Quote:
Originally Posted by jrhoads23
Getting ready to winterize my Outback 23RS for the winter I noticed some mouse poop in various spots in the camper. So I have been putting traps out and every couple days each trap has a mouse. The other day I got on the ground under the trailer with some expanding window foam to seal up any gaps. For the life of me I have no clue how mice are getting in. It has the belly pan on it and all openings are already sealed up. Things seems to be tighter than a snare drum.
Any thoughts on where these mice are getting in from??? I know that all a mouse needs is the tiniest of openings to get through, but I can't figure out how they are doing it
|
Open the vanity and galley sink cupboard doors and look at the size hole cut for the drain and plumbing runs, open the furnace access panel and look at the holes cut for furnace duct runs that go under the floor, remove the power panel access door, loosen the 4 screws that hold the power center to the cupboard wall and pull it out enough to see behind it, there's HUGE holes where the ROMEX goes into the basement. Pull your shore power cord out of the "mouse hole" (named that for a reason) and look at where it allows free access to your RV interior.
Then, go under your trailer and look at the two main frame rails (the ones the axle/springs are tied to) and count the number of holes in them. (I bet you don't have enough fingers to count them all).....
Each of those HOLES is a "wide open invitation" for any mouse, chipmunk, ground squirrel to set up housekeeping in your trailer. If there's any food in the trailer, that's motivation for them to remain after you close up for the season. If there's a "smell of any food" that's enough motivation for them to keep looking until they find the source. If there's any cotton, paper towels, tee shirts, old rags, toilet paper, they all become "instant bedding material" for an extended stay.
These are just the "you can control it" conditions..... Do all you can about "mouseproofing" your RV. There's many that you can't control, things like "CHEAP" soy based (smells like food) ROMEX insulation, underbelly openings that you can't access, tires that remain in contact with the ground that serve as "ladders" to the holes in the I-Beam rails....
Do what you can to "mouseproof" and use Cab Fresh to help... Even then, if you're the "unlucky kind" you may still find occasional evidence of rodents... I'd bet it's significantly less "evidence" than if you just do nothing and clean up the messes as you find them.....