Vermin Infestation???

kk6t · 07-06-2020, 04:57 AM

My 2019 Montana 3121RL sits permanently on a site in Southern Maine, year round. We stay in it during summer and fall. We had no issues last year and there was no evidence of animals when we opened it this spring (thank you peppermint oil!)

However, two days ago we began hearing scurrying noises in the ceiling at night. At first I assumed it was birds or squirrels on the roof but after climbing up there several times and finding no animals or evidence of them being there, I'm starting to wonder.

If they are in the ceiling space:
1. Where are they most likely to have gained access?
2. How do I find them?
3. How do I get rid of them?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Terry

Big 417 · 07-06-2020, 08:59 AM

A match .......

Lots of traps and sticky boards. Try more peppermint extract through out the coach. There are ultra sonic devices that some have had luck with also.

The problem usually gets worse before better, as those little buggers breed like wild fire

**JRTJH** · 07-06-2020, 10:21 AM

I think what you're saying is, "I stored it last year and they didn't find it before winter was over".... Well, they found it the second winter. Likely not much you can do to stop them from finding it and, looking at it objectively, it is a "very nice, spacious place to stay out of the snow, ice and cold weather where the wind blows and makes things uncomfortable... The old saying, "snug as a bug in a rug" is how they probably felt after finally discovering the "back door into your trailer"...

Once one finds the "door" the rest will soon follow. Spend a couple of hours under your RV, looking for holes, slots, access ports, creases in the seams around the coroplast. Just looking at the jacks and how they project to the ground, have that 1/2" gap where they enter the basement and then the "highway" from the basement to the front cap, and from the front cap to the A/C ducting and the entire roof/attic open spaces.....

How to stop it??? Seal every hole you can find, use Cab Fresh, peppermint oil, seal or block every vent during the winter. I use heavy gauge plastic sheeting cut to fit the refrigerator vents, the water heater vent, the inside of the outdoor shower, etc. I also cover the furnace vents with aluminum duct tape (easy to peel off in the spring, unlike "fabric duck tape"...

Clean, remove ALL food and everything that has some smell left after use, things like grill, camp stove, rugs that sat on the floor in front of the stove and didn't get washed, range vent filters, etc. They all "spread an aroma round the trailer that acts like a "beacon" inviting every "nose guidance unit" to beam in on the next easy meal.....

**flybouy** · 07-06-2020, 10:22 AM

If they are in the air space above the ceiling I'd take out the ceiling speakers and set traps near the openings. You may want to also trow some fresh cab into the openings. In either case, tie a string and let it hand out of the hole so if the critter decides to try to carry it away you can pull it back out.

I had some mice get in the garage years ago when one our kids decided to put a bag of birdseed in the garage and didn't tell me. About a week later I found the droppings. I removed the bird seed and the droppings stopped. I thought they left of their own accord until I went to turn on the air compressor. I thought "gee, that black air hose looks awfully large" and then the "air hose" moved. Yup, one very fat/happy black snake. I showed him the door and haven't had an issue since.

wiredgeorge · 07-06-2020, 12:40 PM

Marshall, The suggestion that the guy pull his speakers and put a live blacksnake in is pretty good. Haven't heard that one before. And as far as hermetically sealing your trailer against mice... bwhahahaha you can seal all you want and trailers just are not that tight. My wife and I were sitting on the LazyBoy recliner in our camper two weeks ago while camping and one of the little bugger mice jumped up on my foot rest, up my chest, over my head and onto the floor behind the loveseat recliner.

The missus seems to be very much afraid of a little mouse. She screamed her head off. The mouse was faster than me and I chased it till I got sick of chasing it and told my wife it had run away... she didn't press me. When we got back I could only find two obvious places they could get in (tub and bath sink supply lines) and used expanding foam to seal as much as I could otherwise. I think one of the secrets might be to seal all the pass through holes between cabinets best they can be. We had previously used traps with peanut butter and they seemed to get ignored and this time the missus used poison traps so I will have to fish around for dead mice before we go out again.

Haven't seen any blacksnakes on our property but plenty of rattlers... you think one of those would work if I turned a little one loose while we are parked at home? Wife is also not fond of snakes so I would definitely have to find it and dispose prior to going out again....

**sourdough** · 07-06-2020, 01:32 PM

With the conversation about mice I just wanted to throw out a cautionary tale...

Well, I was about to regale all with the details of the tale but it got a bit long. Suffice it to say that mice carry all kinds of rhinoviruses plus hantavirus. Hantavirus is much more limited but the others not so much so.

Inhaling contaminated dust or dust from debris can enter your body and attack your respiratory system. In my situation, in my stupidity (from my ill advised actions), I thought I had contracted hantavirus and would die (sure felt like it). My company was already getting prepared sending me to specialists and bringing in our safety director. Turns out it was a rhinovirus. The infectious disease doctor working with me said that you should always be careful and be aware of what they (all) can carry because they can make you very ill.

Just a cautionary message (sorry I couldn't share the tale - figured it would be too long

) as you go about dealing with the little creatures. Never thought anything about them until that episode. Just fyi.

**flybouy** · 07-06-2020, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Marshall, The suggestion that the guy pull his speakers and put a live blacksnake in is pretty good. Haven't heard that one before. And as far as hermetically sealing your trailer against mice... bwhahahaha you can seal all you want and trailers just are not that tight. My wife and I were sitting on the LazyBoy recliner in our camper two weeks ago while camping and one of the little bugger mice jumped up on my foot rest, up my chest, over my head and onto the floor behind the loveseat recliner.

The missus seems to be very much afraid of a little mouse. She screamed her head off. The mouse was faster than me and I chased it till I got sick of chasing it and told my wife it had run away... she didn't press me. When we got back I could only find two obvious places they could get in (tub and bath sink supply lines) and used expanding foam to seal as much as I could otherwise. I think one of the secrets might be to seal all the pass through holes between cabinets best they can be. We had previously used traps with peanut butter and they seemed to get ignored and this time the missus used poison traps so I will have to fish around for dead mice before we go out again.

Haven't seen any blacksnakes on our property but plenty of rattlers... you think one of those would work if I turned a little one loose while we are parked at home? Wife is also not fond of snakes so I would definitely have to find it and dispose prior to going out again....

Do you chase a laser light?

wiredgeorge · 07-06-2020, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Do you chase a laser light?

Have you ever chased a mouse with a broom? Huh? When I was young and spry that daggum mouse wouldn't have stood a chance. By the way, they get to higher places by running up your ugly ol' RV curtains. Once that little bugger got on top our top kitchen cabinets, the broom is too thick to whack 'em. Suspect the poison will do him in and all his cousins but today bought some of the stinky spray and a couple ultra sonic mouse shoo-ers which I have no doubt will not do a thing but will make my wife think I am a hero!

Gegrad · 07-06-2020, 05:21 PM

I seem to have had some success chasing them out in my rig over the last month or so (knock on wood). I suspected they were getting in from the gap under my front cap, so I set up the audio sounds on youtube to play, put fresh cab all up in the vents and set snap traps outside on the frame beside the battery. Cause 3 in 4 days, then kept setting the trap and never caught another. Took it out this past weekend and didn't hear a thing in the ceiling any of the 3 nights like I had heard just 3 weeks earlier.

GMH · 08-01-2020, 02:47 PM

A couple years ago we discovered that a mouse had gotten in...so I plugged all the places where plumbing or electrical came into the interior. I used s/s scouring pads and spray foam. We never have had mice in the interior since.

Last year we heard what we believe was a squirrel up in the ceiling. I removed the interior skylight above the shower and replaced it with a piece of plexiglass with traps glued to it. I caught about 10 mice up there. Last winter I put poison up there and in the basement storage.

This summer when we retrieved it from storage there was a stench and flies all around the front area, plus evidence of mice in the floor ducts. Hence we decided to make the insurance claim. They say $11,000 in damage. They will be removing the front panel and roof to gain access.

I have since blocked every area where I think they can gain access (and there are a lot of them) with 1/4” screen.

McRod · 08-02-2020, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kk6t

My 2019 Montana 3121RL sits permanently on a site in Southern Maine, year round. ...

If they are in the ceiling space:
1. Where are they most likely to have gained access?
2. How do I find them?
3. How do I get rid of them?

Terry

Very easy to get into the attic. Each interior wall is hallow and is typically used to run wire/plumbing chases. My model has two interior walls. Mice love to climb them.

My solution is to keep active traps in my bays/garage and get them before they climb up to the attic. I also sport hunt them with rifle and pistol.

Also, if your unit has a rear cap, like mine does, that's another highway to the attic.

My two properties sit in remote areas full of critters, so it's become a sport eliminating these fellas.

Mwoods321 · 08-09-2020, 04:51 PM

I have a 2016 333 mks. The rear bumper slides out. About 1.5 years ago, squirrels found my trailer after about 2 mos of winter storage and a very small opening in the rear of the trailer. They chewd all the wiring in the ceiling, and I mean all front to back. We had to have the dealer rewire the inside trailer, as well as some other structural repairs ie chewed wood in the roof area etc. It was a nightmare! We had goodsam insurance at the time, they refused to cover it. It was a little over 10k to repair. So I recommend you get on asap. Kill all the squirrels as fast as you can. They are really just rats with long fluffy tails.

BrooksFam · 08-13-2020, 05:16 AM

I silicone mouse bait to the frame rails of our RV's. This keeps the bait outside the unit and usually keeps the mice outside, not inside. I also have some pet friendly bait boxes I put out under our RV for additional help. The bait on the frame rails gets chewed on periodically. I also put sticky traps inside just in case.

Don't put the bait inside your unit. The mice will come in to get it. Put it outside and non-bait traps inside.

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