Snakes in Tents?

[Hockaday2017]

This has been a hot topic at work lately amongst us who backpack in so I figured why not ask here for everyones experience. Has anyone ever had a snake find their way into your floorless shelters? Stories?

 

[TheJason]

No snakes, but we set up a wall tent once in a steelhead/chukar trip. We got the wood stove fired it up and reached a comfy 75-80 degrees inside. Must’ve been warm enough to bring all the spiders out of dormancy because it was like a f$&%#ing Harry Potter movie inside the tent.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Spent a summer camping out of my car and would just throw a bed roll down on my tent footprint most nights when the weather was nice. Rolling up the bed one morning found a black widow smashed dead in the blankets. Crossed my mind that could have been bad and thought about the possibility of snakes, but figured the odds of having 2 deadly creatures crawl in your bed in 1 summer is pretty low. Few mornings later found a baby rattlesnake curled in a perfect circle about 3 feet from my bed. Started setting the tent up after that.

 

[DouglasR]

Spent a summer camping out of my car and would just throw a bed roll down on my tent footprint most nights when the weather was nice. Rolling up the bed one morning found a black widow smashed dead in the blankets. Crossed my mind that could have been bad and thought about the possibility of snakes, but figured the odds of having 2 deadly creatures crawl in your bed in 1 summer is pretty low. Few mornings later found a baby rattlesnake curled in a perfect circle about 3 feet from my bed. Started setting the tent up after that.

Core af

 

[kwyeewyk]

Core af

Yeah I swallowed that little f'er for breakfast with some raw chuckar eggs and mtn ops!

 

[MarvB]

Same as @JLS one time except scorpions, little black bastards were everywhere! For about two weeks after, anything that touched me I’d jump out of my f’n skin

 

[Goodfish]

No snakes, but we set up a wall tent once in a steelhead/chukar trip. We got the wood stove fired it up and reached a comfy 75-80 degrees inside. Must’ve been warm enough to bring all the spiders out of dormancy because it was like a f$&%#ing Harry Potter movie inside the tent.

My first thought was snakes I can deal with but I’m not liking the spiders! Abandon ship!

 

[recon6036]

Not a floor less tent story here, but my wife and backpacked around Grand Island in Lake Superior. The first night she had to take a leak, so I turned my headlamp on and we immediately noticed spiders covering the tent. She made me get out of the tent with her and it was like the whole forest floor was moving. Couldn’t imagine a floor less tent at that time.

 

[TheJason]

My first thought was snakes I can deal with but I’m not liking the spiders! Abandon ship!

We waged Jihad on them with a metal spatula.

 

[BirdManMike]

Had a raccoon come in once. Thing was tugging on my sleeping bag. Ran away when I awoke and jumped up.

 

[gouch]

Never had a snake come in the tent. I did have a doe poke her head in the door once and I had a packrat come in the tent one time. The unfortunate part of that was that I had a dog in the tent. Believe me, you do not want a packrat and a dog in the tent at the same time.

 

[Kaitum]

The above reports are the very reason I cannot ever use a floorless tent in NM. I'll stay awake all night manning a perimeter fire before I can sleep on the ground.

 

[JDH]

Had a raccoon come in once. Thing was tugging on my sleeping bag. Ran away when I awoke and jumped up.

Our tent has a little port for you to stick an extension cord through and one night we woke up to a raccoon reaching in the tent trying to get to a bag of chips we had in there.

 

[morley.tyler]

 

[Redman]

Spiders come out when it warms up. Had a ground squirrel come in and help himself to my trail mix. Never had a snake issue. Archery season all I use is a tarp and Never had an issue.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

I’ve found a scorpion in mine, but I’ve had those in my cabin too. There are just too many spiders, snakes and bugs where I hunt and camp to not use a half inner in my hot tent.

 

[Birdbander]

Wish I'd never read this thread. Damn you all for all of the future sleepless nights I have in bird camp

 

[jrabq]

Not in a tent, but found this little fellow in my antelope blind!

 

[Jason73]

We were on an archery stalk, hidden behind some willows when we startled the "Porcupine Family". Not sure who was more freaked out!!

 

[Jason73]

Had friends fishing on Sakakawea, woke up in the morning to the tent covered in wood ticks! Just a friendly tip for anyone planning a trip that way.