Mice wrecking havoc

[wyleyrabbit]

We've had our 3055RL for 3 months now, and mice are getting in whenever it's stored.

My wife and I took all the lower drawers out in the kitchen and from under the stove, and were surprised at how large the holes were cut for the plumbing. Why do they cut a 3" hole when a 1" hole would have been fine. Then, some spray foam or something would have been good as opposed to just leaving a big hole.

I remember hearing a while back that mice won't chew through duct tape ("duck tape"??), allegedly because it tastes very bitter. So I used a bunch of tape to cover the holes around the drain pipe and water pipes.

The mice are not getting in to the storage cupboards beside the fridge, or in any of the upper cabinets.

They have also gotten into the dresser drawers and destroyed some clothing that was in there. Aside from that, there are droppings and urine all over the place.

I have talked with people that have other brands, and the people I've talked to have apparently never had a problem with mice getting in.

I want to eliminate this problem once and for all.

I don't want to use traps because the storage place is about a 25 minute drive each way from our house and if the trap worked, we'd have a serious odor problem.

So? Anyone else solved this issue? What is the solution?

Chris

 

[Niles]

Mice are frustrating little critters, and if someone has a camper, they've had or are going to have a problem, I don't care what brand it is. We use the fabric softener sheets in and around about everything, the sheets are suppose to keep mice out. I have been to warehouses that use them also. We think they do the job and they smell a lot better than moth balls. Good luck.

 

[cookie]

Chris, my wife puts Bounce, the strongest smelling fabric softener no. 3, in our campers. I just got our tent camper out of my daughters barn. It has been in there for two years. No mice or any signs of mice. She also puts the fabric softener sheets in the Bighorn for the winter months when it is idle. She uses lots of them. Some people claim that the fabric softener sheets do not work, but they seem to work for us. You might also try some of the expanding foam for sealing up the larger holes.
Good luck.
Peace
Dave

 

[SmokeyBare]

Try Moth Balls.... scattered about under the RV... Try putting them around the tires.. and landing legs... any place where they can crawl up and into the RV.

Could even place some inside... but fair warning !! The RV will Smell of Moth Balls !

Good Luck !

Marv

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

If you can find where they are getting in from the outside, Try stuffing the holes with steel wool. My last trailer had the type of electric cord that had to be stuffed into a hole. The little buggers used to crawl up the cord and go in through the little opening. If needed, after sealing the hole with steel wool, tape it with aluminum tape. That should last quite a while.

 

[lhetsler]

Mice

I had a problem when I stored in Pensacola Florida once. I went through the Bighorn 3670 and used expanding foam to fill around all the pipes. I have stored several time since then and have had no sign of the critters. Since I have had that problem I also used decon. I put one inside the trailer and one in the basement. That stuff is supposed to make them thirsty so they seek water outside as soon as they feed and die outside the unit. I have used decon in my garage and shed at my house for years after having a problem the first year I moved in and have had no mice for the past nine years that I have used it. I have found dead mice in the bushes a couple of time outside my garage, a sign that the decon works.

 

[zztop]

I do not use traps, Decon inside or anything that might lure mice into the unit. This winter I put mothballs around the jack feet and tires. I had no mice droppings or evidence of them being inside this spring. The storage unit smelled of moth balls, but not inside of the unit.
I have heard of a product called 'Fresh Cab' that others have used with success you might google it and try it if you don't want to use the moth balls around the outside.

 

[azbound]

I have found a good way to fill the Gaps/holes is to use both steel wool then stray it with the expanding foam. This form and air tight fill and stops the little rascals from chewing through. We have also found that a few drops of mint oil on cotton balls placed strategically will stop them from coming into the RV. We had a house boat for 15 years, the first couple years we tried every suggestion given and nothing worked until someone suggested the mint oil. I suggest you do both, steel wool and foam and the mint oil.

My suggestion for what it is worth. Good Luck

 

[SmokeyBare]

Mint Oil would sure leave a pleasant scent... heck of allot better than Moth Balls..

Good suggestion AZ !!

 

[tmcran]

Go to health food store and get a small bottle of peppermint oil. Put on cotton balls around RV. I even put it under the RV. the steel wool and foam works also.

 

[Bob&Patty]

These work really well also.

 

[Rockerga]

Chris, my wife puts Bounce, the strongest smelling fabric softener no. 3, in our campers. I just got our tent camper out of my daughters barn. It has been in there for two years. No mice or any signs of mice. She also puts the fabric softener sheets in the Bighorn for the winter months when it is idle. She uses lots of them. Some people claim that the fabric softener sheets do not work, but they seem to work for us. You might also try some of the expanding foam for sealing up the larger holes.
Good luck.
Peace
Dave

We live in the south and have had problems in our basement (With rodents) thankfully completely eradicated now so we tried the "dryer sheets" right at the start in our RV parked in the backyard. They worked for us! Mixing in steel wool and foam expanding insulation would also work. They cannot chew steel but anything less than that they most surely can. They chewed through my 1/2" thick aluminum basement vents!

 

[soilmovers]

I realized that mice can enter the basement from multiple spots.
From there, they squeezed thru the grill under the frig. I removed the grill and sealed it with metal window screen- using clear silicone.
So far, it has worked- along with sealing the space between the docking station/basement. (08 model)


Cindy

 

[bertha]

I went to the hardware store and purchased mice alarms. They are pricey but do the trick. You plug the sensors into an outside or inside outlet and a silent alarm goes off that the mice hate. Since I have plugged them in I haven't had a mouse since.

 

[sailorand]

I have foamed every hole I could fine. Look everywhere for the holes. Some need a longer arm to reach. Also I used foil tape around all the holes on the underside of the RV. So far we have been lucky and the little buggers have not been around

 

[wyleyrabbit]

I went to the hardware store and purchased mice alarms. They are pricey but do the trick. You plug the sensors into an outside or inside outlet and a silent alarm goes off that the mice hate. Since I have plugged them in I haven't had a mouse since.

I have never heard of mice alarms. Are they battery operated? Can you post a link or picture of one?

 

[bruce58433]

Try using Fresh Cab. It is an organic product that repels the mice and has a pleasant odor. You can generally find it at farm equipment dealers

 

[jmgratz]

A .22 cal rifle will help deal with the mice problem too. LOL

 

[Peteandsharon]

Hey Chris,

I went back and read this post because we took our 3055RL out for it's maiden voyage this week and found almost a carbon copy of the situation you described. We did not have any of the problems in the dresser drawers but there was evidence of their presence in every one of the drawers under the kitchen counter. I also looked at where the kitchen sink drain pipes go through the floor and forget about the mice, my dog could crawl through that opening. I'm gonna need the expanding foam by the 55 gallon drum.

I'm gonna need to do something fast though. For Sharon there is no worse situation in the world. She would be happier with a nest of rattlers in the trailer than a mouse infestation. As a start we will buy Bounce by the case and put them on the floor under the drawers and in each of the drawers. I'm also going to set traps in the trailer and make it a point to check the traps at least every other weekend. Not sure what I'm gonna do about the hole where the drain pipe exits though.

 

[Hart]

All suggestions are good ...... we use red fox urine. Buy it at Dicks Sporting Goods in hunting section. They also sell small plastic clip on containers with cotton pads to go inside. Spray the pads & hang (wire works well) the containers from the underside of TT. Refresh spray as needed every few weeks or so. You may have to replace a pad but so far the containers wired on have stayed thru several hundred miles of travel. No mice since I read this trick. Do wear rubber gloves when spraying!