Community Forums

BPD138 · 12-01-2022, 08:15 AM

I'm at a total loss of what to do about rodent prevention. Our motorhome is stored on the mowed grass on the side of the house with the tires up on blocks. I don't have power running to it.

I don't have any rodents there now but I want to prevent them from entering. I have been reading a lot about keeping rodents out of the motorhome and understand the "usual" methods of protection. The issue I'm having is; all the reviews I read have positive and negative results. The "popular" products with lots of good reviews also have terrible reviews. I'm having a real hard time of what to do. Can anyone give me some real world reviews, opinions or suggestions on how they prevent rodent's from entering the motorhome?

TandW · 12-01-2022, 08:37 AM

Don't feed the birds or any other outdoor critters. Keep your yard and outside walls free of overgrowth and rubbish or other yard art that provides for safer runways for the vermin.

tuffr2 · 12-01-2022, 08:44 AM

I kept my travel trailer on a mowed part of my friends field close to his pole barn. I always had mouse issues. Then they got a cat. They let the cat out whenever it wanted. Even at night. That stopped any rodents from getting in my travel trailer. If you are a cat person that is what I would try. If not a cat person I would watch 'Mouse Trap Monday' on YouTube. I like the traps with a 5 gallon bucket that can catch multiple mice. They have a teeter tot mechanism on top and the mice fall into the bucket.

Something like this:

https://youtu.be/pHwvVPT202Y

Unplanned Tourist · 12-01-2022, 08:56 AM

Clean any food crumbs up and put all cooking and kitchen drawer contents into plastic totes. Block any place they could enter.

Prevention is better than dealing with an infestation.

TandW · 12-01-2022, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I kept my travel trailer on a mowed part of my friends field close to his pole barn. I always had mouse issues. Then they got a cat. They let the cat out whenever it wanted. Even at night. That stopped any rodents from getting in my travel trailer. If you are a cat person that is what I would try. If not a cat person I would watch 'Mouse Trap Monday' on YouTube. I like the traps with a 5 gallon bucket that can catch multiple mice. They have a teeter tot mechanism on top and the mice fall into the bucket.

Something like this:

https://youtu.be/pHwvVPT202Y

Guess who feeds at the outdoor cat's feeding station when the cat is snoozing on a full belly.

dbircky · 12-01-2022, 09:43 AM

Outdoor cat feeding station? Ours don’t get fed nor are they pets. Giving them food greatly reduces their desire to be self sufficient and makes them dependent on the easy food instead of killing vermin.

Marine359 · 12-01-2022, 09:54 AM

I built a bucket trap and put it out near where I normally store our trailer.
Two days later, peanut butter bait was gone, but no mice in the bucket water. It then dawned on me that either my son’s dog or local coyotes were feasting on the peanut butter, licking the can clean and depriving the vermin of their just do. Oh well, on to the next “canine proof” trap idea.

tuffr2 · 12-01-2022, 09:56 AM

That male cat was a hunter. He liked to kill things. I had a little female cat that was also a hunter. I would come home from work and find a garter snake without a head in my driveway. Another time bird feathers on my porch or a mouse without a head on my front porch mat.

Trouble is the cat needs to be an outside cat. It needs to be smart too. Can't get hit by a car or killed by a bigger cat or some other animal. Usually finding a cat that is smart this way is not too hard.

My brother has a cat that is really wild. An orange tabby that is really independent. He also has a very friendly cat. But the orange tabby likes to roam outside and I describe him as being very wild.

US1 · 12-01-2022, 12:11 PM

I keep my RV at my brothers, in front of his barn on gravel drive. Not the small stones. Never a single mouse in 3 yrs. I want to believe the heavy stone is a deterrent to keep mice from running across the drive. Hurts their little feets. Lol

Winemaker2 · 12-01-2022, 01:01 PM

I will guess that thevreason for the varied reviews is that mouse deterrents are temporary... work for awhile but not permanent. The only way is elimination before they enter.
I've had good luck with the bucket traps in garage & sheds. Try multiple trap types and find out what works in your places and then be diligent with them. Bait boxes as supplements seem to help and are pet / animal proof

Ben-Jo · 12-01-2022, 03:32 PM

I too agree with the bucket traps. First one I used went under and enclosed deck, got two the first night. Put a 2nd one under a metal shed where I keep my boat. Bucket turned over and all the peanut butter off the can. Put it back out with piece of plywood over top with a cinder block of top of it. Next day bucket over and peanut butter gone. Darn racoons. LOL

TandW · 12-01-2022, 04:02 PM

If you want to train feral cats to remain loyal to your property it is a good idea to feed them. They will not lose their natural instinct to hunt and will still bring home surprises that are dead. Just don't leave their food out past their evening feeding or you will find all the neighborhood deadbeats coming in the dark for the leftovers.
It is also a good idea to try getting feral kittens and have them spayed or neutered.

Unplanned Tourist · 12-01-2022, 05:18 PM

BTW, poison should be used as a last resort. Birds and other good animals can die after eating a "free" meal of a poisoned mouse. :(

Lots of good info here, but I like the 5 gallon bucket traps the best. 6 inches of water will drown the little critters.

TandW · 12-01-2022, 05:24 PM

[QUOTE=Unplanned Tourist;6370380]BTW, poison should be used as a last resort. Birds and other good animals can die after eating a "free" meal of a poisoned mouse. :(