MICE

[ArtJoyce]

Close down enterances, remove any food source, bait for the rodents

[NCC-1701A]

Originally Posted by johnhicks

Watch Mousetrap Monday on Youtube.

Mousetrapmonday.com for sure. You will see that mice/rats eat soap, make nests out of dryer sheets, could care less about lights and will crawl all over them while on, appear to only be impacted by ultrasonic deterrents if they are within inches of the device, and could care less about minty smelling cotton balls. Some things do work, however.

Find and plug any gaps. You may not see them in daylight so at night turn on every light in the coach including storage bays. Then crawl under your rig and look for any light showing. Mice can get through a gap of a 1/4". Keep mice outside absolutely minimized by constantly trapping them. The bucket traps work great with a few inches of water in the bottom as they can catch many mice without any resetting. Keep some snap traps set in your rig.

I had a Bounder where their entry point was to literally push past a rubber seal around the firewall! They are tenacious to say the least!

Good luck.

[ChrisDParise]

Catching a mouse outside my motorhome in a baited trap behind the rear wheels on the drivers side (which borders the woods) about once every 2 or 3 weeks.

Suspect there's an entry point there, doing a light test when winter weather permits.

Got 1 baited trap set behind the front drivers side wheel, not trapped any in that location. Last summer when I had my engine air filter changed my mechanic said a mouse had chewed on the filter. I meant to find the air inlet and see if I could put a cover on it but never got around to it. Obviously will have to take the cover off before starting the engine.

Checking outside traps practically every day.

Caught 2 in the motorhome this winter both near the cab and the retracted front slideout. Last one caught was about 3-4 weeks ago.

Checking inside traps once a week. I think I've got 7 or 9 freshly baited traps inside all over. When I check inside I am getting on my hands and knees looking for any mouse signs- not seeing anything. Ideally would check everyday but rv is covered and winter weather is a problem.

Thinking of adding more outside traps.

[Towboy]

I wired strobe lights in bay area connected to a photoelectric cell so on at night off in am.

Seems to work

[mlpeloquin]

Originally Posted by ChrisDParise

Catching a mouse outside my motorhome in a baited trap behind the rear wheels on the drivers side (which borders the woods) about once every 2 or 3 weeks.

Suspect there's an entry point there, doing a light test when winter weather permits.

Got 1 baited trap set behind the front drivers side wheel, not trapped any in that location. Last summer when I had my engine air filter changed my mechanic said a mouse had chewed on the filter. I meant to find the air inlet and see if I could put a cover on it but never got around to it. Obviously will have to take the cover off before starting the engine.

Checking outside traps practically every day.

Caught 2 in the motorhome this winter both near the cab and the retracted front slideout. Last one caught was about 3-4 weeks ago.

Checking inside traps once a week. I think I've got 7 or 9 freshly baited traps inside all over. When I check inside I am getting on my hands and knees looking for any mouse signs- not seeing anything. Ideally would check everyday but rv is covered and winter weather is a problem.

Thinking of adding more outside traps.

To cover the air inlet, put wire mesh meant for mice. You wont have to remove it. Wire Mesh SS

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by mlpeloquin

To cover the air inlet, put wire mesh meant for mice. You wont have to remove it. Wire Mesh SS

Thanks

[Mike Finnerty]

I noticed that some replies were to find the mice entry points. I have a 2020 Vista by Winnebago. Last year we had no issue with mice, not so this year. In early December I checked and found no evidence. Two months later it looked like we had several families living it it. First thing I did even before cleaning inside was to spend several hours under the motorhome with a shop light, a bag of steel wool, and my caulk gun loaded with exterior window, door, and siding caulk. I was looking for every place where wires were routed into the interior or the basement compartments. I found seven or eight places where these wires were routed with no attempt by the manufacturer to seal the hole. Then after I took out drawers and cleaned I did the same search for entry points on the inside. I found several more that were not obvious from under the motorhome. Two were where sink drains went through the floor into the grey tank. I now have moth balls and traps in all the outside compartments and traps in the interior locations where I had found their leavings. The drawers won't go back in until spring.


Now if I could just find a way to keep them off the engine. They had also chewed through the throttle body wires which I had to fix before I could move the motorhome onto the driveway.

[1972VWbus]

Originally Posted by Mike Finnerty

I noticed that some replies were to find the mice entry points. I have a 2020 Vista by Winnebago. Last year we had no issue with mice, not so this year. In early December I checked and found no evidence. Two months later it looked like we had several families living it it. First thing I did even before cleaning inside was to spend several hours under the motorhome with a shop light, a bag of steel wool, and my caulk gun loaded with exterior window, door, and siding caulk. I was looking for every place where wires were routed into the interior or the basement compartments. I found seven or eight places where these wires were routed with no attempt by the manufacturer to seal the hole. Then after I took out drawers and cleaned I did the same search for entry points on the inside. I found several more that were not obvious from under the motorhome. Two were where sink drains went through the floor into the grey tank. I now have moth balls and traps in all the outside compartments and traps in the interior locations where I had found their leavings. The drawers won't go back in until spring.


Now if I could just find a way to keep them off the engine. They had also chewed through the throttle body wires which I had to fix before I could move the motorhome onto the driveway.

Mice hate pure peppermint oil. Soak some cotton balls in it and place them around the engine bay.


Or get some of the following with an additional bottle of pure peppermint oil.


https://www.amazon.com/Peppermint-Oi.../dp/B08BVWFG75

[Hittntheroad]

Our first motorhome 6 years ago. Thor Ace. Pretty sloppy workmanship. Steel wool and caulk.

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by Hittntheroad

Our first motorhome 6 years ago. Thor Ace. Pretty sloppy workmanship. Steel wool and caulk.

Yeah, that's pretty sloppy from the factory. Mines a 2006 Sunseeker 2860DS, had since 2007, been under it many hours and yet to find where they're getting in underneath its sealed up well. I suspect the slideout lower corners but doing the light testing as suggested above first.

Baited traps outside and inside seem to be preventing any infestation this winter.

[Persistent]

A box of mothballs under the hood is all that is needed to keep critters out of the engine compartment. Open the box or bag. Place it inside. Remove it to travel. Replace it when in storage.

A box will last years. It works in farm situations with lots of grain and other food around.

[ChrisDParise]

Originally Posted by Persistent

A box of mothballs under the hood is all that is needed to keep critters out of the engine compartment. Open the box or bag. Place it inside. Remove it to travel. Replace it when in storage.



A box will last years. It works in farm situations with lots of grain and other food around.

Good reminder on moth balls. I've used them against critters around the foundation before.