I have not had this happen yet, but I am sleeping on the ground more. My question is, has it happened to anyone and what can I do to avoid this ever happening to me. I'm camping in Kansas and the surrounding states. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciatated.
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Snakes in a Bedroll
- Thread starter 12foxtrot
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I'v slept on the ground, prob. a thousand nights, and I'v wakened in the morn more than once to find myself with snakes round about.Never had a prob. In the morn its more than likely cool (relative)and they are inactive. Just brush them aside. Just turn your top cover over under you so thy can't get inside and you will be OK. Course this was in the east and south, not in MT ------ YET. Once in MT I awoke to find a big bull moose sizing me up. --- thats different. :surrender: :surrender: Good luck
I've been camping and sleeping on the ground for over 50 years, all over the US and Canada - and I have never, never had a snake get anywhere near me.
However, I did wake up on a beach in Michigan's upper peninsular one foggy morning and found a 10 pound snapping turtle just a few feet away from me.
Snakes don't bother me at all. I like them. When I was a kid I would catch them and take them home.
What does bother me is spiders and scorpions. Arachnophobia!
However, I did wake up on a beach in Michigan's upper peninsular one foggy morning and found a 10 pound snapping turtle just a few feet away from me.
Snakes don't bother me at all. I like them. When I was a kid I would catch them and take them home.
What does bother me is spiders and scorpions. Arachnophobia!
12foxtrot,
Might want to find yourself a really
friendly mongoose to sleep with.I've heard they
are not real fond of snakes either.
I got to tell you though,most of us snakes are really friendly
critters and mean no harm to anyone.IMO
snake-eyes :hmm:
Finding a friendly mongoose is about as likely
to happen as finding a snake
in your sleeping bag.
Might want to find yourself a really
friendly mongoose to sleep with.I've heard they
are not real fond of snakes either.
I got to tell you though,most of us snakes are really friendly
critters and mean no harm to anyone.IMO
snake-eyes :hmm:
Finding a friendly mongoose is about as likely
to happen as finding a snake
in your sleeping bag.
My dad was in the Army during WW2. They were training the Boys for desert warfare (later North Africa) some where near the Salt and Sea in Southern California. One night while on bivoouac one of the soldiers woke up and told the others around him to get the sargent because there was a snake in the bed roll with him. They got the sargent, he said two of you hold the bottom corners of the sleeping bag and rest of us will pull him out on the count of three. Well they jerked him out on the count. On opening the sleeping bag they found a rattlesnake. How long he had been in there that night??? No one knew. (No one was screwing around with the guy). The Guy did not get bit or any one else holding the bag or pulling. Evidenty the snake was dispatched with 45 auto. to settle nerves. When asked “How big was the snake?” ”¦.it was as round as someone’s thumb. But when you have a rattlesnake in your bed roll “it’s the biggest snake in the world.”
Way back when I was a young man 4 of us went on a bass fishing trip one weekend to Backbay in eastern VA. We arrived late in the evening on a Fri. and decided to bed down on a dock for the night. At day break next morn I woke to find all of us surrounded by all kinds of water snakes. There must have been 50 or more. We didn't spook and soon by our just moving slowly they moved off. None in our beds. Fishing wasn't too good as I remember, but lots of snakes.
Mike Moore
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I have had two snakes in my bedroll over the years. One small garter thought my hip hole was the perfect spot for a afternoon nap - a surprise but nothing big. The other was a long, heavy one that crawled under my outer canvas, but on top of my wool blankets when camped on the Upper Missouri while on a five day canoe trip. That one make me sit up. It was before daylight and I can still remember the length of it going over my ankles.
mike.
mike.
Grizzled Roberts
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If its chilly out there your bed roll has something snakes need....warmth! I have always been told told that if you are in Rattler country
and its cool, if you wake up with a big fat snake in your bag the thing to do is just lay there awake until the sun rises. When your bag warms up
the snake will leave. Of course I like the idea the Army guys did, half on the man and half on the bag. Then pull quick! If you are alone you have some quality time in your bag.
Ah the joys of Ground sleeping!! :yakyak:
and its cool, if you wake up with a big fat snake in your bag the thing to do is just lay there awake until the sun rises. When your bag warms up
the snake will leave. Of course I like the idea the Army guys did, half on the man and half on the bag. Then pull quick! If you are alone you have some quality time in your bag.
Ah the joys of Ground sleeping!! :yakyak:
To prevent snakes from getting into your camping/sleeping/ bedroll area -place at least
A ½ inch hemp rope circling the area. Evidently the hemp has enough rough texture
The snakes would rather go around than over. Now that’s the story the old Cowboy’s
Tell. I haven’t tried it. Half because of not being able to afford that much hemp rope
and half because the guys I have camped with, in the past, would have smoked it.
A ½ inch hemp rope circling the area. Evidently the hemp has enough rough texture
The snakes would rather go around than over. Now that’s the story the old Cowboy’s
Tell. I haven’t tried it. Half because of not being able to afford that much hemp rope
and half because the guys I have camped with, in the past, would have smoked it.
DEATH WIND said:
Old wives' tale. Snakes go over the rope the same way they go over a sharp rock.
George Kevil
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The rope that they used was made of horse hair. But we got curious once and put a mccarty in front of a snake and he crawled right over it. It may have been just to get away from us that he did this.
George
George
Hum ”“ “Snakes will not cross over rope.- old Wives Tale.” Yah, I suppose one couldn’t
say that for all snakes (ref. ~ snakes will not cross a rope). Hear-say a rope won’t bother a “Hoopsnake” as they just roll over it.
:haha:
say that for all snakes (ref. ~ snakes will not cross a rope). Hear-say a rope won’t bother a “Hoopsnake” as they just roll over it.
:haha:
mmorgan1730
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Mothballs work pretty well if you can stand the smell yourself.
kansas_volunteer
45 Cal.
My dad had much the same thing happen when training at Camp Roberts for deployment of the Pacific. He was sleeping under GI blankets.
I've spent much of my adult life in the Army and slept on the ground many a night, and never had snake problems. And, don't know anyone who has.
I've spent much of my adult life in the Army and slept on the ground many a night, and never had snake problems. And, don't know anyone who has.
Camping with the Boy scouts about 40 years ago in the Smokies we were camped in a row along an old logging road with a game trail along it. We were using pieces of clear poly as tarps and during the night had a 5 -6 foot nice fat black rat snake come down the trail, under one tarp up over two campers and out the other side, then under the next tarp and over two more campers and so on, you could hear the yelps and hollering in succession down the trail. Guess we were blocking his way down the mountain.
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