Mice help!!!

[HooKooDooKu]

sleep in a tent, with your stuff. The # of mice-capades will go way down.

As was mentioned in the broken off bear thread... you can't follow a blanket statement like this... you have to consider your surroundings.

One specific exception is in GSMNP:
1. First of all, there is the legal requirement that you hang your food on the bear cables.
2. One of the special differences in GSMNP compared to most of the rest of the AT is that you can not just camp anywhere. You basically have a large number of people camping in a relatively few spots. This concentration of people means that mice (and bears... but lets not go there again) know where all the camp sites are located. So when you keep food in your tent, you are encouraging problems between people and wild life.
3. Come on... the bear cables are there and simple to use. Utilizing them cuts down on the people that will camp in your exact spot in the future from having issues with wild life.

[Rolls Kanardly]

When I'm not using a bear canister, I keep my food in a plastic pretzel jug. Mouse proof, bug proof, water proof and no crumbled pop-tarts. Weighs 4-6 ounces

This could be a good idea. For those of you who carry a collapsible bucket the pretzel jug could be a dual use item. You would have to unload your food to use as a water container for cleaning and washing but a minor issue if it worked for you. Rolls

[Ground Control]

it stays in my tent with me

LW, what do you use to bag it and keep the smell down? (I'm right on the verge of abandoning the hang-it method; just need a tad more intel...)

[Pedaling Fool]

LW, what do you use to bag it and keep the smell down? (I'm right on the verge of abandoning the hang-it method; just need a tad more intel...)

I can only speak for myself, but I also keep my food (and cooking gear) in my tent with me at night (never unattended). I don't think the smells are all that strong, simply because a lot of the stuff is dehydrated, but then again my cooking pot is probably more odorous. However, that's NOT to say animals can't smell my dehydrated foods from outside the tent.


I don't have any special storage set up. Everything is in basic ziplock bags and my foodbag is a simply nylon bag. No problems...knock on wood

[DripDry]

My simple (and cheap) solution was to go to a junkyard and cut out an exploded airbag from a wrecked car (about $2). Seam-rip it to get as large a flat section as possible, then sew a stuffsack big enough to cover your normal food bag (look at http://thru-hiker.com/projects/silnylon_stuffsacks.php for directions). The result is a nearly free bag which is close to an URSACK. The fabric in airbags is SPECTRA which is virtually chew-proof. I also use OR Saks to hold my food which significantly improves the odor-proof capabilities. Just a note- I used a wood-burning tool to "cut" the SPECTRA fabric to size which heat-sealed the threads as well, which minimizes the unraveling. Just do it in an area with plenty of ventilation!

[Lone Wolf]

LW, what do you use to bag it and keep the smell down? (I'm right on the verge of abandoning the hang-it method; just need a tad more intel...)

my food stays in it's nylon stuff sack which stays in my pack which is in the tent

[Francis Sawyer]

There was a guy who hiked the AT with his cat. The cat had a ball at all the shelters killing the mice.

[Peakhunter]

If I find PB on a stick near a shelter and get mauled to death by a bear that night over my food i'm coming back to life as a whitezombie and killing your redzombie!!!

[krshome]

Get about 10 mouse traps, bait them around the shelter and wait. 10 minutes later you have 10 mice. Chop off their heads to make a voodoo necklace outa and hang it from your pack. If I where a mouse that would keep me away.

[Fredt4]

· If you close the pockets of your pack and eventually a rodent (mouse, chipmunk or squirrel) will make a hole, just don't do it.
· The closer you're to a shelter or established campsite the higher the probability a rodent will visit. Chipmunks and squirrels travel far and wide throughout the woods, so avoiding shelters isn't a guarantee that they won't find you.
· Hanging your pack or food only reduces the probability that they'll get to it.
Using a Ursack is almost foolproof, but you better tighten the cord very tight. I found that sleeping with the Ursack is effective. Nearly 20+ years (frankly I don't remember when I bought it, but it's been a while) of using the Ursack Minor and no rodent has ever gotten in to my food. I Ursack rodent bag is a bit lighter, just haven't justified buying one since I already have the older one. I've seen every other method (except bear canisters) fail.

[aero-hiker]

For other hikers, viewers, readers. http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/arch...p/t-40832.html

Just FYI there was a post in that archive about mothballs. I would *HIGHLY* recommend not using mothballs near your food, as they are *EXTREMELY* toxic. Just my $0.02

[Cobble]

I don't want to add to the problem and make it worse.....but maybe I should put some peanut butter on a stick OUTSIDE the shelter, so the mice leave me the alone! But if I do that I am going to feel bad for the guy/girl hiking behind me.....

As long as its poisoned peanut butter..no problem

[Sarcasm the elf]

As long as its poisoned peanut butter..no problem

That would just end up killing a hungry thru hiker who saw abandoned food for the taking.