Mice vs. RV

Tractor-Holic · Oct 11, 2017

Mice can squeeze through a 1/4" opening pretty easily...they have no bones,just cartlidge and can flatten themselves down to nothing when it comes to getting in tight places they want to nest in or steal food from..
I never believed that after I read about it online,till one day I found a mouse in my garage,it was living in an old recliner,had the whole back of it filled with shredded foam and cloth--I chased it around for about 5 minutes ,until it managed to get into a spot I couldn't reach,and I saw it squeeze thru a hole a 5/16 bolt should have been in on my quonset hut's arches!..it wasn't an adult mouse,but still it was amazing..

They can crawl right through defroster and fresh air ducts on vehicles and if one happens to croak in one of the many hoses or ducts,good luck getting rid of that stench...I would not use poisons for that reason,snap traps or the water bucket traps would be better ..

DoItMyself · Oct 11, 2017

Our pest control company puts stations and traps around the outside perimeter of, and at the overhead door entrances to our garage and shop. I've found a number of dead rodents in the bait stations and traps, but I've never had any evidence of them being inside the garage or shop (and never had one in the house). Since rodents like to run alongside a wall they get into the traps and bait stations before they get to the entrances. We also don't have any trees close to the house or shop, so rodents can't use them as an entry point through a sidewall or roof.

When we're home, at least one of the garage doors is open during daylight hours and anytime we're outside (which is almost everyday) at least one of the shop doors is open, usually both all day. There's never been any evidence of rodent intrusion (droppings, damage, rub or urine marks, etc.). I don't know what they use in the traps and bait stations, but it clearly works. We also make sure there are no food sources that may attract them-the one bird feeder we have is almost 100' away from the house/garage/shop.

mikeinri · Oct 12, 2017

Why didn't I think of that??? I walk by outdoor traps at work every single day!!!!!

Mike

mikeinri · Oct 12, 2017

I'm having trouble finding outdoor mouse traps. Seems like there are plenty of bait stations, but all the traps I see say indoor use only. I don't want to put poison bait outdoors, because with my luck, they'll probably bring it into their nest(s?) in the RV and die in there.

Mike

steddy · Oct 12, 2017

Maybe make your own weatherproof trap? 5 gallon bucket with loose lid, 3/4” hole drilled in bottom of one or two sides for mouse entrance. Regular sticky trap or baited snap trap inside. ***** and possums can’t reach real far to get the bait, but a mouse can get right in there.

JP Savage · Oct 12, 2017

steddy said:
Maybe make your own weatherproof trap? 5 gallon bucket with loose lid, 3/4” hole drilled in bottom of one or two sides for mouse entrance. Regular sticky trap or baited snap trap inside. ***** and possums can’t reach real far to get the bait, but a mouse can get right in there.

I like that! 5 gal buckets, with lid. Maybe hole in the lid to save the bucket for other uses. Lay bucket on its side, hole down, close to the tires.
Peanut butter for bait. Bait inside with sticky traps. Can cut a few of the lid snaps off to make it easier to get off.
Probably need to tie or stake bucket down so larger animals do not roll it around trying to get inside. Or the wind blows then away.
Keeps the bait and sticky trap (Or snap traps) out of the weather. Brilliant!

I put a layer of pea gravel inside a plastic coffee can for weight. Lay on its side, put a box of Decon on top of the gravel, and cut a hole for the mice in the snap on lid.
Stick 2 or 3 out in the garden where they tend to chew on my climbing rose stems, and cover with leaves for the winter. Decon always gone in the spring. Did not suggest this as it seems the Decon idea is out, and with good reason.

mikeinri · Oct 12, 2017

This has some serious potential, can probably get away with something smaller than a 5-gallon bucket.

I suppose a big enough bait station, lined with glue traps inside would also work. I'm really nervous about attracting even more mice (or chipmunks) to the yard with smelly bait.

Found another mouse on a glue trap in the RV this morning (I check daily), even with new Fresh Cab installed this week. I wonder if the cold weather is affecting the amount of fragrance and limiting its effectiveness?

Last weekend, I pulled the glue traps out to go camping. One of them had mouse footprints on it (but no mouse).

Very frustrated...

Mike

mikeinri · Oct 12, 2017

I also read some trap reviews, found that many are allowing mice to escape (typically the see-saw type trap door design).

There's a newer product, which is a zapper, which is supposed to be able to kill and hold up to 10 mice before needing to be emptied. It's only supposed to be used indoors, but might be OK under the RV? Again, if I need to bait it to work, I don't want to be attracting more of them from the woods.

I highly doubt that I could ever wipe out enough of them to keep them away at this point. And, I'm sure there's a pheromone trail leading right to my RV and garage.

Mike

JP Savage · Oct 13, 2017

I read about those Tomcat multi mouse traps tonight. Yes need to bait them.

JP Savage · Oct 13, 2017

Mike,

Are the mice living in the RV? Building nests? Tearing up the furniture?

Or is it more like they are passing through? Just out looking for food?

mikeinri · Oct 13, 2017

JP Savage said:
Mike,

Are the mice living in the RV? Building nests? Tearing up the furniture?

Or is it more like they are passing through? Just out looking for food?

I haven't seen any real nests, but areas of heavy droppings, mainly over the winter, especially last winter. I believe that there are nests in the mechanical spaces that I just haven't found.

I did a major cleaning of the interior in the spring (the smell was pretty awful), including renting a carpet cleaner for the rugs and cushions. The smell seems to be gone from the interior, but when the windows and vents are closed for a long time, I can still smell it a little.

I've seen mice run out from under the rear end at least twice over the years. I saw a mouse under the hood this summer. I see acorn remnants under the hood regularly, and occasionally on the floor inside the RV, and sometimes in the mechanical space, and under the couch.

We don't keep food in there, but do have kids and a dog, probably not the neatest eaters (mice like crumbs).

They did chew a baseball-sized hole in the back of a dinette cushion. They got to that from the mechanical space. There is a plywood seat base that lifts out for access to the mechanical space (water tank and pump, electrical stuff, etc.). There are cutouts to allow you to lift them out, and they gnawed at the wood frame to open the space even more. I can replace those boards without the cutouts, and simply add a piece of nylon webbing to make a handle that will lie flat when not being used.

I've seen evidence of seat cushion material on the floor. They've also shredded part of the hood insulation.

Mike

Somersalt · Oct 13, 2017

The acorn remnants and shredding of the hood insulation sound like squirrels, I would definitely check my air cleaner before starting the unit, both love to nest in there.

mikeinri · Oct 13, 2017

My air cleaner has stainless mesh covering the opening (I've added this to my truck too). I have seen a bunch of acorn remnants in the RV, but no sign of anything bigger than a mouse.

Mike

Tractor-Holic · Oct 13, 2017

If it has a gas powered generator,they might be living in the engine's blower housing..
A guy I know almost lost his RV to a fire when he started the generator after it sat all winter--engine was full of mice & nests and caught fire!--luckily he was able to put it out with a garden hose before it spread..

He also found mice nests in the walls--his RV had 2x3 wood framing with paneling inside and fiberglass outside,once the mice gained access to the area between the studs they had a condo going big time..

JP Savage · Oct 14, 2017

Deer mice will move one acorn at a time. I had the acorns and chewed acorn parts in the engine compartment of the van one winter when I was not driving it much. Set snap traps and a couple boxes of Decon. Snap traps got Deer mice.

That mechanical space has to be a trouble spot for you. Never owned an RV. Do they not put large removable access panels in different places so work can be done when needed?

Anyone ever use those noise maker devices, Sonic or ultrasonic sound repellents for driving mice away? Always had my doubts about those, but never tried them.

Maybe a couple speakers in the mechanical space and loop a recording of Lawrence Welk music? It seems to drive the lay-abouts away from store fronts.

Seriously, from what I read they do not work over time.

Articles I read keep going back to food supply. Mice like to nest around 10 to 15 feet from their food supply it seems.

mikeinri · Oct 14, 2017

We have lots of oaks, and tons of acorns; so if they're not eating food from me (and they aren't), the only thing I know of is the acorns. There's no realistic way for me to eradicate those.

This RV does have a few small access panels, but the noise that we heard last weekend came from an area with no access panels. If they're in the walls, I'm screwed (had that problem in my last house).

Mike

JP Savage · Oct 15, 2017

Acorns would be the food source then. Bummer. There are a few threads and posts on MTF about cleaning up acorns and I do not think any of the ideas really worked well. Would be a lot of work to get them even mostly picked up.

I think you are back to finding all the entry points and sealing them off, or constantly running the ol trap line.

Deer mice can get through a hole the size of a dime. Don't know if it is going to be possible to find them all.

Trapping will have to be an on going process. Trap 5 or 6, and 5 or 6 more will move in to take their place.
Baiting will not attract more new comers. If there is only room for 20 mice, there will only be 20 mice in that area.
But as you remove some from the area, Mother Nature will fill the void. Deer Mice are territorial and will fight to keep new comers out of their territory. But once they are gone, a new one will move into the abandoned territory and take it's place.

Just remember you are fighting for Mom, Apple Pie, and the American way! Go get'em!

davidg · Oct 15, 2017

JP Savage said:
Anyone ever use those noise maker devices, Sonic or ultrasonic sound repellents for driving mice away? Always had my doubts about those, but never tried them.

ultrasonic repellents don't work. We tried them in our tower sites years ago, most went bad from mice peeing on them!

Mothballs work, BUT it must be a lot of them. in this case a few boxes worth spread out thru the living area would keep them out. Though it would not affect the ones living in the mechanical/plumbing chases. the best bet for those is either trapping them when they roam out, or tearing into the chases and manually removing them.

know anyone with pet ferrets you could borrow? they can get in the chases and eliminate the rodents easily. LOL

Tractor-Holic · Oct 16, 2017

Time to get a pet King snake maybe ?..

mikeinri · Oct 17, 2017

I'd try almost anything at this point. Caught another over the weekend.

Mike

Mice vs. RV

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