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10-16-2021, 11:24 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 1
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Deer Out for keeping rodents away?
We are newbies and are doing our first winterizing, we have a 2017 travel trailer and not sure yet if we will have a mice problem or not since we just bought our camper on labor day. We jammed up every hole we could spot with steel wool (heard they can not chew through that), now some friends said any type of peppermint or euclayptus oil on cotton balls would work good - and to put them everywhere. We also heard dryer sheets and moth balls work too. We have some "deer out" at home - if you are not familiar with that product, it is very minty smelling concentrate that you mix up and spray on plants - it helps keep the deer away from your trees, shrubs and other plants without hurting them. It occurred to us that this might also work for rodents. Has anyone tried this? Any other tips on this that we might benefit from? Thanks much!
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10-16-2021, 11:52 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Prescott, Arizona
Posts: 3,564
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Welcome to the group!! Steel wool works well. For mice, I keep snap traps set. At least one is the storage area, another under the kitchen sink.
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'04 Newmar MADP, 1100w of solar, Rubicon toad
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10-16-2021, 11:57 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Palm Coast Florida
Posts: 12,995
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I keep my trailer at my friend's house by his pole barn. They had an indoor/outdoor cat. I had zero mice. The next year I had lots of mice. Not fun cleaning and disinfecting. I ask them about the cat. They said that they keep him in at night because of coyote.
I tried lots of stuff - the cat did the best.
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10-16-2021, 12:15 PM
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#4
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Community Administrator
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DFW, Texas
Posts: 21,267
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The only problem with steel wool is it will rust away. Even if it doesn't get any direct moisture it can rust. Use copper scrub pads instead as they won't rust.
__________________
2017 Phaeton 40IH XSH Maroon Coral - Power Glide Chassis with IFS
Previous '15 Tiffin Allegro RED 38QRA and '06 Itasca Sunrise 35A
'16 Jeep JKU Wrangler Sahara or '08 Honda Goldwing
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10-16-2021, 01:44 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Location: Asheville, NC
Posts: 2,258
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A tin of lightly used cat litter (urine only) inside in the front, and another tin in the back of the RV. Then some litter sprinkled outside around anything that touches the ground (refreshed every couple of weeks). Has worked for us for the past year. And no, the inside litter does not stink up the RV.
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Jim. 2021 Canyon 3.6L, 2021b Micro Mini 2108DS
400w solar, 170AH LiFePo4, Xantrex XC2000, Victron 75/15 & 100/30, Champion 2500w df, 2Kwh powerstation
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10-16-2021, 02:07 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: North Ridgeville, OH
Posts: 2,455
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I can tell you that mice will use dryer sheets for nesting material. I used them for years until.....the mice made a fool of me!
I've tried to seal up every opening on my MH, but have found that good ole mouse traps with peanut butter are still the way to go. My rig is stored in an unheated building and there are a few mice that have tried to make my rig their winter home. Since it's a MH, I go to it once a month and run the generator and check it out and see if any critters need to be removed.
From what I've read, electronic devices and other methods aren't that reliable, hence, I'll continue with the time tested mouse trap. I put them inside the coach and in a few of the basement compartments.
If at all possible, check your rig regularly when it is in storage. You want to catch the little critters before they cause a lot of damage!
__________________
Retired but busier than ever!
2012 Newmar Bay Star 3302
5 Star Tune, SumoSprings, Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer, Blue Ox Avail
Brake Buddy, 2015 Chevy Malibu
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10-17-2021, 07:36 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Full Timing. When I park I'm home
Posts: 1,369
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I do not think it is possible to close every hole that vermin can get through. I had the best luck with dishes of moth balls in a few place in the rig. Only takes a couple days to air out.
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2004 Volvo, 2009 smart car
2008 Hitch Hiker Champagne
Full timing January 2010
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10-17-2021, 12:07 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Damon Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Clovis NM
Posts: 4,389
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Not one of the items the op mentioned work, except for plugging all the holes. Traps and denial of entry are the only long term effective means of rodent control.
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2006 Damon Daybreak 3276 35'with 5 Star Tuner. 3 200 Amp Lithium batteries and 2000 watt PSW inverter/charger. 2013 Elantra on a Master Tow dolly.
Retired USAF
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10-17-2021, 02:22 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Pacific Northwest and Arizona
Posts: 2,043
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Steel wool is good but expanding foam either over the steel wool or to plug the hole works too. It's not just about making a chew proof barrier, it's about stopping smells from identifying an opening. No matter how clean you get your RV, it still smells like food, unless of course you've never cooked or stored food in it.
Mice is a recurring subject with the almost exact same questions asked each time. Search in the box above using the words Mice or Rodents, and just for giggles, add my name - astrnmrtom to the search. I did institutional pest control for 16 years. Mice and Rats were two of my biggest "customers." My posts are long because I try to explain the hows and whys of rodent control.
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Tom and Pris M. along with Buddy the 18 year old Siamese cat
1998 Safari Serengeti 3706, 300HP Cat 3126 Allison 3060, 900 watts of Solar.
Dragging four telescopes around the US in search of dark skies.
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10-17-2021, 02:35 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 449
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I suggest paying the extra and getting stainless steel wool instead of plain steel wool, which rusts easily. Or use copper wool. But I think rats may be able to chew through copper wool, not sure.
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10-17-2021, 08:18 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Pacific Northwest and Arizona
Posts: 2,043
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johninsd
I suggest paying the extra and getting stainless steel wool instead of plain steel wool, which rusts easily. Or use copper wool. But I think rats may be able to chew through copper wool, not sure.
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Yes, Rat teeth are harder than iron or copper.
What you are doing by plugging the hole with anything is changing the energy out vs energy in balance. Unless there's high pest pressure, pests will only expend so much energy looking for an opening before moving on to the next spot. A rodent doesn't need to chew through the wool if they can pull it out, so make sure it's packed in well. If you can, stuff the hole then follow up with some expanding foam that also blocks smells that may attract pests.
Keeping pressure low is what baiting does by reducing numbers competing for resources. A well sealed rig, and low pest pressure ups the odds a pest will look elsewhere for it's needs.
__________________
Tom and Pris M. along with Buddy the 18 year old Siamese cat
1998 Safari Serengeti 3706, 300HP Cat 3126 Allison 3060, 900 watts of Solar.
Dragging four telescopes around the US in search of dark skies.
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10-18-2021, 08:01 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: West Side, Michigan
Posts: 301
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Stainless steel wool with foam impregnated in the steel wool work for us.
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10-22-2021, 03:46 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Monrovia, CA
Posts: 970
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"I suggest paying the extra and getting stainless steel wool instead of plain steel wool, which rusts easily. Or use copper wool. But I think rats may be able to chew through copper wool, not sure."
Rats can chew through rebar!
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Gammel - 2020 ORV Backcountry 21RWS
2021 F350 Diesel Platinum Tremor
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