Entrance for Mice

Are we talking about damage from mice or just the fact mice are getting in? If damage, what kind of damage are they causing. We just bought a new 2015 Wilderness and would like to keep in new during the winter... if you know what I mean.

I've posted this on here before, but long story short, we use white rope lights around our rig. We've got enough to go completely around our rig, enclosing everything that touches the ground...rear jacks, front jacks-everything, and leave the lights on 24-7 while we are parked. Been doing it for about 3 years now. While people around us are having mouse problems, we are mouse free. We've camped in some areas that should have been mouse magnets & still no problems. While gate guarding, in the rural areas, no mice, and didn't even see any snakes. I know several people who do/have done this & as long as you put the lights out & leave them on you shouldn't have any mice.

brianlajoie said:

Our trailer is in storage and we found droppings only in the shower pan. We've taped up the frig vents, the furnace vents and hot water vents. Not sure which hole they are coming in. We cleaned out the trailer before putting it in storage, so no food to keep them busy. My wife read that they do not like dryer sheets, so we put some down after we cleaned up. See if this works.

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Went back to trailer yesterday and not a single dropping since we used the dryer sheets.

Really not sure if dryer sheets really work, I've heard some say yes and some say no they don't work. I will tell you what has worked for me. I put pure 100% peppermint oil on a cotton swab and put it in my basement area or around the UDC, also I have a plug in mouse devise that apparently omits some type of sound that mice don't like and I plug it into one of my outlets in the basement. These two things have worked for me for many years, knock on wood !! LOL

Bobby A said:

I will tell you what has worked for me. I put pure 100% peppermint oil on a cotton swab and put it in my basement area or around the UDC

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Knock on wood but so far the peppermint oil has worked for me for the last 2 yrs. If not anything else it sure keeps the trailer smelling nice !

bwyatt1962 said:

Are we talking about damage from mice or just the fact mice are getting in? If damage, what kind of damage are they causing. We just bought a new 2015 Wilderness and would like to keep in new during the winter... if you know what I mean.

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From what I have read here over many years and experienced myself with the mice, there are just droppings sanitary issues, and maybe the mice getting into stored food. The 1 poster talking about RAT damage had pretty severe, costly damage, and is the ONLY poster I can remember in 7 years on this forum with that severe level of rodent damage. I had 2 mice picked up in Yellowstone over about 3 months before I finally used traps, removed all the food from areas accessible to the mice, and visits to the trailer in storage every few days to check the traps. The mice finally got hungry enough to trip the traps, and I had no local external mouse sources.

I also think it is the power cord...here is an idea. Buy or fabricate...maybe from a funnel or something similar...

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/protect-rv-shore-power-box-mice-small-rodents/

To start all openings of any size from tiny tiny to larger need to be blocked somehow, foam etc., Openings caused by slide out mechanisms need to be blocked as best as you can.
Trailer has an opening for the power cable, switch it over to a external receptacle that blocks the opening.
This is the type of kit that would close that hole - http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/50-amp-rv-detachable-power-conversion-kit/72103
If you have a fifth wheel you have to look at the two front leg compartments for openings, most of them open into the front cap area and that is bad, a quick way in. Foam all drain wire, and water pipe entrances into the trailer from the under carriage. Don't be afraid to take cabinet bottoms out, remove drawers and look inside cabinets or dressers you will be surprised at the openings you find.
Next August I will be surrounding my trailer with a ring of moth balls, dryer cloths inside along with sticky traps and peanut butter. I will have pugged every hole I can find and we will also be putting bay leafs in the drawers and any other thing I can think out.
This year we killed two mice in the trailer and found mouse poop on recliners, couch, inside couch drawer, on top of bedspread, in all the dresser drawers and all my cotton t-shirts were chewed up. My wife cleaned out mouse poop twice with in two weeks. We still have mouse poop in the 4 recessed living room fixtures. The four fixtures in the living room and in the kitchen don't work. I'm hoping the buggers didn't chew the wires.

At our new favorite campground near Gunnison, Colorado I noticed a lot of mice running around the grounds.

I put foam insulation around the front jack legs (had at least an inch and a half gap all the way around each leg to fill).

I looked under the trailer and it seems that the factory foams every possible opening under there I could find.

When I get it back from the dealership (hopefully tomorrow or Friday) I'm going to look for more possible mousy entrances.

So far we haven't had a mouse problem . . . and I hope we never do!

However, we usually have three of our six monster cats (mainecoones) with us when we are out in the Prowler!



So when we are out in the camper . . . the meeces don't stick around!

JohnD said:

At our new favorite campground near Gunnison, Colorado I noticed a lot of mice running around the grounds.

I put foam insulation around the front jack legs (had at least an inch and a half gap all the way around each leg to fill).

I looked under the trailer and it seems that the factory foams every possible opening under there I could find.

When I get it back from the dealership (hopefully tomorrow or Friday) I'm going to look for more possible mousy entrances.

So far we haven't had a mouse problem . . . and I hope we never do!

However, we usually have three of our six monster cats (mainecoones) with us when we are out in the Prowler!

View attachment 42248 View attachment 42247 View attachment 42249 View attachment 42250 View attachment 42251 View attachment 42252 View attachment 42253

So when we are out in the camper . . . the meeces don't stick around!

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Looks like they're guarding every conceivable place a mouse might hide

JohnDar said:

Looks like they're guarding every conceivable place a mouse might hide

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Those mousies don't stand a chance next to our kitties!