Mouse Hunt

[Telle]

2nd instance with a mouse in camper and thought I had taken care of cracks, holes, etc. Pretty sure I knew where it got in first time but went over the entire bottom and sprayed foam in any questionable area along the corafoam which covers the bottom. Had a bad spot on the fender below the fwd storage area that leads to water pump, hot water heater, etc. I added a piece of metal to make sure it was covered Put camper in storage lot beginning of May and emptied all food, not knowing when I was going to get to use it again due to work. I also have 6 humane traps with peanut butter setup throughout. I have a game trail camera set up in the cabin area. Been checking every couple of weeks and on 15 Aug, a mouse showed up. I checked the time stamps and it was 5-6 Aug with 16 videos. Curious as to only why it was seen those 2 days....did it leave? I also threw out some glue traps along paths I saw it taking on the videos but had nothing in them this morning. I looked in storage area a little bit harder and found light between the stair frame and where I made repair so I plugged it with some cloth for the time being, thinking that is where it got in. Mouse could have climbed up tire and walked along angle. Also if the cloth is moved, I will know. I am getting some foam sheets and make a cutout to go over tires and jacks so if mouse climbs up, hopefully it hits the dead end and can't run along edge to find places to get in. My biggest question and curiosity as stated above, why did I only see it for those 2 days.

[MrMark52]

You need to stuff any cracks and crevices with steel wool or a Brillo pad (cut to fit) before filling with foam.

Rats/mice can slip thru the tiniest of cracks.

They will climb the tires to get to higher ground.

I use 2” PVC tees with 2 6” long pieces of PVC pipe stuck in the 2 arms of the tee and capped. Then drop a bait block down inside the open leg of the tee so that it falls into one of the 6” pieces.
I set one of those at each tire - this tends to attract the vermin before they try to get inside,

Depending on the age of your coach, soy based wiring insulation or possibly other soy based insulation materials might have been used. That might be what is attracting them.

[Telle]

I did use the steel wool also. Your PVC trap sounds promising. I will make a small change to it since I have 4 tires, but I get the idea...thanks. My camper is 2009 Jayco 345BHS.

[dave22554]

Originally Posted by MrMark52

You need to stuff any cracks and crevices with steel wool or a Brillo pad (cut to fit) before filling with foam.

Rats/mice can slip thru the tiniest of cracks.

They will climb the tires to get to higher ground.

I use 2” PVC tees with 2 6” long pieces of PVC pipe stuck in the 2 arms of the tee and capped. Then drop a bait block down inside the open leg of the tee so that it falls into one of the 6” pieces.
I set one of those at each tire - this tends to attract the vermin before they try to get inside,

Depending on the age of your coach, soy based wiring insulation or possibly other soy based insulation materials might have been used. That might be what is attracting them.

Can you post a pic or drawing? I also saw an interesting trap with a bucket and plastic cover with crossing slits and food on top to attract them. Once they crawl over the slits they drop in the bucket and can't get out. Seems like a good way to catch multiple.

[TXiceman]

A mouse can get through the smallest of cracks. It is a job to seal everything/

Ken

[MrMark52]

Originally Posted by dave22554

Can you post a pic or drawing? I also saw an interesting trap with a bucket and plastic cover with crossing slits and food on top to attract them. Once they crawl over the slits they drop in the bucket and can't get out. Seems like a good way to catch multiple.

I just threw it together. Put one beside each wheel. Check every morning.

The longer the PVC extensions are, the harder it will be for pets to wrestle it around to get the bait out. And is why I check them daily in the event a pet tried to get the bait out (checking means lifting to move bait back to the end cap.

Surprising how the varmints come in waves.

[AnotherMike]

My parents used to have a mouse problem in their sticks-n-bricks house.

The rodent control company that they ended up using told us to plug any hole larger than a dime - and to use stainless steel potscrubbers that you can find at any 99 cent store to plug the holes.

NEVER use steel wool or Brillo pads. The humidity in the air will cause them to rust away with time - in some areas as little as 6 months.

Mike

[MrMark52]

Originally Posted by AnotherMike

My parents used to have a mouse problem in their sticks-n-bricks house.

The rodent control company that they ended up using told us to plug any hole larger than a dime - and to use stainless steel potscrubbers that you can find at any 99 cent store to plug the holes.

NEVER use steel wool or Brillo pads. The humidity in the air will cause them to rust away with time - in some areas as little as 6 months.

Mike

Never may be too strong of a word -

I’ve had several pods of fine steel wool in my garage on the bottom shelf of a storage shelf that I also keep lawn chemicals on. The pods have been there for at least 20 years.
A little degradation, yes, but still usable - yes. I live in North Texas where humidity (except for this summer) tends to run the range of 40-90%.
Most Brillo type pads are either copper or stainless - pretty much unaffected by humidity except for the patina that develops on copper.

When somewhat encapsulated in foam, the steel wool will deter the varmints enough that they move on (who likes to chew on strands of steel for very long - although rats and mice have to chew).

[RVnAggie]

Here’s one deterrent I used for a while…..not recommended, but highly effective. LOL.

On a more serious note, to help prevent access into the cabin, I use steel wool under cabinets around plumbing through the floor and also added a screen behind the wooden grill for the basement vent that is in the riser on the steps going upstairs to bathroom and bedroom. My grill had vertical slots that were approx 3/8” wide; plenty of room for a mouse to squeeze through. Might be worth checking if you have a similar stair vent.

Safe Travels,

[tuffr2]

I know having a cat out at night will take care of the mice but without a cat steel wool and traps worked ok for me.

I sold my trailer but was going to try a trap I saw on YouTube 'Mouse Trap Monday' with a 5 gallon bucket with water and a teeter totter design that the mice would fall into the 6" of water.

Check out 'Mouse Trap Monday' on YouTube.

[Telle]

I took camera out of camper on 15 Aug to check time stamps on videos. The mouse showed up on 5 and 6 Aug at various times - 15 total videos. I put it back in on 16 Aug along with some glue traps. I checked this morning and nothing. Hoping and praying it left because it could not find food but afraid it is feasting on wires somewhere and not coming into the cabin area . When I stored the camper I placed 4 humane traps in cabin area, 1 at stairs to bedroom and 1 in storage area that leads to cabin with peanut butter but this guy must not like peanut butter. I have added 6 glue traps and 2 snap traps with cheese. I am hoping to have results soon . The longer it goes by with no video or death the more concerned i get for possible damage. . Will be adding another exterior camera to see if I get lucky and find out where it is getting in.

[Tightwadted]

Suggestion: Put traps by the tires, and one on top of each tire. good luck!

[llibdliw]

Respectfully to all but this may offend a few of you.
For me, the only good mouse is a dead mouse. Where there is 1, there are more.

I agree with the preventative measures mentioned most of which I have done. Some will say moth balls do not work, some will say Irish Spring soap does not work. I use mothballs outside but not inside the rig. I have never tried Irish Spring.

I think the parking surface is a part of the battle. Mice spend much of their time burrowing tunnels to locate food sources and building small caves for comfort. I am fortunate; my rig is at home and parked on asphalt.

This is my current battle plan. I have 6 snap traps outside my rig. I have a dual axle so there is 1 trap at each tire and 2 more, 1 fore and 1 aft. I put mothballs under the rig and 1 or 2 on top of the tires. My shed is located about 6’ from my rig so I put a couple of traps just under the shed on the camper side. I have 1 snap trap inside the rig, just in case. Right now, I get about 1 mouse a week and most always from a trap under my shed. On occasion, I may get 1 from a trap under the rig.


I may not win the war, but I am going to win some battles.
Everyone’s goal it to keep mice out of their rig.

Hope this helps…
Wild Bill

[Maller01]

I need to implement some of these tips. Thanks for the good ideas.