mice highways

[jcurtis934]

So after spending thanksgiving week in georgia visiting the wife's brothrr, we come back to find mice dropping big time. After cleaning, here's what I found. In our model, in each corner of the sink cabinet under the lip at the bottom, there were four voids in the cabinet the way it was constructed. Mice could pop into or out of any of these. Sealed from inside cab with thin aluminum sheet set in foam. At the wall end of this cabinet, the sink drain pipe goes into the wall. Large hole and two others used to run wires allow mice to come out of belly and into rig via these. Sealed with foam! Fender wells - in the front and rear of the fenders is a removible panel with at least two access points for mice in each panel. Sealed with foam. SO caught 5 mice in traps, sticky and snap type. Thought all was well until smell started coming out of living room floor vents!!! Didn't think about it before,but that open furnace flexible tube going into belly is an entry into the duct. WILL seal that with stout wire mesh with half inch grid rolled into a tube with one end flattened and the other end zip tied to that open furnace hose! Suggest all do this... For now, all floor vents taped over until I devise plan to remove contents in the duct. Thinking of taking the furnace tube going into the belly as well as the large one that feeds the bedroom and routing them out the passthru door, then putting a small round 12" fan over the rear most floor vent to blow smell out of flexible duct tubes. Then shopvac into living room floor vent to suck up nest material and dead stuff once major smell is gone. COMMENTS on plan welcome. Did I say that it smells really really really bad? John

[scattershot]

After owning campers of one type or another for 35 years, we found our first mouse droppings the other day. Set traps, but so far no joy. Thanks for the sealing tips, those critters can get in places you wouldn't believe!.

[K0LCB]

I keep food out all the time for mice, usuall Dcon, or something similar

[bigskyjimmy]

Decon works great but the only problem with that is sometimes they go to die in some crevice in your rv and your RV will stink like Death for months

[DQDick]

Supposedly some of the new poison will make them thirsty before they die so they will leave to find water and then croak somewhere else. We're using it here at the refuge and so far no dead mice in the old homestead. Need more time to tell if it really works as well as advertised.

[Neverhome]

I have heard that Spearmint gum in any access area will keep the mice out. Heard it at the end of this season so am not talking from experiences. I use to use mothballs which do work but some cannot stand the smell of them,......like my wife. So will try the gum this spring.

Neverhome

[Recumbent]

Dick please keep us posted on how that new product works, we usually just provide devon in several remote exterior and interior locations and it has so far worked with no stink yet. We also have tried to seal up holes in underbelly, but think there is no way to stop up every opening.

[Rondo]

We keep Fresh Cab in the basement area, under the sinks, and any other possible access areas in the unit. It is non-toxic and is an herbal formula. You can also sprinkle crushed up mothballs around your tires and landing gears if you are setting for any time. I used both of these while our unit was parked outside and next to a prairie hay field over three years and never got a critter in it. The only time I got one was when I was at a campground here in NE and it had a corn field on one side and grassy area on the other. Set out traps with peanut butter on them and caught the little sucker that night! Nothing after that and nothing since! Have the new Monte stored in a building now so haven't had any problems but I do have sticky traps around wall on the inside of the building and the packets of Fresh Cab throughout the unit just to be safe!

[CORattler]

Be careful when dealing with mouse droppings. See: http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/

[jcurtis934]

Yep, freshcab is deployed in passthru...but they seemed to have worked around the areas with it. Will see if I have trapped any more this morning. Thinking of going to tractor supply and getting the new formula bait for outside under rig and a little inside under belly. Think I blew the dead mouse/babies into bottom area of furnace heat exchanger when I used the blower to "move" smell out of the rig. I don't want to do all the disassembly work with gas/etc to remove the furnace off the top of the floor duct. Ran the furnace for 5 minutes after doing the blower thing for two plus hours. Smell was only what I expect from a furnace that hasn't been used for a year or so...dusty, hot air. Did find mouse poop and pee spots in the large flexi duct that went to bedroom vent, which we cleaned out with lysol wipes...lots of wipes. A big surprise was noted when I mirrored the main hard duct at the rearmost vent. The duct ran backwards past this vent and then was crushed downward and clamped with screws to hold it mostly closed...air will still leak out of it and there was major sawdust jammed into that area. Vacummed out best I could. This mornings task after more coffee and shower is to go buy some fireblock spray foam back as far as I can get a slip on vinyl tube to carry the foam. That will airseal the end of the duct and it won't be affected by warm air of furnace. Such is the saga of my battle... John

[old turbo]

Use a product called Xcluder to plug holes, mice will not chew the product. Mice will chew foam and use it for nest. The rv industry seems to use the same 5 inch hole saw for all pipe and wiring. Do a good search and you will find good products to keep mice out.

[drjjj]

Bounce sheets liberally spread throughout inside and storage areas has worked so far for us. If you do use the newer "baits" keep in mind while they are very effective in what they do that for many THERE IS NO ANTIDOTE IF YOUR PETS OR A CHILD GETS TO THEM. I am a fulltime practicing veterinarian and I lose 2-3 patients a year to these "new" products. Just my $.02.