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Old 11-18-2020, 06:14 PM   #1
RBul31
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Mud dobbers

I recently purchased a Used 2014 Keystone Montana 35' 5th Wheel. Every place I open I find Mud dobber nests. Most of them I can clean out fairly easy. My main issue is them getting into the furnace. We turned on the furnace and there was a God Awful smell. It didn't smell like anything I ever experienced. It got to the point it was burning our eyes. I read post on this site and other that said to check for blockages. Bird nests, Mud Dobbers,Dead Mice, etc. I opened up the Exhaust chamber and found mud dobbers. I cleaned it all out and tried the furnace again. The smell was still there but considerably lighter. I let the furnace run for about and hour to see if it would clear up. It didn't although it stayed less smelly.
Since I just bought this I decided to take it in and have the furnace serviced and the Gas lines check for leaks. They called me and said the inside was full of Mud Dobbers and it took them a long time to clean everything out. ($500 worth of time)
So now my question. Have any of you experienced this and what steps can be taken to seal the furnace area up to help prevent things from getting in. Do you think they came in the venting system? Is the Furnace pretty easy to remove and clean out? (It is for me because I haven't even found out how to access it from the inside yet.)
 
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Old 11-19-2020, 04:46 AM   #2
beeje
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They make screens to cover the openings of the furnace/ water heater/ fridge etc. Or you can get some screen and make your own.
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Old 11-19-2020, 06:09 AM   #3
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If you have not done it already. Pull the covers off the AC unit on the roof. They like to get into there also.
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Old 11-19-2020, 06:20 AM   #4
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Same for your AC units on the roof. Put screen on the inside of the cover to block out the mud dauber. Underneath tape up holes in the frame with gorilla tape.
Open your outside fridge vents and clean them out. Put screens on the covers. I found a nest on the cooling fans back there. Same for your gas water heater.
I even found one building inside the rubber slide seal tube.
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Old 11-19-2020, 09:37 AM   #5
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Without a 'sample' of the odor, no clue what you have. In our case it was mice droppings and possibly a dead one in the belly at the rear, Additionally, if these nasty critters got into the furnace ducting, you will have a nasty odor as soon as the furnace fan starts, My fix was to drop a portion of the belly cover and sweep/blow it out with compressed air then Febreze as much as possible.


We haven't had mud dobbers - yet - but have had wasps in the a/c shroud, a bird's nest in the king pin box and a past RV, chipmunks down the fridge vent which was expensive to repair,


Screens wherever possible - dobbers and some spiders seem to love the mercaptan odorant added to propane
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Old 11-19-2020, 09:51 AM   #6
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The screens work but I would make one caution; I placed them on the furnace exhaust (among other things) of our last trailer. I immediately began having issues with the furnace shutting down (Atwood - winter time) after running for several minutes. After working through it I removed the new exhaust screen and everything was fine. Replaced and it began failing. The screen (fairly fine mesh) was enough to block some of the exhaust and cause a heat buildup making the limit switch shut it down. Seemed unbelievable to me but it did it. Just fyi in the event you place them and experience something like that.
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Old 11-19-2020, 10:38 AM   #7
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We have screens on the furnace exhaust, water heater vents and the frig vents. Wasps like propane. When I saw them starting to nest in the off side propane tank area it alerted me to a regulator starting to go bad.
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Old 11-19-2020, 07:27 PM   #8
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Angry Mud Dobbers

My secondary concern was about putting screen over things and causing myself more issues. If I put screen over the outside cover of the Furnace and Refrigerator will that restrict the Fresh air flow for these items? Ie exhaust vents need to be covered but I know if I Screen them I will induce issues.
It is tricky to screen things off and not restrict the air flow in and out.
It is amazing what kind of restriction are induced with a simple Window screen.
Does any of the Bug sprays or such work? I know it would be constant upkeep to spry but it just cost me $600. to get everything cleaned out.
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Old 11-19-2020, 08:23 PM   #9
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We've used the screens for almost 11 years of full timing and never had an issue. Wasps, however, are a major problem at both of our home bases.
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Old 11-20-2020, 06:50 AM   #10
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They make different screen mesh sizes. I wouldn't go with the stuff for the windows. Get something with a bit larger mesh size.
For the smell they make a O zone cleaner for smells in cars. I bet that would work in the RV to get the smell out. I got mine at Auto Zone. I used it in my car and it worked great. You may need 2 for a RV.
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Old 11-25-2020, 04:37 PM   #11
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Mud Dobbers

Thank you to everyone that threw out some suggestions. I went on Amazon and found the screens that fit my RV panels and purchased them. They fit like a glove and should keep the critters from my appliances.
Also I took the RV and had someone work on the furnace. They cleaned out about a pound of Mud Dobbers nests. I tried the furnace after I got it home and there isn't any smell now. I am not getting packed up to head south for a few months. Thanks again for being so helpful and at least pointing me in the right direction.
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Old 11-25-2020, 11:25 PM   #12
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I purchased screens from my dealer and off of Amazon that are actually made for each position (inlets and outlets) of the furnace, water heater and the frig vents. I used zipties to attach them and every so often I check all of the zipties to make sure they have not gotten brittle and broke. I have also used safety wire on attaching some of the screens. I used it in the Air Force on jet engines to secure nuts and bolts. Harbor Freight has both the safety wire and also a small safety wire twisting pliers that I can keep in my toolbox. Since putting the screens on the openings I have not had any problems with wasps or mud dobbers. I do find a nest every so often on the under frame but a little wasp spray and a screw driver takes care of them and the nest.
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Old 11-30-2020, 12:55 AM   #13
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I would caution against screening your A/C unit. This really cuts down air flow and efficiency. You want all the air flow you can get. I have covers that I cover them with while inn storage which keeps the critters out. You should pull the covers off your A/C units every spring and late fall and inspect and clean your unit if needed. I have screens on my furnace and water heater but not on my fridge. I put screens on them while in storage but not while traveling. Again, you want as much free air flow as possible. If you keep a regular inspection routine you will stay ahead of the critters.
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Old 11-30-2020, 05:29 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikelff View Post
I would caution against screening your A/C unit. This really cuts down air flow and efficiency. You want all the air flow you can get. I have covers that I cover them with while inn storage which keeps the critters out. You should pull the covers off your A/C units every spring and late fall and inspect and clean your unit if needed. I have screens on my furnace and water heater but not on my fridge. I put screens on them while in storage but not while traveling. Again, you want as much free air flow as possible. If you keep a regular inspection routine you will stay ahead of the critters.

The only way that made sense to me was some time ago I saw an article or forum post where someone took the a/c covers off, cut out all of the ribs in the vents, made up a strengthening framework then used some screening. Removing those ribs opened up the plenum area but the screening put it back to close to where it had been. Myself - a yearly spring cleaning and a pair of $18-20 Camco a/c covers will do it for me
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