MICE in 2003 Rexhall Rexair

[lotzopets42]

I have sealed every little hole I can find , put halogen light under coach on dark night to look for any light coming in ( none) put light in coach and looked under for any light spots ( none) HOW IN THE HECK are mice getting in, I live trap every night and by morning I have 3-4 , every day!!! I don't find any nests anywhere, I sealed off the opening between under fridge and kitchen drawers, sealed under shower, water lines coming in for water and washer, any ideas of where else I can possibly find how they are getting in, I am be driven insane trying to figure it out, they have also taken over our 2004 Suzuki XL7 toad, completely tore out all interior and foamed wheel wells all holes I could find did the same light thing in and out, they had a nest 6" thick in the headliner the entire width, ERRRRRR!!! HELP??!!

[Hangfive]

I found them getting into the side overhead compartment above driver captain chair. I took that area apart as best I could on both sides to access the tight area above the windshield frames. A lot of harness comes up thru those frames as they are hollow wire loom and mouse runs, at least on my '95 Aerbus. I shot a massive amount of foam into this area on both sides. Don't put in to much as this stuff can expand and push things apart. This may trap some mice in the RV, but trap them until all gone. Now I don't get any mice unless I leave a basement door open over night,, and they have other pipes etc.. to enter by.

[lotzopets42]

TY, that makes so much sense, I thought I could hear them in the ceiling once in awhile, then thought I must be crazy, "I mean how could they possibly get up there" I am afraid of what I am going to find now Will post update after I get it opened up, scary!!!!

[Hangfive]

As I recall my coach has a speaker in each corner. After removing them I was able to remove some of the cabinet framing, then remove the angled piece that covers where the ceiling and wall come together that allows a raceway the length of the coach which the mice use. I used a power battery screwdriver and correct bit. You know you are there when you see the wiring coming up out of the vertical windshield frame. Shoot your foam down into the gaps in the wire looms. Yours should be similar in design.

[Sonomacats]

One of the things a lot of people do in areas where there are mice or pack rats or the like (like Arizona and Nevada, etc.), is put those corded lights underneath and all around the coach where the little critters can get in, so you might want to consider trying that, as well.

[lotzopets42]

Hangfive and Sonomacats, TY for your info, Hangfive your details of getting to area are great, I forgot I had bought a trailcam so I put it in coach last night, caught the little guys coming in from the under dash vent on passengers side, they would just run up and down, then come in, I will be putting metal screening over all the vent holes !! TY again, Barbara

[astrnmrtom]

Sometimes it's impossible to find/seal the entry point because it can be up inside the end cap area or some other out of the way place. Be sure to check wire bundles that come through from the outside under the dash. They can be sealed but have gaps in the center of the bundle. That's where I found an entry point in my RV. Sometimes slides don't seal completely either. I strongly suggest you place and maintain bait stations outside your rig. You have what called high pest pressure which is a large local population. Maintaining bait stations will reduce the local population and the pressure on your RV.

The two biggest reason I hear people are resistant to bait is danger to pets and the fear a rodent will die in the walls and stink up the interior. If you use a pet resistant bait station, danger to pets is minimal. Baits are formulated to be deadly based on body weight. A pet would have to consume a large amount to be made sick because they have much larger bodies. Re the risk of one dying in your rig: not baiting and reducing population means the longer the problem continues, the more rodent urine and feces build up inside hidden places inside and the more damage is done, I ask which is worse? Another thing exterior bait stations do is feed them OUTSIDE your rig before they enter. When you look for entry points use a bright flashlight and look for clean spots in the dust from their travel, and sometimes you'll see an oily looking spot that looks out of place. That's oil from their fur as they squeeze through a tight spot.

Keep looking. It took me many tries to locate all the entry points on my Rv and there were several times I though I had them beat only do catch one inside again, and I did pest control for a living before retiring and I knew what to look for. They only need a hole the size of the tip of your little finger and sometime you can't see the hole but you may be able to feel for it with a fingertip.

[lotzopets42]

Astrnmrtom, TY for info on entry possibilities, bait stations, NOPE, no can do against my heart, so I use live traps. Tues eve. I put the trail cam inside coach and found them just going in and out the vent under dash on passengers side, used hardwire screen to put between opening and grill, did the small vent on side of doghouse drivers side too. Last night instead of mice coming out of vent are they ( 2 ) were trying to get OUT of coach through the vent area, they wound up in live traps instead. Will do the wire runs today, found them behind speakers by front window, found mouse poop up there too, that is such a huge open run for them, never realized it was there till all of everybodies help, will keep you posted. Barbara

[kevjanr]

Try Irish Spring soap and put them everywhere in all cabinets.

[astrnmrtom]

Trail cam is a great idea. To be successful in pest control you have to become a good detective. You'd think it would be pretty easy and straight forward, but I found like any skill, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some of the skill is becoming a good tracker where you learn to read subtle signs.

It's been a while since I found them coming in through a vehicle's ventilation system. I knew I had one in the heater plenum of my Safari when I turned on the defroster one morning and had a snowstorm of little styrofoam balls shoot up up out the defroster vents. The little guy was getting into the plenum from inside the rig under the dash and removing the front of the dash to access it is where I found the bundle of wires coming up from below. The last spot I found was where my hydronic heating hoses went through the exterior wall of the storage compartments to go up and feed the dash register. Like the heater bundle, the factory had foamed around the hoses, but not between them. I couldn't see the hole because my propane tanks was in the way but I could reach over the top and stick my little finger between the hoses. Foamed it shut, and that was the end - for now. Oh, and check around you pedals. Sometimes thew rubber boots become stretched and the mouse can crawl past them. If you find them in the ceiling, if often means they are getting in via the rear cap. A real bear to seal.

I understand the issue with bait. It's not uncommon for people to resist using it for a number of reasons. Rodent control is a three legged stool. One leg is exclusion, the other reducing pest pressure by local population reduction, and the third is monitor for activity (trap) Remove a leg and the stool becomes harder to keep upright. One non poison way to reduce population is the bucket trap. You'll see it mentioned in mouse threads. The same thing could be achieved with a lot of baited traps outside but you could be rebaiting and resetting a lot of traps every day which is labor intensive.

It's also a war you should never think you've won. I'm pretty confident I've got my rig sealed because I haven't found any activity in a while now, but I still keep a couple baited traps inside and check them regularly.

[astrnmrtom]

Ahhh, I just caught onto you "that's why I use live traps." So that must mean catch and release.

Ok, then you'll have to shore up the other two legs of the stool which it sounds like you are. You may also want to mix up some bleach water and clean any areas you've found them using. Mice leave a trail of urine droplets as a path marker which can be like a "follow the dotted line" to entry points or hiding places. Be careful with the bleach water on carpet or other dyed fabric. Wear gloves, spray, let it sit for 5 minutes or so and wipe with paper towels. This will also kill the Hantavirus if the mouse is carrying it. People should be wetting droppings down with bleach mix too before picking them up for the same reason.

[Hangfive]

This wasn't my first encounter with the aliens. In 1964 I put together my first car, a 1936 Plymouth coupe. When it was discovered there were mice nests in the headliner we determined they were using the windshield frame to access the headliner. Nasty memories never die