Mice

[Tcso]

What the best way to get rid of mice in your coach,and keep them out

[yeloduster]

Seems like you have 2 questions.

1. How do you get mice out of an RV? Answer, snap traps work well.
2. How do you keep them out. Answer: Plug any hole where they can get in. Plugging holes is easy....finding holes is hard. Look at any place wiring or plumbing go from outside to inside. Shore power cords, water/sewer lines, electrical wires from engine to dash, etc.

Good luck! It can be done but it is tedious.

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by Tcso

What the best way to get rid of mice in your coach,and keep them out

Prefer baited plastic jaw traps with liquid bait where you set them with one hand and dispose of mice easier. Use disposable gloves anyway.

Find the nest, take out drawers and look behind them. Spray lysol first let dry then clean up.

Open undersink cabinets and set a trap inside each

Set at least 6 other traps all over inside

Set at least 2 traps outside under the rig

Check traps frequently. Keep bait fresh per instructions

[astrnmrtom]

There's a whole bunch of people cringing in their seats expecting my usual huge, long, reply. Instead, I'll refer you to the search bar at the top of the forum. Put your title word, click search and stand back! This is a super common question and you'll get all kinds of suggestions. I did institutional pest control for 16 years so if you add my screen name to the word Mice you can access my very long winded posts where I often not only tell you how thew pros do it, I explain the why, and why not of various methods.

[sgtjoe]

After many years with no mice as my MH sat I was surprised by the fact that they had decided to move in. I set traps and got a few then I took a few bars of Irish Spring soap and cut each one into 4 pieces and placed them in my outside compartments. Then I bought a Transonic Pro from ACE Hardware and placed it in the middle of my MH and plugged it in. There have been NO MICE in the past year since I did this. I still have a few mouse traps with peanut butter to lure them in for a taste but since I put the Transonic Pro in there have been no takers and not one piece of mouse poop.


The Transonic Pro is an Electronic Pest Chaser. I live in Saint George Utah and we have Bats here that like to find places to nest/hang out. I put a couple of these on my back patio and have not see a Bat in 4 years.

[ChrisDParise]

Trapping mice outside before they can get inside helps by decimating the overall near by population.

Obviously, sealing holes too.

They do climb around under the hood of my Class C and once ate into the air filter.

Irish Spring had no repellent affect for me.

[ChrisDParise]

In case anyone is following I'd like to share an update that might help others - I think it was suggested above somewhere above, and I'd like to thank that person.

I've had a regular problem with mice. After I trapped them they always returned and after a whole year of this happening on and off, I knew I had a place or two where they were getting in.

Let me say first my Class C has a rear bedroom where the bed platform is hinged to provide access to the water pump, filter, slide out rails, the fw tank, and electrical breaker box.

I've crawled around under the rv many times looking for access holes but always during the daytime and always with the mattress on the bed platform

In my search for all mouse droppings and disinfecting I took the bed mattress off and opened the bed platform.
After disinfectant and vacuuming and disinfecting again and again, I went under the rv to look for access holes.

Looking up, I saw daylight! Wasn't sure exactly where it was in relation to the bed so I took a long zip tie and pushed it through to the open air. Turns out, the opening was a heavily spray foamed electrical and water run large diameter plastic pipe which ran from the passenger side to the drivers side and it had a 45 degree elbow to the floor surface that had either deteriorated over time or eaten away by mice. Big enough for a mouse to squeak through based on what I've been told.

Bought some Locktite large gap expanding spray foam and first foamed the hole from the top, really letting the foam push it's way into the opening - then went underneath and foamed upwards all the way around the elbow. Then I went into the rv and did another round of foaming around the factory expanding foam at that site. Should add after foaming from the top I could see the foam had expanded to be visible from the bottom.

Ok, I checked the foam the next day and it really bloomed nicely from the top and bottom so that one's done!

Now, here's where it gets better. I went out last night at 10 pm. Turned all the lights on in the rv, then went under the rv. Without any trouble, just carefully inspecting, I could see light where my low point drains exited the floor above. The drain pipes are heavily spray foamed from the factory but like the utility run above the foam had either deteriorated at those points or eaten by mice. And actually, the low point drains on the driver side are under the bed access area and the opening there was significantly larger than the utility run opening I first found.

So far I've found 3 openings. I am going to try and fill the low point holes with copper scouring pads before spraying more expanding foam to add to the drains rigidity and deter mice from chewing through. Btw, I wanted to fill the utility run opening with the copper pads but the opening proved to be too small for that treatment.

Ok, so my back is killing me today from all that crawling but I am heading to the store for more expanding foam and will continue my search under the rv with the lights on at night for ANY more openings!

[ChrisDParise]

Short update.

Bought 3 cans Locktite large gap expanding foam to fill additional daylight openings above the 2 low point drain openings I discovered.

I pushed copper scouring pads up into the openings with a super long flat bladed screwdriver then sprayed expanding foam into the voids - there was plenty of factory expanding foam around these areas so as I suggested earlier the foam had either deteriorated over time and vibration over the last 15 years or the mice had exploited it or both.

Ended up using just 1 can between both low point drain areas. Later that day I saw the foam had expanded like stalagmites in a cave! Went out the next day and used a drywall knife saw to trim them off so they're not visible from the sides. Very happy with the density of this foam and how well it expands - easily 2 to 3 times original volume.

It's been a couple weeks since I eradicated a breeding pair of mice and their nest with babies in it.

All surfaces have been repeatedly disinfected and vacuumed.

I used a product called Odoban for final disinfecting and odor elimination - has a mild eucalyptus scent. Will see how well this works over time but after a few days it is pleasant.

There's been no signs of mouse droppings under the bed or their former nest area but I need to crawl under the rv at night with the interior lights on one more time to look for more entry points - as soon as my back heals up!

[SteveJ.]

Congrats on a successful hunt. BTW, Great Stuff makes an expanding foam that is treated with something that critters avoid. I used it on our Trek after I found the place that a family off pack rats used to move in. The can has green lettering and was available at a Home Despot store.

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by SteveJ.

Congrats on a successful hunt. BTW, Great Stuff makes an expanding foam that is treated with something that critters avoid. I used it on our Trek after I found the place that a family off pack rats used to move in. The can has green lettering and was available at a Home Despot store.

Yes, it's a Pest foam from great stuff but the big box lumber / hardware store close to me was out of stock.

I am impressed on the density and expanding characteristics of the Locktite

Still more investigating work in the dark to do looking for daylight. Had this rv for 15 years been under it more times than I can count. Believe the plumbing and electrical are discovered and covered now I'll look at where the lp gas line to the water heater and furnace enters the coach. I had a lp leak a couple years ago and pipe parts were replaced. I followed up underneath when they were done and it all looked well sealed but maybe it wasn't that great of a job after all

[rgvtexan]

We had cat, never had a mouse problem. Even with the MH in storage it was mouse free.
Also had the bucket trap outside of the shop, got a few dozen mice a year.

[BOOZE TRAVEL]

Works for us.

[Vato]

If it's possible in your situation..

Lights, Lights, Lights.. that hate lights!

[rarebear.nm]

A cat or snakes....



I think mice respond to different treatments in different parts of the country and may change over time. I think plug all possible holes and use snap traps to get rid of what's already onboard. I also use a bucket trap outside to reduce the general mouse population. When we had a nesting pair of hawks our mouse problem went to almost zero. The hawks moved moved on to new hunting grounds.



Finding all of those holes can be very hard.