Well folks, it’s been about a year since we began our Glamping Adventure. We swam, fished, played, swam some more, dug our toes into the sand, roasted marshmallows, watched outdoor movies, and swam even more. It has been an amazing experience…minus a few lessons learned along the way, and I am excited for more memories to come.

Let’s take a minute and talk about those lessons. As you hopefully read previously in Glamping 101, I am not what you would call “outdoorsy.” My idea of being adventurous in the wilderness is sitting on the patio in my over-sized, anti-gravity chair while I drink wine, rather than relaxing on my couch in the air conditioning. Bugs? Hate ‘em. Small rodents? Gross. But I didn’t need to worry about these things – I mean, I had a Glamper – not a stinky tent that they could crawl in and out of. Right? NOT RIGHT.

My first horrible experience occurred a few trips into last season. I was there alone with my two kids (my husband had to work) and we were hanging out with my new camping friend, Emily. We kept seeing carpenter ants crawling on the floor and I wondered where they were coming from; maybe the dog had brought them in? Emily, being the outdoorsy girl that she is, suspected that we had a problem…and boy was she right. They were everywhere…underneath the kitchen table, underneath the mattresses in my kids room, in between the couch and the kitchen table….EVERY.WHERE. I thank my lucky stars for Emily and her husband who took the reigns and vacuumed up the millions of tiny monsters that had essentially ruined my life, then sealed up the perimeter of the Glamper and laid traps. I literally sat in a corner and cried and then yelled at my husband via phone for not being there. My advice to you? Stock up on Terro Indoor Liquid Ant Traps and place them everywhere in your camper, and seal up all of those small spaces where they can gain access. Since doing this, we’ve had the occasional lone visitor, but no major problems.

The second experience from hell occurred when we re-opened the camper earlier this season. At the end of last season, we were told to place fabric softener sheets all around the inside of the Glamper, along with Ivory Soap bars, in order to deter mice from getting in over the winter months. Being the good little Glampers that we are, we did just that – and wouldn’t you know – when we came back this spring, the little boogers had EATEN the Ivory Soap and then pooped on it! And speaking of poop, it was EVERYWHERE. All over the floor, on the couch, in each and every drawer in the kitchen, in the cabinets, under the sink…you name it, the mice pooped in it or on it. Then, to top it all off, there was a DEAD MOUSE in my toilet and there was also some other dead critter on the floor of my kitchen – and to this day, we have no idea what in the hell it was. It was absolutely horrifying. We threw away SO many items and scrubbed that Glamper within an inch of its life. At some point during this experience, I threatened to burn the damn thing down and get a new one. Thankfully, I was talked out of that, and now the Glamper is good as new and cleaner than the day we brought it home. My advice to you? Don’t put out Ivory Soap – they LIKE it, apparently. Buy Fresh Cab Rodent Repellent and place all around the inside of your Glamper. This is the stuff that farmers use to put inside their farm equipment to keep the barn mice out – plus, it smells like Christmas trees and it’s a natural alternative to poisons. We haven’t had an issue since!

Despite my recent experiences with the wildlife being inside my Glamper instead of outside where it belongs, I still love my Glamping weekends and very much look forward to them. My kids spend all day, every day outside playing and they don’t even ask about their electronics. We’re all happier, healthier, and have grown closer as a family unit – and I hope this is a tradition that my kids will carry on with their kids.

But seriously – do you have any Glamping or Camping critter stories? I’d love to hear them – it would make me feel a little better to know that it’s not just me that this stuff happens to. Oh, and bonus points if you can identify the dead critter in the picture and tell me what it is!

Mills Apartments

Michelle

Michelle is a crazy-coupon-lady who loves getting things for free and believes that there is a fine line between hoarding and stockpiling. She’s also is a die-hard soccer & baseball Mom, and doesn’t understand why it’s socially unacceptable to run around barefoot all the time.

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