Tents and Mice

[audreywaugh]

I was wild camping at Ben Alder over the weekend and in the morning I noticed that my food bag had a hole in it and also two holes in the inner fabric of the tent. First thought was that my rucksack had been rubbing against the tent and bag during the night, now I'm not so sure?? Could it have been a hungry mouse?

[prog99]

Almost certainly! I've had a bike pannier chewed through and its made of pretty tough material.

[audreywaugh]

Almost certainly! I've had a bike pannier chewed through and its made of pretty tough material.

Hmmm that is a first then, I should have put my food bag inside ruckie....another lesson learned from that trip, thanks!

[Cairngormwanderer]

Yup, I've had a hole chewed in my tent before now.

[audreywaugh]

Yup, I've had a hole chewed in my tent before now.

Guess I've just been lucky up until now, at least the wee fella wasn't crushed with all the twisting and turning I do in my sleeping bag

[basscadet]

Yes me too - in the cairngorms last year - I couldnie work out how the midges were getting in

At Oban bothy more recently, a mouse licked out all the remnants of my evening hot chocolate - my camping cup was cleaner than its been for years! Left three little presents as a calling card

[Mal Grey]

They're wee buggers.

Had one eat a Wispa I'd accidentally left in my otherwise-empty rucksack in Lairig Leacach bothy once. Found its way into the bag through the lid, ate through the plastic liner, neatly opened the end of the choccy bar, ate half of it, then left.

I was using the rucksack as a pillow at the time, never heard a thing. Mind you, my mate said he woke up in the night, looked over at me, and it was sat on the hood of my sleeping bag...

[Sgurr]

And I always thought it was deer that chewed the gel out of bike saddles. Maybe that was mice too, since they were lying on the ground.

[audreywaugh]

Yes me too - in the cairngorms last year - I couldnie work out how the midges were getting in

At Oban bothy more recently, a mouse licked out all the remnants of my evening hot chocolate - my camping cup was cleaner than its been for years! Left three little presents as a calling card

Thankfully no midges around last weekend, that would have been a nightmare and no presents left in my tent...probably because it never managed to get any food just tent material

[Veryhappybunny]

They have sharp teeth! We put hazelnuts out in the garden for red squirrels, and were delighted to see they were being eaten. We went to refill them, only to surprise a small mouse, sitting in the container, stuffing its little face. It ran away sharp - but still had the presence of mind to take the nut with it!

If it can eat through a nut shell, (which it did leaving a very neat hole) I think tent fabric wouldn't be much of a challenge.

[Caberfeidh]

I should have put my food bag inside ruckie...

Oh no you shouldn't ~ a mate left a cereal bar in a pocket of his rucksack in the Steall Hut, and the little buggers gnawed a hole through his nice new (and expensive) rucksack to get at the cereal bar. Best to keep your food inside tupperware so the smell doesn't get out and attract them. That time I hiked down to Fort William and purchased "weapons of mouse destruction" in the form of two Little Nipper mouse traps. We set them, baited with the remains of the cereal bar, and as we sat downstairs in the evening having a wee dram, there was a snap and scuffle from upstairs. Everyone looked at me - suddenly I was not so brave, and crept upstairs armed with a frying pan for fear of an enormous rat, made angry by having its tail caught in a trap. The victim/perpetrator turned out to be a very nice-looking little field mouse. I dumped him outside and felt a bit crap about it all. Poor wee sleekit coorin' tim'rous beastie...
Anyway, if rodents get on your food, dishes or utensils you can catch a nasty infection called Leptospirosis which you would much rather not, so don't eat food which has been affected by them, and wash your dishes and utensils carefully.

[Cairngormwanderer]

I should have put my food bag inside ruckie...

Anyway, if rodents get on your food, dishes or utensils you can catch a nasty infection called Leptospirosis which you would much rather not, so don't eat food which has been affected by them, and wash your dishes and utensils carefully.

Luckily this is not inevitable. I remember in the days of Bob Scott's Mark II, sitting high in Coire Sputain Dearg eating a chocolate digestive and wondering what it had been rubbing against in my rucksack to scrape off most of the chocolate. It was only halfway through munching that it finally dawned on me: top biscuit in an opened pack that had been lying out in the bothy all night. By that time I just thought sod it and ate the rest anyway.
Survived that time, but not sure I'd be so lax again.

[Lee_whitey87]

So funny to find this! I camped at Ben Alder (just across the stream from the bothy) last weekend and woke to hear rustling... looked into the porch of the tent and found a mouse had chewed through my dry bag to a bag of peanuts! We shewed him away and put the dry bag inside a pannier bag, then inside another pannier bag (just to be safe) and he swiftly moved over to our next door neighbour. She woke in the morning to find the mouse had chewed right into her inner and had been munching away on her food while she slept.

Maybe its worse there since its beside the bothy...

[simcc]

Best to keep your food inside tupperware so the smell doesn't get out and attract them.

Yep, had mice a couple of times attack my food stack.

I agree that in theory it's maybe not best to keep the food in you rucksack, as they will eat eat through the rucksack to get at it, however after many nights wild camping, and only a couple of mice, I dont bother myself usually. My bag will generally not be completely closed at the top any how.

Irt tupperware, I've also known mice to take it on as well to get at food. Sealing it is one thing, but if there are any food reminisce on the tub, they know where to go.

[Ben Nachie]

I should have put my food bag inside ruckie...

Oh no you shouldn't ~ a mate left a cereal bar in a pocket of his rucksack in the Steall Hut, and the little buggers gnawed a hole through his nice new (and expensive) rucksack to get at the cereal bar. Best to keep your food inside tupperware so the smell doesn't get out and attract them. That time I hiked down to Fort William and purchased "weapons of mouse destruction" in the form of two Little Nipper mouse traps. We set them, baited with the remains of the cereal bar, and as we sat downstairs in the evening having a wee dram, there was a snap and scuffle from upstairs. Everyone looked at me - suddenly I was not so brave, and crept upstairs armed with a frying pan for fear of an enormous rat, made angry by having its tail caught in a trap. The victim/perpetrator turned out to be a very nice-looking little field mouse. I dumped him outside and felt a bit crap about it all. Poor wee sleekit coorin' tim'rous beastie...

Well, I have finally been dragged out from lurking in the shadows.
I have a feeling you and I may know each other, Caberfeidh. I had a suspicion it was you already from your writing style, but your account of the Steall Hut mouse confirms it, as I was the owner of that sack!
Long time no see, old chap! How's it going?
I've also had mice eat holes in two different tents. You'd think I'd have learned...