So the other night I heard a shuffling around in my loft. Brilliant I though 'Rat, mouse or squirrel?'...
So the next day I head up into the loft to see if I can see anything.
The sight that greeted me was horrific. I keep my bikepacking kit all together in my sleeping bag sack in the loft.
The little ratty b******d (found the droppings) had basically chomped its way through pretty much everything in it.
Sleeping bag, bivvi bag, mat, bar and seat harness, tarp, dry bags etc. I think the only thing intact is my Ti mug.
Obviously house insurance doesn't cover Vermin!

Now need to start from scratch on getting stuff together ahead of any more trips.
Just a word of warning for any of you who keep your kit anywhere exposed. The down in the sleeping bag appeared to make a lovely nest for it.

Death of the bikepacking kit by Yeti Tony, on Flickr

Just off to cry for a prolonged period of time.

I had a rat eat through a rear bag, I hunted the rat down ... it was the last thing that rat it'll ever chew through.

I feel for you and clear Gorilla tape works wonders.

why on earth would the little ratty sod eat all those fabrics?

Hope you get back up and running soon

Chew had a mouse eat through the mesh side pocket of his wingnut in Camban bothy ... but I think there was something to eat in the pocket.

I feel for you. I'm sure a few bit could be patched up and the rest.. well its an opportunity to go on a spending spree.

: ( not good .. I see signs of mice (?rats..?) in my garage. All my climbing gear and now my bikepacking gear is hung up in an Ikea bag after thoughts of a fall onto a mouse-eaten sling. I know they climb pretty well (and gear should be inspected before climbing..) but the amount of other crp lying around that's easier to get to should distract them.

Rats, mice and other despicable gnawing creature love down as it makes great nesting material. Isn't that why many of us chose it too?

My twins used to have a beloved 'blanky', an eiderdown quilt handed down from my great grandmother. When they grew out of the blanky, I packed it away at the back of the hotpress. One of them was ill when she was about 15 or 16 and was curled up on the sofa feeling very sorry for herself and asked me for her 'blanky'. I pulled everything out of the hotpress and right in the back corner, found a load of droppings. A mouse (perhaps several) had eaten through it. Well, aside from my distress at losing the family heirloom, the mess was unbelievable. Tiny feathers everywhere. Not to mention that I had to clean up the evidence, set a trap and repack the cupboard.
Since then, I've been setting traps from September through to April, checking them daily. I hang the sleeping bags (open and loose) in the spare bedroom now and keep the other kit elsewhere in the room.
Best plan is to get a cat, and let it find its own food.

Many years ago, one of our neighbours had a secret (from his wife) stash of cash, about 40 quid, hidden behind a brick in his shed wall. Now £40 doesn't sound much, but forty-odd years ago it was about two weeks wages, say £500 now. Buuut, one day, on checking his hidey-hole, he found a mouse had chewed his cash into confetti and built a nest in it.

Needless to say, my stash is well out of mouses' reach.

Lu