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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / September 2004

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Bats attracted to tent trailer

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Dave Robertson - 07 Aug 2004 22:11 GMT
Has anybody ever had a problem with bats being attracted to the inside
of their tent trailer.  We have camped quite a few places without any
problems.  Except last year, about this time of year, we camped on the
John Day River in eastern Oregon (large desert canyons), and I woke up
about 12:00 at night and heard a scratching a couple of feet away from
my head, I pushed the window screen out and here is a bat trying to
scratch at the screen.  I bonked the screen, and it flew away, only to
come back at another location.  I spent the rest of the night trying to
keep this bat away from the trailer.  I went outside a couple of times
when I thought it was gone, and it would come off the roof and dive bomb
 me.  I tried that a couple of times and gave up going outside.
Ultimately, it was 4:00 in the morning and my wife asked me if I was
still keeping it away (of course the whole family slept), and it started
to scratch on the roof right above where we were talking.  I hit the
roof about as hard as I could near where it was and it didn't bother us
again.

So we go back to the John Day River for the first time since then (last
year still at the edge of my thoughts), but about 15 miles further
upstream, and go to sleep the first night, and I wake up about midnight
and hear that familiar flapping and scratching sound, I shine the
flashlight in that direction from the bed, and this bat comes whizzing
past my face in the trailer.  I spent a 1/2 hour trying to get this bat
out of the trailer using the door, which when I first opened it their
was another bat flying right outside the door.  My family huddled under
their covers while I tried to deal with it.  Finally, I got everybody
out and opened the fabric at the end of the bed and it flew out.  Well,
we have talked to doctors about having a bat in your sleeping quarters
while you are asleep, and while the risk for rabies is low, most of the
cases of rabies from bats occur in people with no recognized bite marks.
 The thinking being that their teeth are so small that the bite might
go unrecognized in sleeping people.  So the CDC recommends rabies
vaccination in this case.  So the whole family is signed up for rabies
shots ($1500 per person, hopefully insurance covers it well).

So, I'm just wondering is our trailer cursed, is it just this location
and species or has somebody had similar experiences with their tent
trailer.  Let me know if you have.  We are leary about using our trailer
now, although for two years we'll be immune and able to register as a
dog or cat in our county.
lfm - 08 Aug 2004 15:39 GMT
Thanks for this. I am sure I will never sleep as well in my Popup again!

Any idea how it came in?

Laura
> Has anybody ever had a problem with bats being attracted to the inside
> of their tent trailer.  We have camped quite a few places without any
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> now, although for two years we'll be immune and able to register as a
> dog or cat in our county.
Steve Silverwood - 12 Aug 2004 03:03 GMT
> Has anybody ever had a problem with bats being attracted to the inside
> of their tent trailer.  We have camped quite a few places without any
> problems....  

It sounds like John Day River is what you need to avoid, not the tent
trailer.  Although most of our camping has been in Southern California,
I=3Fve never once heard any bats trying to get into our trailer.  (We did
have a bit of trouble with some wild donkeys once out by the Colorado
River, but that=3Fs another story and they didn=3Ft try to get into the
trailer anyway.)

Signature

-- //Steve//

Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS
Fountain Valley, CA
Email: kb6ojs@arrl.net

AustinMN - 12 Aug 2004 14:09 GMT
> Has anybody ever had a problem with bats being attracted to the inside
> of their tent trailer.

<balance of horror story snipped>

PJay has a bat phobia.  If I ever want to get her into the pop-up again, I
have to make sure she never hears about this incident.

Austin
Signature

Coleman Bayside behind a Chevy Astro.
No, not without a Reese Mini-350 WDH!
There are no X characters in my address

Skippy - 08 Sep 2004 02:44 GMT
We have had a similar problem, most recently this past Labor Day
weekend.  I was anxious to check the postings to see if anyone else
had reported problems with bats since no one I have talked to has had
or can believe the problem we have had.  Here's what we've
experienced.

We have had Coleman pop-ups for the past 14 years or so.  Our current
unit is a 2001 Bayside (that we are now thinking about renaming the
"Batside.") Last summer at Wilderness State Park in Michigan we woke
up in the middle of the night hearing something flying around inside.
Being half asleep I saw it on the screening of the end window and
thought "That's the biggest moth I've ever seen."  Swatting at it I
realized it wasn't a moth but a bat.  Luckily I was able to zip up the
canvas quickly, trapping it. I held it in place with one hand against
the canvas.  Then with the other hand I unzipped the canvas with my
other hand (gloved), grabbed it and tossed it outside.

The next day I found a spot where the canvas had pulled away from the
clips that hold the side tenting to the top of the camper near the
lift mechanism and assumed that this is how it got into the camper.
My wife continued to hear bats fluttering outside each evening, but
none got in and I thought the whole episode was an unusual, isolated
incident and wouldn't happen again.

Following that we had other camping trips without incident. This past
weekend we returned to Wilderness.  Again we heard bats outside, but
I'd checked the canvas clips and stuffed any access holes I could find
with towels, etc.  While sleeping one night we heard a scratching
sound, but were unable to find the source and there wasn't anything
inside.  The next evening we again heard the sound while playing
cards, but now we were able to isolate it to a space where the side
tenting connects to the top.

The Bayside has the typical end bunks and also a pullout dinnette and
a pushout kitchen window.  When you pop up the unit the tenting which
is attached a few inches up inside the top pulls against the edge of
the top and effectively creates a small tunnel with an entrance on
each end. Thankfully these are outside the camper. From the inside of
the camper you can run your hand along the tenting at these spots and
squeeze the tunnel closed.  When I did this I could feel a bat in
there and could also feel it work it's way out.  Outside I stuffed
towels into the "entrances" for the bed ends.  Next day I wondered
about the tunnels by the kitchen window and dinette and decided to
check.  Sure enough, there was a bat in the tunel by the kitchen.

We lowered the top a little, washed out the spots and the stuffed the
ends with foam and although we heard some fluttering during the night
we had no bats inside or in any of the tunnles for the balance of the
trip.

Since it's happened twice and both times at Wilderness Park I talked
to the ranger.  He was surprised and told me that reports of problems
with bats were uncommon.  We're now wondering if there is something
about our camper or our camp site that attracts bats? Is it the park?
Is there a way to discourage them?
Brad Blackburn - 08 Sep 2004 06:36 GMT
I recall several members in the old pop-up-times forum who had bats get into
their trailer.
The voids in tenting may remind them of loose bark which they roost under.
Amazing little creatures,,,,natures mosquito deleto...except natures version
actually works :)

Brad
Paul Below - 09 Sep 2004 00:28 GMT
>Since it's happened twice and both times at Wilderness Park I talked
>to the ranger.  He was surprised and told me that reports of problems
>with bats were uncommon.  We're now wondering if there is something
>about our camper or our camp site that attracts bats? Is it the park?
>Is there a way to discourage them?

I wonder if the Park could put up some bat houses?  They obviously are
looking for a place to shelter.  Must have more bats than places to
sleep in that Park.

On a camping trip a few years ago to a National Forest, we heard
scratching noises at night, but as it was pouring rain I looked around
only briefly, saw nothing moving, and went back to sleep.  The next
day we left and drove down the mountain to the closest town and
stopped at a gas station.  When I opened the hood to check the oil, I
found a squirrel's nest (or some other small mammal, never saw the
creature) in the engine compartment.  Luckily the twigs and leaves
hadn't gotten too warm and caught fire!

Paul Below
Battle Point Astronomical Association
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
http://bainbridgeisland.org/ritchieobs/
Skippy - 09 Sep 2004 17:45 GMT
Didn't think to ask about bat houses.  Wilderness Park is 8200 acres,
most of it is literally wilderness.  It is a great park, about 11
miles west of the closest town, Mackinac City, adjacent to a peninsula
which is called Waugoshance Point, with Big Stone Bay (Lake MI) on one
side and Sturgeon Bay (also Lake MI) on the other. I suspect, but
don't know yet, that for some reason the bat population is very large
in that area because it is common to have bats in the evening flying
about town in both Mackinac City and on Mackinac Island and roosting
in doorways of businesses.  Nevertheless, we've camped there for years
and never had a problem until last year (and never anywhere else).
Tom Shaw - 09 Sep 2004 20:09 GMT
I dont think you had a problem last year either.  Do you think they are
vampires?  Or that they like to get in your hair?
TS
> Didn't think to ask about bat houses.  Wilderness Park is 8200 acres,
> most of it is literally wilderness.  It is a great park, about 11
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> in doorways of businesses.  Nevertheless, we've camped there for years
> and never had a problem until last year (and never anywhere else).
Tony Wesley - 10 Sep 2004 05:19 GMT
> [...] it is common to have bats in the evening flying
> about town in both Mackinac City and on Mackinac Island and roosting
> in doorways of businesses.

Just to drive everyone batty, it's Mackinaw City but yes,
it is Mackinac Island.
 
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