Exactly How Bad Are the Mice?

[ffstenger]

Mice I've seen a plenty, they make lots a noise and rarely get something in my pack, but never really bothered me. A big wood rat in SNP got my attention at first, but when he stood up on his hind feet and I saw his pretty white belly, aw he was soooo cute. I couldn't hurt him.... he left me alone too. But a big ole porcupine was trying to eat the the shelter one night, now THAT was loud!!
Showme

[SGT Rock]

The mice at Blue Mountain Shleter were very bold when I was there in 2001. They didn't wait until dark to start assulting the packs and performing Ninja like tricks for us. Luckily the porch on the shelter was good for hanging a hammock so I didn't have to deal with sleeping with the tiny creatures.

[Rain Man]

When I did my little section hike around the Standing Indian Mtn, NC loop two weekends ago, the trail maintainer said something I wish I had asked him about.

He mentioned they were "trying something" about the mice in shelters. We only stayed in one shelter, Big Springs Shelter, but there were NO mice.

Any idea what they are "trying" in shelters regarding the mice???

Rain Man

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[Lone Wolf]

Poisoning the little bastards!

[Lobo]

A thru-hiker in 2000 killed 28 mice in one night at Hightop Hut in SNP by baiting two traps with peanut butter and working them all night long. He really hated mice!

[steve hiker]

Is that the guy who set his mice out on a windowsill the next day, all lined up in a neat dead row? Saw a pic awhile back and saved it as a screensaver, but don't have a link.

[Lobo]

I heard that the "Mouse Slayer of Hightop Hut" left the mouse carcasses in a large pile on the floor. I arrived the next day, April 26th, and they were gone. Apparently a south-bound section hiker buried each one under 28 seperate rocks. She really loved mice!

[Jersey Bob]

at least 10 characters

[RITBlake]

My one real pre-thru hike fear was that of mice. I know it is irrational and silly, but even as a grown man, I am simply afraid of mice. I don't know why, but the idea of something like that crawling on me was too much to handle. Anyway, it was my impression that the mice weren't really bad at all. Granted we did a sobo hike and the majority of the mice probably had been killed off but we never had a major incident. We did make a stand against some mice at a shelter just north of Max Patch. At 330 in the morning, 35 degrees out, Don King and I were outside the shelter in our skivvies trying to swat and kill off a wave of mice that was advancing on the shelter. The next morning we joked around about it being a D-Day like mouse invasion. Fun to laugh about now, but at the time it was un-nerving.

Lonewolf is right though, If I thru hike again, I will avoid shelters, and hammock more. Sheltering is just easier and faster, but in the end its probably not worth it.


Anway, I thought I would go back to this old post that I used to read and say that I survived my thru hike and the mice!

[weary]

The mice are as bad as you allow them to be. That may sound like a bit of flim flam but the truth is that they generally don't mess with you unless you're careless and "bait" with food. Bottom line ...the mice are in EVERY shelter, bar none! The degree to which they get into your stuff is directly proportional to how well you clean up and pack up after eating.
Personally, I find chipmonks to be much more aggresive and damaging.

All true. But they didn't really bother me. One mouse predator did, however. It was in Pennsylvania. Unbalanced Bruce (he had bipolar disease) left a note in the register about waking up at night with something crawling across his chest. He grabbed it and flung it outside. An inspection with his flashlight revealed a 3 inch diameter black snake.

I warned my grandson and others at the shelter not to read the register. Of course, they all did. None of us slept much that night.

But my most exciting victory over a mouse occurred about the age of 9 and well away from the AT. I came home from school one evening to discover a crushed mouse in my boot. I was a hero for a couple of days, being the first of several siblings to ever kill a fellow creature.

Weary

[Smooth]

Yes the mice can be bad. Yes I had one lick peanutbutter off of my lips. Very upsetting. Some carried a mouse trap and would trap out each shelter upon arrival before cooking or sleeping. Some objected to that practice. They usually followed somebody who traped the shelters clean before them. The shelter mice are educated and have comunications with adjacent shelters. I tried to stay away from shelters, however no choise in SMNP. Great thread. "the Virginian" ? had a great idea of placing a little peanutbutter on your sheltermates forhead at night.

[JoeHiker]

While hiking the Long Trail this fall, I stayed at Shelters twice. Even though I hung my pack and clothes, the mice were everywhere and kept waking me up. The second night I tried using traps and peanut butter -- managed to catch 7 of them but it still kept up all night. I gave up and slept in my hammock the remaining nights. Best decisionI made on the trail

[Rain Man]

... Unbalanced Bruce (he had bipolar disease) left a note in the register about waking up at night with something crawling across his chest. He grabbed it and flung it outside. An inspection with his flashlight revealed a 3 inch diameter black snake....

I trust he had the brains (one half or the other!) to go out, get the thing, and bring it back in the shelter, where it'd keep all those mice away!!!

RainMan

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[Old Spice]

they can't be any worse than the mice in my lovely nyc hovel of an apartment. cheers.

[Smooth]

they can't be any worse than the mice in my lovely nyc hovel of an apartment. cheers.

Hey Old Spice, You will not have a problem with mice, those who live eleswhere will. They lack experance. NYC had the friendliest people I met along the trail, most willing to stop talk and share. Must be the mouse training.

[jad]

in 2002 spent a night in thomas shelter with a rather large black snake that lived just under the roof. didn't like the idea but i thought at least there shouldn't be a mouse problem. WRONG just as many mice as any other shelter

[neo]

i have never had any mice since i started hammocking,if you avoid shelters
you will avoid mice completely neo

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...p?i=9410&c=577

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...p?i=7889&c=577

[smokymtnsteve]

i have never had any mice since i started hammocking,if you avoid shelters
you will avoid mice completely neo

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...p?i=9410&c=577

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...p?i=7889&c=577

yea but were all not Swingers like U neo

[hopefulhiker]

In Low gap shelter I felt something rubbing my toe deep in my sleeping bag. I reached and grabbed the thing and felt it's little heart pumping as I hurled it from the sleeping bag. It was either a mouse or a shrew. In Maine towards the end of the season the mice become more aggressive. The squirrels are like little swat teams. I set my pack down with a bag of gorp lying out to go for five minutes to get water... came back and about a half a pound of gorp had vanished... The litte guard ropes hanging from shelters don't work anymore up north. Also don't trust the bear boxes. Hang instead. The mice can easily find their way in. Good luck!

[Cookerhiker]

I've had some mouse problems over the years but not enough to get hung up about. On my 30 day section hike in NH-ME, I slept in shelters nearly every night and only once were mice a factor. That night, I ended up hanging the entire pack from a tree.

So far, I've never had a mouse or other animal get my food when I've hung my food from a tree aways from the shelter.

Last spring, I foolishly left my bandana out on a mild night at Sarver Shelter in Virginia - it was shredded the next morning.