Community Forums

Off Road · 05-01-2018, 09:22 PM

We are headed off for a two week trip where we will spend a fair amount of time boondocking in pack rat country. I have had my wiring harness completely destroyed in one pickup by the little critters and really don’t want to experience that again. What do you do to ward them off? I have heard leaving the hood open works but I have an under hood engine bay light I would have to remove. Anyone use some led lights under your truck plugged into the cigarette lighter jack? Any other ideas?

okmunky · 05-01-2018, 09:44 PM

Just some of the things mentioned previously -
Lights under coach at night
Peppermint oil on cotton balls
Strobe lights under RV
Moth balls inside a plastic bottle with holes drilled in plastic.

I keep moth balls in an empty 2 liter bottle on top of my chassis battery. That has seemed to work for me. Make sure they don’t get wet and you can’t smell them unless you open the hood.

Good luck!

Tuquala · 05-01-2018, 10:22 PM

Should be easy enough to remove bulb in hood light, unless the Dog does things different!!

Here in E WA & E OR, a lot of campers and hunters swear by keeping the hood up, esp when you have driven, to let heat dissipate. "They" say that the miceys are looking for the heat. Esp in the fall. Most leave hood up until vehicle needed! I've done both nothing and hood up when warm, and so far haven't had any rodent damage under the hood. Can't say they haven't been under there, though!!! Don't know of anything that does any better. But any simple method like mentioned may help.

bfisher003 · 05-02-2018, 04:39 AM

A few weeks ago we spent a couple of days in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument’s Campground. I noticed that many of the vehicles parked there had there hoods partially open and wondered why, so I finally asked a Park Ranger. I was told it was to prevent pack rat damage.

okmunky · 05-02-2018, 10:54 AM

Aren’t pack rats nocturnal? And are engines the only place they try to invade?

I had 2 mice in my storage bays which allow critters to get into the back of the cabinets in the coach. I caught them in traps and need to crawl under and find out where they got in. Thankfully I've never had any running across the floor, but their scratching drives my little barker nuts.

weredoingit · 05-02-2018, 02:50 PM

I've never had them get in the RV while we were using it. But years ago I had a cab over camper on blocks at our hunting camp. After a 2 month vacant time, we came up and I was shocked at the damage. They even got in the silverware drawer and stashed spoons and forks in deep hiding places. It was pretty much the end of that camper.

I think now if I wanted to keep Pack rats away, I would hire a chain smocking, smart ass old geezer and have him sit outside my camper.

Off Road · 05-02-2018, 05:47 PM

[QUOTE=weredoingit;4168977

I think now if I wanted to keep Pack rats away, I would hire a chain smocking, smart ass old geezer and have him sit outside my camper.[/QUOTE]

We’ll hand me a beer and I’m your man, except for the smoking part. Other than that I’m well qualified.

Tuquala · 05-02-2018, 10:58 PM

When do the job interviews start??!!

ByeTheWay · 05-03-2018, 10:10 PM

I use Rid-A-Rat: index

and snap traps baited w/ peanut butter

rarebear.nm · 05-03-2018, 10:29 PM

I live in pack rat and mouse county USA. Pack rat and mice are very different critters and frequently require different solutions. I had $4,000 damage done to my truck by pack rats within a couple of days time and more trouble on my boat.

The most effective solution I've found are various strobe lights. I have multiple Rid-a-Rat lights under each hood and 120v DJ style strobes in my boat and inside the RV when its parked at the house. U also use 12v emergency vehicle style clear strobes in the various RV storage bays. Since I went strobe city no more rat damage.

I also use a large supply of Bounce Dry sheets scattered everywhere inside the RV and the boat to ward off the mice. Its the only things that has work well for me.

Last summer I had a nest of Red Tail hawks in my front yard and the rodent populations seemed to have crashed about then. The hawks have not some back this year.

However, the best way to keep them away is get out on the road and use your RV.

okmunky · 05-04-2018, 08:32 PM

Fred,

I've bought two 12V strobe lights to put under my RV and toad. I'm thinking that that's enough to keep them away. If you have strobes underneath do you need them inside, too?

My daughter had rats get into her Prius in suburban Seattle and do $6000 damage last summer while we were there. She drove it home on Friday and wouldn’t start on Monday. She found a dead one in the glove compartment when she went in for her insurance card. Bald eagles nest in the tree above where she parks, too. Rodents can be a problem just about anywhere.

rarebear.nm · 05-04-2018, 08:57 PM

Barb,

Great question, answer is I don't know, never tried just that. My logic went like this. As I understand rodents don't like to hang around bright lights like strobes. If the strobes were only outside as soon as the critter got past those nasty things and inside where its dark they might be quite comfortable. So I tried to make the inside spaces nasty to their point of view (pun intended), I hope. If they run by outside I don't really care, I just don't want them moving in.

Also I was concerned about exterior strobes causing neighbors to complain. They already don't like RVs. Just a note, my insurance covered the rodent damage.

Good luck... This time next week we'll be on our way to Alaska until late September.

okmunky · 05-04-2018, 09:08 PM

I've never had rodents inside our coach, only in the storage bays where they can then get into the lower cabinets. Ground squirrels got in via a garden hose attached in the sewer bay so I could let gray water run into a drain. They took pecans from a drawer in the kitchen over to my underwear drawer on the other side of the coach.

If I don’t put a strobe underneath I’d need one in every bay. I'll try the underneath and let you know how it works.

Have a BLAST in Alaska! I hope we see y'all in Q again next winter.

nancybninja · 05-31-2018, 11:44 PM

While boondocking near Moab we had a pack rat waltz in the house door and run and hide somewhere under the gas and brake pedal. We have rat poison in our RV from a previous mouse experience but it wasn’t strong enough or he/she didn’t partake. He was very active at night and not at all afraid of me sitting up reading with the light on at night. After a few days we made a trip into town and got a mouse trap, that and peanut butter did the trick. I had no idea they could be so destructive so quickly, we got off easy it seems.