Bugs in the RV, were are they coming from!

[Jsrore]

We have a 2017 3790rd that we keep at are property in Idaho during the summer, we have only had the property for 3 years so we are still learning the area ....the last 2 years when we leave the RV in Aug and come back up late sept/oct...we seal it and always clean it well.
this is were i need the advice...FLYS ,,dead flys in side the RV i would say alot..its very strange we cant figure were they are getting in...could it be the the AC or heating ducts??

i think since we dont use the AC or heating in the summer time im going to seal them off with foam or duct tape.

ideas are appreciated.

[rohrmann]

Bugs or rodents can easily access the inside of your rig from gaps underneath, get up into the belly area and from there into your pass through compartment and then into the area behind it and through the furnace vent slots in the stairs and into your living space. Really next to near impossible to completely seal off. For flys, make sure you aren't leaving any garbage inside the rig, as a couple of flys attracted to the garbage can lay plenty of eggs, which turn into maggots and then into flys.

[Jsrore]

we usually clean really well to try and not attract mice...etc..

the wierd thing is its seems to be always around the same time of year...

i think it may be a learning curve, i spent about a half day and 3 cans of foam underneath the rv last year sealing up holes ....

[RMcNeal]

Sealing as best you can will help. We have had problems with sugar ants in the past. I get a product called Bifen IT. It's actually a termiticide but will kill just about anything called a bug and is relatively safe for people and pets. It's quite inexpensive and mixes 1 to 2 oz. per gallon of water. I keep a 1 gallon sprayer in the rig, and mix and spray about 4 times a year inside and outside the rig. You can get it from DoYourOwnPestControl.com. I think they are in GA somewhere. Our pest control company at home has used it for years.

[Butch & Kathy]

Are the flys primarily in the bathroom area? Try sealing off the shower and sink drains in the bathroom and kitchen. Sewer flys live in those tanks and will come into the trailer when the traps dry out.

[beeje]

Preventing all bugs from the inside of your RV will be nearly impossible. Hell I have a very tightly sealed up sticks and bricks and cant keep out the stink bugs and others

[GreG L.]

We had that problem once. We bought those Sticky Fly Ribbon I remember from from the 60's, hung them up and it took care of it.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by GreG L.

We had that problem once. We bought those Sticky Fly Ribbon I remember from from the 60's, hung them up and it took care of it.

We use those every trip in the summer they work pretty good. Just don't forget to remove them when you pull the slides in for travel. It gets stuck to everything don't ask me how I know. Lol

[mlh]

With the slide outs and built for travel I don’t think you are ever going to seal up a camper so flies can’t get in. It’s almost impossible to seal one up so mice can’t get in.
Lynwood

[beeje]

If you dislike bugs and critters why on Earth would you go camping in the first place. Especially this time of year when they're all trying to find Heat which happens to be inside your camper

[Mikendebbie]

We had a problem with yellow jackets (paper wasps) late last winter. No idea how the got in. They mostly congregated in the shower and up on the skylight. They weren’t moving very fast because it was winter. It took me several sweeps to find them all in different areas of the RV. I probably collected 50 to 70 of them. No idea how they got in.

[MARK A]

I have had flies come through the attic and into the inside from the max-air fans. if you remove the inside of these fans, it's open to the attic. I think they're entering thru the round attic vents on the roof.


Mark

[beeje]

Originally Posted by MARK A

I have had flies come through the attic and into the inside from the max-air fans. if you remove the inside of these fans, it's open to the attic. I think they're entering thru the round attic vents on the roof.


Mark

Mark I think that's impossible for them to enter there. I just had my covers off a few weeks ago there are very fine mesh openings under their into the Attic. I did find some kinds of wasps nests up under there that I cleaned out. Those mushroom caps are just threaded on just spin them off Lefty Loosey and have a look

[DutchmenSport]

Here is a "tip" you can do to keep bugs out of your camper.

First, bug bombs. Yes, bug bomb foggers. We had problems with Stink Bugs for about 2 years in a row and they never went away. Even in the winter when we'd fire up the camper with heat, they come crawling out again.

The first year, I set 4 bug bombs inside the camper about every 2 weeks apart for 4 sets of bug bombs. After the first set, stink bugs came crawling out of everywhere and were found dead. But about 2 weeks later, they reappeared. I figured from eggs.

By the 4th set, we didn't see any more.

Fast forward to all next Summer, and we'd find an occasional dead stink bug on the floor. The spray in all the cracks and openings was exposing them to the bug killer when they entered, they would die. That was much better than having another infestation.

So, the second year (now near Fall), Stink bugs started coming in again, and finding them alive. So, I bombed again. I had removed the wall in the basement storage area and set off a bug bomb under there, that also got the basement area.

I also turned on both air conditioners so the fumes from the bug bombs would travel through the air ducts in the ceiling. I figure, if there were openings in the roof anywhere, or any places they came through in the roof area, the bug bombs blowing through the roof, air ducts, hole, anywhere, would also be sucked into those areas too, exposing the bugs anywhere they could enter anywhere!

After that, we've not seen any more. Now granted, this year, they were not as bad, but they were still outside, all over the camper, but only the brave and daring ones got in, and paid the ultimate price for their heroism!

So, bug bomb about every 2 weeks for at least 3 times, so flies, bugs and all eggs that hatch are killed. And a 3rd time to ensure any young ones that did hatch out and survived, the 3rd generation gets killed off before they can reproduce.

Somewhere in your camper is a place where eggs have been laid and they keep hatching out. Bug Bombs will get them. But you do have to repeat at lest 3 times to kill all offspring and eggs.

Another tip, if you are storing your camper for a while.... just set out several citronella candles (5 or 6) through out your camper. Don't light them, just set them out. The smell will keep any bug from coming inside. All you have do do is put them away and open windows for a few minutes, and the smells go away when you are ready to use the camper again. This works! Really! It keeps all kind of fies, mosquitoes and crawling things out of your camper. We learned to do this when we had a pop-up, and we never had mosquitoes inside the pop-up.

[beeje]

I'm not a germaphobe or OCD person in any way but something bugs me about chemicals used inside of a tight space like a camper. Just the bug spray in the can is nauseating when it's sprayed.

We don't get as many in storage because it's in a pole building but still some

[Jsrore]

great ideas thank you, we have bug bombed in the basement but my guess now its a egg isssue ....we will try everything....

yes love the outdoors and the property we bought in Idaho but when you arrive at 2am open the door and see 100 dead flys it kind of sucks...

and being we only see this issue in the early fall it must be correct..looking for warmth.

i guess thats what makes anything fun....you got to beat em.....

[DutchmenSport]

Originally Posted by beeje

.... Just the bug spray in the can is nauseating when it's sprayed. ...

You set the bug bombs off and leave the camper for a few hours. When you come back, there are no smells. Wipe off the counter tops and kitchen table, sofa if they have vinyl or leather cover, or any other surface if you are concerned. What does remain are the "chemicals" that end up in all the nooks and crannies, cracks, and holes you don't even know exist. This is where the bugs are coming in. And when they crawl over it, they are exposed.

If the furnace or air conditioner is running when you set the bug bombs off, the fog will travel to openings you'd never find.

We each do it different, nothing wrong with that. Just passing on what works for us.

[2008 Montana 2955rl]

I had a similar problem so I sprayed the undercarriage completely as well as the ground under the RV. Sprayed under and around all slide outs and then installed ultrasonic bug and pest devices in every room. No more bugs or mice. Still had a problem with spiders building webs where I had sprayed until I discovered to wait until after dark and use a flash light and the spiders were all in the center of their webs so I zapped them. Bug and mouse free now. Since I live by a lake I also toss a few moth balls under and around the RV to keep snakes away.

[Jsrore]

what kind of pest control spray do you use?

[2008 Montana 2955rl]

2 bottles of Raid concentrate in a sprayer and filled with water. Supposed to be good for 3 months then I spray again. I also used the green rat poison pellets and tossed them every where I could. I have had zero bug or mouse problems ever since.