Pop-Up Campers and "Critters"

[Karmak]

I was wondering what stories pop-up owners can provide regarding experience dealing with critters attempting to or actually getting into the camper - and what you did about it. Two very different animal species immediately come to mind: mosquitos and bears! I know Alaskan touts it's hard shell campers vs. Pop-ups because of the bear resistance factor....

 

[Karmak]

I was wondering what stories pop-up owners can provide regarding experience dealing with critters attempting to or actually getting into the camper - and what you did about it. Two very different animal species immediately come to mind: mosquitos and bears! I know Alaskan touts it's hard shell campers vs. Pop-ups because of the bear resistance factor....



And to clarify, I meant the textile/canvas type Pop-ups. thanks

 

[UglyScout]

I camped in a mosquito swamp last weekend and had ZERO problems in the FWC - it seals up pretty dang tight. I was getting eaten alive outside and we moved inside to stay alive and were happy we had a camper.


I've lived in both Minnesota and Alaska and I'd think you'd be fine in mosquito county with a pop-up.

 

[1tonpaulie]

I live in Northern Illinois. We have Mosquitos the size of bird. We camp in Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan. Our biggest problem is raccoons. They try to open the roof vent while you sleep. I have taken snap mouse traps and put peanut butter on them and put them up by the vent. Whack and thats the end of it. Sounds mean but last fall in the UP of Michigan I had three of them on the roof, one got the vent open. He got my propane torch and a sore foot!

 

[MarkBC]

The screen-mesh on my 2005 FWC Hawk is great against mosquitos...but it's too coarse to stop no-see-ums. Still, surprisingly few no-see-ums come in anyway...maybe it's a psychological barrier to those annoying micro-squitos, like how a painted-on cattle guard stops cattle as if it was a real cattle guard.

During my May Utah trip, while I was camped in Capitol Reef N.P. a mouse came in my open turnbuckle-access sliding-port.

My rig hasn't been tested by bears yet.

 

[Barko1]

During my May Utah trip, while I was camped in Capitol Reef N.P. a mouse came in my open turnbuckle-access sliding-port.



And??? Did it become part of the stew or do you now have Hanta Virus?

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Here in Tejas we can definitely get some gully-washers. I was camping out in one awhile back with my fan /roof vent open and going, but having difficulty with the "horizontal rain" coming through the screened side window.

I got the bright idea to close the (screened) side window and open the (unscreened) left rear turnbuckle porthole. What a beautiful, dry breeze I enjoyed as I dreamed on my new fold-out couch!

Suddenly, TERROR! as I was 'assaulted' by some flying insect the size of a freakin' bat!

I contemplated adding screens to the port-holes, but have decided to tweak my AC installation instead -- how 'brown' of me ...

 

[MarkBC]

And??? Did it become part of the stew or do you now have Hanta Virus?

I scared it back out the hole immediately and closed the port. Then, a little later, I heard it scraping/chewing at the closed port.

 

[Hittheroad]

I notice a shortage of bear stories. Could be that no one survived to tell. But I wonder if the average bear has the finger dexterity to tell the difference between the sidewall of a FWC and an Alaskan or even an Air Stream. In general I assume if a bear wants to go somewhere he does so.
But while even Alaskan Mosquitos don't have the wing span to lift an Alaskan Camper I am not so sure about a small FWC.

But seriously if anyone has bear experience I would like to know. We leave an open dish of ammonia when we go for a hike and want to leave the windows open. Have no idea if it helps. We have not had bears in our camper. Our kitchen at home is a different story.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

I too had a small creature come in an open port. It chewed up some paper and made a small nest under the sattee but never got into the living area. Whatever it was left after building the nest, which I didn't find till I got home.

I've had plenty of encounters with bears but never in the ATC. I've seen windows punched out of cars, doors pulled off SUVs, and holes ripped in aluminum "hard-sided" trailers, so there is little doubt that a bear could get into a pop-up, even an Alaskan, if it wanted to. The smell of food is all it would take.

As Jack said, bears generally go where they want to go.

 

[Gormley Green]

I had the same thing with a mouse coming in the turnbuckle door at Craters of the Moon. It woke me up as I had my garbage (shopping) bag right there and it was rummaging around. Got rid of the mouse and no longer keep those hatches open for ventilation. Thankfully it didn't wake up my co-pilot as she's not a big mouse fan.

 

[MarkBC]

OK, it's happened again -- another camper-invasion by a rodent!

It was on my last camp of my trip this past week, in the Leavitt Meadows C.G. next to the West Walker River. I was napping/dozing in the bunk of my Hawk, rolled over, looked down and saw -- and startled -- a golden mantle ground squirrel. In a panic, the little wildland-rat bolted for the screen door and was blocked. Then it remembered that it had come in the slightly-open turnbuckle port and left the way it came.

I didn't mean to have the turnbuckle port open, but the left-rear one tends to slide open on its own at times. Guess I need to check it to avoid unwanted guests. However, when I run my catalytic heater I need to have the camper vented, and that turnbuckle port is perfect as a lower vent -- it's directly behind where I usually place the heater.

 

[Barko1]

I was out on the Outer Mountain Loop in Big Bend, just a tarp and some Gorp, and the little buggers must have been hungry. Waking up in the middle of the night with them chowing on my grub. Stuck it in my bag and they still wanted to get it to it

 

[LuckyDan]

Not a "Pop Up" story, but I think it fits the spirit and intent so here goes:

Many years ago I had a Caveman Camper. One summer while camped on the Grande Ronde River in Oregon I left the main door open while I slept as it gets rather hot there during the summer and stays very warm even at night. Sometime during the night a breeze came up and apparently opened the screen door. About daylight I was awakened by the sounds of tapping and scratching in the camper. A magpie had came in and was perched on the counter pecking at the egg shells I left in the sink from cooking dinner.

I was able to shoo it out with a towel. It wasn't easily motivated to leave.

 

[Barko1]

A magpie had came in and was perched on the counter pecking at the egg shells I left in the sink from cooking dinner.

I was able to shoo it out with a towel. It wasn't easily motivated to leave.

Magpies are cool birds, smart! I guess there are close relatives of Ravens. My dogs still hate Ravens for stealing many of their bisquits from an open trailer when at the Grand Canyon