bug net.
Mrs Baggins
05-13-2008, 15:25
Well, this is going to sound absurd coming from someone that loves the outdoors as much as I do - not to mention being an avid flyfisher - but I can't seem to bring myself to consider the tarp-as-shelter thing because of one thing......
no, not snakes.
no, not bears.
no, not rain.
no, not wind.
no, not even mice or rats or rabid deer.
because of ....
BUGS.
You 'packers that sleep out in the open.....do you ever wake up covered in ants? A moth in your ear? A spider on your nose?
I hate....no, I have a phobia of things that crawl and fly and bite.
Ok, go ahead and laugh now. :)
I'm a tenter because I don't like crawlies in the shelters. But I was at Standing Bear Hostel, tucked into a nice lower bunk in the bunkhouse when something leggy dropped onto me. I spent a good part of the night swatting, scratching and batting at myself. I had bites from my chest down to my ankles the next day. So I guess it doesn't really matter where you're sleeping - crawlies are a possibility. :eek:
DesertMTB
05-13-2008, 15:31
I wouldn't laugh at you man. Certain bugs carry disease.
I started with a tent then moved to an HH. I only chose the HH because of the bug netting. I cant stand crawlies! Or Fly-ies either!
When you are surrounded by nature all day, it is nice to crawl into a relatively clean tent at night and not be too concerned about what might be crawling around when your guard is down and fast asleep.
Besides, I get point as we start hiking in the morning and get all the spiders and webs I care to eat for the day.
vonfrick
05-13-2008, 16:01
k, i'm 100% with you. i was bitten by some kind of fly last summer on Mt. Mansfield while napping after lunch. after about a week i had a HUGE disgusting boil? on my leg. good thing i was headed home. when it exploded, there were definitely things in there that were not generated by me. doctor said not to worry (after he was gone for a half an hour probably on google) that nothing in north america, had it in fact laid eggs in my leg, the eggs would not hatch. gee, i felt soooo much better after that!!! anyway after 2 different antibiotics and a month, it finally healed. i now have a crater in my thigh. just thought i'd put that out there in case you weren't creeped out enough. sorry. get the netting.
envirodiver
05-13-2008, 16:01
I guess I've watched too many western TV shows and movies over the years, but that whole rattlesnake crawling in the bag with you in your sleep is very creepy.
That said I still sleep under a tarp, flooless shelters, bivy sacks and cowboy camp. Sure is nice sometimes sleeping in open air and out under the stars.
no problem with my tarp either, i hammock!:D now crawlies or fly-es...:D
I once woke up with ants in my beard. Rather funny.
....You 'packers that sleep out in the open.....do you ever wake up covered in ants? A moth in your ear? A spider on your nose? ....:)
Nope!!!
Guess match the hatch has a whole new meaning to you? :-?
bigcranky
05-13-2008, 16:22
Nobody's going to laugh at you. I usually have a very light bivy with mesh netting under my tarp, or a Hennessey Hammock.
That said, when I have slept out under the stars, I've never had any problems with critters.
NICKTHEGREEK
05-13-2008, 16:23
No matter how hard I try to keep my tent totally zipped tight, a wolf spider manages to join me and run across my face while I'm sleeping.
No matter how hard I try to keep my tent totally zipped tight, a wolf spider manages to join me and run across my face while I'm sleeping.
Yep, tent's ain't foolproof, but they tend to limit the crowds of arthropods, etc. Usually, you kill one, any others will be too busy with burial detail to bother you much.
No matter how hard I try to keep my tent totally zipped tight, a wolf spider manages to join me and run across my face while I'm sleeping.
Spray the area around the zipper with Permethrin and no more spiders will get into your tent.
taildragger
05-13-2008, 17:18
No matter how hard I try to keep my tent totally zipped tight, a wolf spider manages to join me and run across my face while I'm sleeping.
Does it happen on full moons?
I don't seem to have problems with bugs in my tent, other than the ones trying to get away, guess that I'm toxic or somethin
OwlsRevenge
05-13-2008, 20:18
Thanks folks. It's good to see I'm not the only one that loves everything about the wilderness but the creepy-crawlies. :)
The thing about the aquatic bugs that inhabit trout streams is I neeeed them to catch fish....but most fishermen that take an interest in fly-fishing like to turn over rocks and see what's under there...then you match your fly( with an educated guess in most cases) to whatever insects are in the stream. Of course, alot of people will pick them up, maybe break a caddis out of it's case to see what color it is, etc. Not me. I just guess more, touch less. :) HAHA
Thanks again for the opinions...
I've thought about the hammock thing, but right now I'm short on $$. Been unemployed from the housing industry since Feb. of this year. When I get a new job, I'm going to try one of those hammock things though. I've read up on them a bit and they seem pretty neat.
Wise Old Owl
05-13-2008, 20:26
No matter how hard I try to keep my tent totally zipped tight, a wolf spider manages to join me and run across my face while I'm sleeping.
Hey, I have had that happen - I lucked out! Later I found out it was a Brown Recluse
Me, I'm afraid of vengeful owls... :)
OwlsRevenge
05-13-2008, 20:44
Fear not. I am neither vengeful nor wise( as is WiseOldOwl! )
I simply can never get to my trailname before others on any website.....it's just plain "owl" to friends. :D
OwlsRevenge happens to be my gamertag, so I was betting there wasn't another one here. Little did I know there was a wise ole owl here though. Us jr. owls gotta watch our step when the head honcho's are around!:)
With me it is mosquitoes--baggage from my childhood summers on a river right off the Chesapeake. I cannot STAND their buzzing in my ears and cover myself head to toe to keep the rascals at bay. Anything else I flick off--like the elder bug cllimbing on my arm last night. Yes, I was in my bed.
The brown recluse now--I would probably give up camping if I had to deal with those. I am not afraid of spiders, but I have seen the damage those durn things do to the human body!
Frau
OwlsRevenge
05-13-2008, 21:22
What's an "elderbug?"
I know what alot of bugs look like - I have to - I'm afraid of all of them. ;) but i don't know this one...
Appalachian Tater
05-13-2008, 21:29
Get a tarptent with a floor. I'm not afraid of creepy crawlies but I still don't want them on me. Especially things that bite. I have gotten up in the morning and my tarptent was covered with slugs. Yuk.
Get a tarptent with a floor. I'm not afraid of creepy crawlies but I still don't want them on me. Especially things that bite. I have gotten up in the morning and my tarptent was covered with slugs. Yuk.
I could thing of a few things to say here, but I won't. Whoops, I think I just did. :D
take-a-knee
05-13-2008, 21:42
Get a tarptent with a floor. I'm not afraid of creepy crawlies but I still don't want them on me. Especially things that bite. I have gotten up in the morning and my tarptent was covered with slugs. Yuk.
A floored tarptent is the only way to go.
sofaking
05-13-2008, 21:44
A floored tarptent is... ....basically a single wall tent.
theinfamousj
05-13-2008, 22:59
Hey, I have had that happen - I lucked out! Later I found out it was a Brown Recluse
I did too. But only after it had taken a bite of my ankle. Thank goodness for doctors and being close to town. Now I'm anal about my tent zipper. And my bag doesn't get exposed to the buggy outdoors.
I must have posted an illegal link to a Google image search of Elderbugs. If you are curious what they look like search Google images. They are basically just annoying critters that leave bug poop all over your house. They like light colored buildings.
I apologize to admin. for making a verboten post.
Fr.
sofaking
05-14-2008, 00:20
I must have posted an illegal link to a Google image search of Elderbugs. If you are curious what they look like search Google images. They are basically just annoying critters that leave bug poop all over your house. They like light colored buildings.
I apologize to admin. for making a verboten post.
Fr.
i must have responded inappropriately to your illegal elderbug link. i make no apologies for it.HAH!
NICKTHEGREEK
05-15-2008, 17:52
Does it happen on full moons?
I don't seem to have problems with bugs in my tent, other than the ones trying to get away, guess that I'm toxic or somethin
During full moons, no I sleep on my side, half moons only.;)
Appalachian Tater
05-15-2008, 17:57
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=elder+bug&spell=1
Elder bugs.
Well, that's the link I posted. I must not have the Midas Touch.
Fr.
sofaking
05-15-2008, 18:03
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=elder+bug&spell=1
Elder bugs.
yep, that was pretty much the link i followed. pretty racy stuff, eh?
Appalachian Tater
05-15-2008, 18:05
I just copy the address from my browser and paste it in normally. You can also use that little linker function button:
Boisea trivitatta (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=boisea%20trivittata&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)
Something strange must have happened when you tried, it's not like the mods would delete a link other than to porn or something like that.
The only time I ran into bugs was if I slept close to a water source. I also had problems with little creatures like rabits and frogs or something hoppy like that jumping on me. ( I slept under a tarp and dont carry a flash light so I couldnt see what it was) I got over the "fear" of the creepy crawlies pretty fast though. I am sure you can too.
saimyoji
05-15-2008, 19:54
If you are a thru hiking pogonophobe, seek help here:
http://www.changethatsrightnow.com/problem_detail.asp?SDID=594:1794
or just hike with MS.
OwlsRevenge
05-15-2008, 21:24
Yeah, ok. I don't have a fear of beards. hahahaha...that was funny.
and it's not like I hyperventilate and go into fits if a bug gets on me. I just don't want to feel things crawling on me while I'm trying to sleep. I can gather breakfast when I wake up, thank you very much Mother Nature. ;)
I do not think that we have doez buggies down heyah. thankfully. i guess.
they are kinda sexy though. w00t.
sheepdog
05-15-2008, 21:37
I usually just snore real loud. It keeps everyone else up and they can swat the bugs.;)
Hey, I have had that happen - I lucked out! Later I found out it was a Brown Recluse
I'm thinking of a bumper sticker. What could be better than: "Charlotte was a brown recluse." Or for us seaboard residents, "a black widow."
Weary
Kerosene
05-17-2008, 03:49
Another alternative is to just hike in the Fall after all of the bugs have been killed off. Much more pleasant then.
I just copy the address from my browser and paste it in normally. You can also use that little linker function button:
Boisea trivitatta (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=boisea%20trivittata&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)
Something strange must have happened when you tried, it's not like the mods would delete a link other than to porn or something like that.
...or you can do one of these...
http://www.unexco.com/box-milk.jpg
superman
05-17-2008, 06:47
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/3/9/6/7/100_1529_thumb.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=24600&catid=member&imageuser=3967)
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=elder+bug&spell=1
Elder bugs.
They look very much like the 'love bugs' in Florida. They are called 'love bugs' cause they would swarm over highways while attached (mating). Had to wash them off your car immediately or they would leave permanent pit marks in the finish of your car cause their body guts are so acidic.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG068
dessertrat
05-17-2008, 13:16
I would just as soon keep the bugs out. The "extra weight" of some bug netting is worth the carrying.
Appalachian Tater
05-17-2008, 19:08
...or you can do one of these...
Holy Moly if something that big came at me I wouldn't expect the bug netting to keep it out before a couple of minutes, they would just eat through it.
Bare Bear
05-19-2008, 10:00
As my daughter nearly died from a spider bite that took a year of hospital visits and left a terrible scar once it finally healed....I still hike, still use my tent. I am sure my fellow hikers will say that my snoring keeps most critters away.........that is way I still carry ear plugs to give out to other hikers and forewarn them if I stay in a shelter (rare).
Tipi Walter
05-19-2008, 10:26
There's something to be said for winter backpacking. . .
I don't know how many times I bedrolled it w/o a tent and ended up covered in carpentar(black)ants, and they do bite when pressed. One time I put on my boots and hundreds of them poured out.
Noseeums are a real pain here in TN/NC during the summer, the tiny black biting things that cause welts. Only relief is a zipped up tent.
Even a tent is no guarantee as one time I was camped up by Lovers Leap on the AT outside of Hot Springs when around 3 am I felt something crawling in my goatee and scratched and a bald-faced hornet(white-faced)stung me on the chin. Wowie zowie I was awake. This happened in a zipped up tent.
The worst is bedroll camping with buzzing mosquitos and having to use your sleeping bag to stay covered. Hot and sweaty.
One time I had a walking stick drop into my opened tent door and crawl up my leg to say hello. Goofy looking thing.
Another time I took a ginger ale soda in a can on a trip and a yellow jacket flew into it and I drank it into my mouth where it stung my inner lip. ZAPOLA!! About 30 seconds of intense pain.
I never see black widows out in the wild and can't ever remember seeing a brown recluse, but one time I slung on my backpack in the morning after sitting out all night and a big tarantula ran out of it and down my left arm and left leg to the ground. I do not like big spiders.
Another time in Texas I was backpacking along a dry river bank and went between two trees with a huge banana spider web in between. The big yellow spider saw me in the web and actually attacked me, running down from the top of the web to get me. Holy buddha!! It's amazing how fast you can run with a full pack.
In 1972-73 I did some backpacking in the jungles of Panama and saw some real vicious critters, big black ants about 2 inches long with huge pinchers, leeches in all the creeks, nasty spiders of huge proportions, but my eyeballs were only looking for one thing: the big Bushmaster snakes. That's another story.
OwlsRevenge
05-19-2008, 10:32
Walter, I will now not sleep for the rest of the week....
:)
I once left an opened energy bar under my tarp. It drew a crowd of ants in a short period of time. Since then I leave no food in the tarp, and cook/eat away from where I sleep. I always carry my net-tent between March-November. Can't stand buzzing around my head. I really enjoy sleeping in late Fall/ Winter without the net. I did not think I would, until I tried it.
Tipi Walter
05-24-2008, 08:58
One time I was walking along an old gravel forest road and saw the strangest sight: A big black snake was stretched out in the grass and attached to his quivering tail was a black widow spider. The spider looked like he was riding on the back for the fun of it but who knows? Did he bite the snake? Like the old cartoon, maybe he was thinking, "if I pull this off I'll eat like a king."