feeding the ice so they leave you alone.

[saltysack]

Mercifully, it's simply his last name. IIRC, his trail name is actually Loner Bohner.

Oops...haaaaa...my bad!


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[blw2]

ah, yes, glad to see the correct spelling. Much less 'tacky'

Here he is this year
https://youtu.be/xoIDVqOQKr8

[blw2]

can somebody correct the spelling in my title?

[MtDoraDave]

You mean leaving a little bit of this as an offering? *



*This is a joke, absolutely don't do this.

In case people don't know why it's not a good idea, or think it's a brilliant idea, the natural predators of mice - owls, Hawks, eagles, etc can be (and have been) killed by eating a mouse or rat that was poisoned.
.
I've seen several mouse traps left behind in shelters, and heard stories about a guy who travels with mouse traps, keeping count of his kills.
I'm ok with mouse traps, but not leaving them behind.
.
I've seen SO MANY thru hikers cook and eat inside the shelters, while laying in their sleeping bags. No, they aren't the only ones that do it. Plenty of section hikers do it, too.
If it's raining or cold, it's just so much easier to cook and eat in the shelter, I get it... the price we all pay, however, is mice.

[gbolt]

When I heard the story of feeding mice, it wasn’t just any food or chips; it was rice. The idea was that when they ate the rice and then drank some water, the rice swells in the belly making them feel full for the night. I have know clue if it works or is ethically appropriate. I rise above such things by using a Hammock and hanging away from shelters if possible.

[George]

not mentioned yet - mice love to stockpile food, absolutely they will get full. but will work all night to haul away a ready food supply

[illabelle]

In case people don't know why it's not a good idea, or think it's a brilliant idea, the natural predators of mice - owls, Hawks, eagles, etc can be (and have been) killed by eating a mouse or rat that was poisoned.
I've seen several mouse traps left behind in shelters, and heard stories about a guy who travels with mouse traps, keeping count of his kills.
I'm ok with mouse traps, but not leaving them behind.....

Somebody shared a story a year or two ago about finding a raccoon that got caught in a mouse trap. I don't remember the exact details, but the raccoon was trapped by it. Maybe he reached through something and got caught. Anyway, by the time it was found, the poor thing was badly dehydrated and unable to even respond to the person who tried to help it. Took it for treatment but had to euthanize it.

[iAmKrzys]

When I saw the thread title my first thought was that the OP meant to say "lice".

[Dogwood]

Wrong on so many levels.


Actually, after more thought, yes feed the mice at AT shelters. I don't sleep anywhere near them or anyone else whenever able. I avoid these sites and the mice like the plague. Pun intended. See, I can be a selfish ignorance SOB too.

[Dogwood]

Hikerbro...

[Elaikases]

When I heard the story of feeding mice, it wasn’t just any food or chips; it was rice. The idea was that when they ate the rice and then drank some water, the rice swells in the belly making them feel full for the night. I have know clue if it works or is ethically appropriate. I rise above such things by using a Hammock and hanging away from shelters if possible.

Actually the classing rat and mice poisons turn to concrete in their guts and kill them that way, like rice only indigestible. They don't poison any predator that eats the dead mice -- it is the point of that kind of rat poison.

[Elaikases]

Err, "classic" rat and mouse poisons.

[rocketsocks]

Not sure I’d take much advice from a guy named “Loner Boner”


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AKA; whack-a-mole

[T.S.Kobzol]

I think hunters should go out there with mouse traps , you know after their hunting season ends the state can extend the season to mice ...

;-)


seriously this is a really dumb idea. I started watching scoutmaster videos to see whether I'd want to follow his channel but I unsubscribed yesterday...I just could not stand the level of dumb. Neither a scout nor a master even though he has the uniform to prove it. :-(

[rocketsocks]

I’d put the “jack ass” boys on the job

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RCEW1gjN1c8

[Puddlefish]

Is putting peanut butter on a neighboring tent, so the bear eats them still acceptable? Asking for a friend.

[swatsullivan]

I'm new here. I mostly lurk and read because I love the AT.

I've been hiking on the AT my whole life. I was a Boy Scout here in VA, growing up and still living only about an hour from the AT at Rockfish Gap. I've only backpacked the AT in Virginia and I've only hiked on a couple parts of the trail in PA (and that was last year). Thru hiking the AT is a dream of mine that I hope to get to realize one day. I really enjoy watching the At thru hiking vLogs on YouTube and reading trail journals.

I am a Scoutmaster. I got into watching these vLogs and looking at Trail Journal after meeting a few thru hikers a couple years ago when we were with Scouts on the AT preparing for a backpacking trip to Philmont in NM. I was trying to find out where they had gotten to or whether they had made it. I guess my background in Scouts and my enjoyment of watching these videos makes SM on the AT even more appealing to me.

From my outsider's perspective, I am not sure I would have fed the mice, but I see how the thinking was reasonable to SM on the AT. He was given that advice by a 3 time thru hiker. He is not familiar at all with the AT.

Since I am familiar with the AT, I avoid the shelters. I worry about the diseases mice can carry. I do not let the scouts go in the shelters. I don;t think SM on the Trail knows this. But just as if you here were to give me advice, I might heed it. I think SM on the Trail was in a similar situation. So I would not be too quick to judge.

I certainly would not say I want to punch him in the face or to that he is dumb. Being a Scoutmaster does little to prepare you for a thru hike. LNT principles adopted by the BSA say that you should keep all food and trash away from wildlife. But I've seen plenty of videos of thru hikers feeding small birds in NE to get them to land on their hand.

Perhaps SM on the AT made a mistake feeding the mice, perhaps not. Even opinions here seem to disagree. One thing is for sure--I am sure I would make a lot of stupid mistakes thru hiking the AT.

[swatsullivan]

Looks like I cannot edit my post to fix my grammatical mistakes. Please excuse those. Thanks

--David

[HooKooDooKu]

Perhaps SM on the AT made a mistake feeding the mice, perhaps not.

I don't think there is any "perhaps not" to it.

While you might be able to debate whether feeding the mice will get them to leave you alone for an evening, a fact I've yet to see anyone argue against in this thread is that feeding the mice WILL create more of a problem for those that come after you. As such, feeding the mice does NOT follow LNT principles, and is technically illegal in places such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

BTW, trying to kill mice, especially with baited traps would also be illegal in a place such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and stories about the raccoon caught in the trap are just one of the reasons why.

But the fact that no one has yet to argue against in this thread is that feeding the mice WILL create tried to
The idea that feeding mice
It might be debatable whether or not
While I think it is open to debate whether or not feeding mice will or will not get them to leave you alone for one evening,
Even IF feeding the mice get them to leave you alone for the night (that's a question that, feeding the mice it causes a future problem., something I don't think anyone has yetno one has disagreed

[Dogwood]

Warfarin to the rescue.