Having my best anti-mice winter ever…….

[Bamabox]

SO FAR! Time will tell, but there are no mice in the trailer and it’s January. It’s been a 2 prong approach. An hour on my back underneath with a roll of stainless steel wool and great stuff pest control foam. I even stuffed a little of the wool around the gears for the metal tracks, with the slide in of course. That will have to be removed before the slide is ever put out, but there seemed to be enough space there for a hairy Houdini. The second approach is to kill them before they ever touch the camper. I use the Victor snap traps with the yellow plastic paddle. Unbelievably deadly. Easy to set with a real hair trigger. I figure a mouse has 2 ways up and in. Tires and tongue jack. I keep 2 traps on each side under the wheels out of the weather. Made a open ended box that holds 2 traps by the tongue jack to protect them from the weather. I live out in the woods. White footed deer mice. I think so far since I sealed the underbelly and started my trap line, I’m easily over 25, and it’s only January 2nd. My objective is to put the white footed deer mouse on the endangered species list. At least in my zip code.

[NH_Bulldog]

I hope you didn’t jinx yourself!

I use FreshCab in various locations inside the camper in under the floor and TomCat bait stations well away from the camper outside. My concern has always been with attracting the critters to the camper with baited traps. I want to prevent them from ever getting that close in the first place, and for every mouse trapped, at least one other gets away since the trap is “occupied”. I have thought of maybe glue boards near the wheels instead of baited traps, but so far the FreshCab and a sealed underside has worked well with no signs of breaking and entering after several years.

Let’s hope our luck holds!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

I hope you didn’t jinx yourself!

Let’s hope our luck holds!

^^^^This is just what I was going to say! Bama wishing you luck in keeping the critters at bay.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by Bamabox

SO FAR! Time will tell, but there are no mice in the trailer and it’s January.

I don't get to tell if the mice have been in my trailer until the next summer. They stay in the ceiling, never in the cab. They never leave any visible sign or odor. But as soon as the sun comes out hot, the palo verde beetles hatch out from the bean caches in the ceiling and start pouring out of the vents and trim gaps.

[Jmayse]

Originally Posted by Bamabox

SO FAR! Time will tell, but there are no mice in the trailer and it’s January. It’s been a 2 prong approach. An hour on my back underneath with a roll of stainless steel wool and great stuff pest control foam. I even stuffed a little of the wool around the gears for the metal tracks, with the slide in of course. That will have to be removed before the slide is ever put out, but there seemed to be enough space there for a hairy Houdini. The second approach is to kill them before they ever touch the camper. I use the Victor snap traps with the yellow plastic paddle. Unbelievably deadly. Easy to set with a real hair trigger. I figure a mouse has 2 ways up and in. Tires and tongue jack. I keep 2 traps on each side under the wheels out of the weather. Made a open ended box that holds 2 traps by the tongue jack to protect them from the weather. I live out in the woods. White footed deer mice. I think so far since I sealed the underbelly and started my trap line, I’m easily over 25, and it’s only January 2nd. My objective is to put the white footed deer mouse on the endangered species list. At least in my zip code.

I recently had an invasion of mice. I first noticed mice droppings in my trash can area. Then I panic. I had put dog food in one of my storage spaces, and when I opened that, they were eating that from a hole they created. There was mouse piss and dropping and it smelled terrible! Still panicking. I pulled everything out, cleaned everything up, bleached the hell out of it to try to get rid of the smell. When I checked the rest of the trailer, it looked like they had chewed on the rubber seal to get out. I didn't see any mice, so I put mouse traps everywhere, hoping to catch any mice still in the trailer. No mice were caught leading me to believe they may have moved on, maybe because I have a dog that is loud.

So, I am still trying to figure out the best way to neutralize the smell. Would love to hear the best way to do that. I get the traps in the storage areas. I like to the idea of placing traps outside the trailer to catch them before they try to get in the trailer.

What a nightmare. I'm glad I caught it early. They can certainly do damage if infested.

[flybouy]

They do love dry dog food. We only keep enough dog food for the length of stay, i.e. do not store it in the trailer if we are not using the trailer. When we take dog food we put it in Tupperware container and wash off the outside of the container. We also do not let the dog food "set out" in the bowl.

One product that seems to work well for reducing smells is Odor Ban. We get it at True Value or Home Depot. We buy the 1 gal jug and if any linens start to smell a little musty a wash with some Odor Ban added seems to do the trick.

[gearhead]

I haven't seen any mice since a big gray tom cat adopted us.
But he's not traveling with us.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by gearhead

I haven't seen any mice since a big gray tom cat adopted us.
But he's not traveling with us.

When my sister and BIL moved to Texas they came down in a very expensive and brand new Class C. They came with three dogs and two cats. The leather seats and leather couch-a-bed all need to be recovered. Not sure I would put a kitty in a camper on purpose.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

When my sister and BIL moved to Texas they came down in a very expensive and brand new Class C. They came with three dogs and two cats. The leather seats and leather couch-a-bed all need to be recovered. Not sure I would put a kitty in a camper on purpose.

Oh no, I don't live with animals in the house or the RV.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by Jmayse

There was mouse piss and dropping and it smelled terrible! Still panicking. I pulled everything out, cleaned everything up, bleached the hell out of it to try to get rid of the smell.
So, I am still trying to figure out the best way to neutralize the smell. Would love to hear the best way to do that.

The best odor neutralizer DW and I ever found was a TV product from back in the 70s called Super CD. The tag line was "two drops deodorize a skunk." We did in fact use it to remove skunk odor in our garage. It was so effective that I theorized that how it actually worked was by numbing your sense of smell.

They don't make it any more, but an Amazon reviewer says he gets the same results out of this product.

[Bamabox]

Originally Posted by gearhead

I haven't seen any mice since a big gray tom cat adopted us.
But he's not traveling with us.

You have the best mouse deterrent available. Serial killer cat. Great for thinning the population on your property. Would never let one in my camper. Litter box in a camper? Eeeuuuuwwww.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by Bamabox

You have the best mouse deterrent available. Serial killer cat. Great for thinning the population on your property. Would never let one in my camper. Litter box in a camper? Eeeuuuuwwww.

I'm thinking that cat was dumped on our street about 18 months ago. There originally was 2 of them. Of course someone named them Tom and Jerry. Well, Jerry was a rambling man and only stayed around a couple months and hasn't been seen since.
I haven't seen a mouse or snake since Tom started hanging around. I usually see several snakes a year. I don't know what he is doing with them, maybe eating them. Not too long ago he was trying to take a bite out of a dead squirrel that I assume he killed.
He's a heck of a tom cat.
I feed him outside and de-worm him, but no litter box.

[JRTJH]

Brent,

Jerry may have "ventured over the levy in search of fatter mice" and, well, a cat is just no match for a hungry gator....

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Brent,

Jerry may have "ventured over the levy in search of fatter mice" and, well, a cat is just no match for a hungry gator....

That is a definite possibility. We have almost as many gators as water moccasins. I'll just say whenever I go to my backyard junkyard (storage area for the 5th, utility trailer, john boat, Bigfoot cabover and storage shed) I wear leather boots.
I don't know how many more encounters with vermin my nerves can take. Maybe 18 months ago I was walking around the backyard eating a satsuma with my thumb up my rectum and my mind in Arkansas and discovered I had a 6ft long gator about 5 steps in front of me. I about soiled my trousers until I realized he was on the other side of the chain link fence.
Dang weather. It's 41F with 20 mph north winds and light rain. I've been inside all day. I think I found the end of the internet! I do believe this will put the snakes down for a few days.
Put a pork roast in the crock pot about 10am and just sampled it with a big sweet potato. Life is good.

[gearhead]

My buddy Ollie.
Looks like the river was up pretty high back there.
I have the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge behind my fence.

[JRTJH]

When we built our "big house" in Pineville, it backed up to 200 acres of swamp/pine trees with a bayou through the middle of it. We fenced the back yard to keep the wild hogs out and built an in-ground pool. The master bedroom had a door to the patio and DW and I would "sneak out at night to skinny dip in the pool". One night I slid into the water and something splashed and I felt a "big somthing" brush against my side. DW screamed and I walked across the top of the water to get out of the pool. Inside, put on some clothes and turned on the pool lights. There was a gator watching us watch him. That was the last "skinny dipping at night"....

Also, we learned the very first week the pool was operational to NEVER reach into the skimmer baskets without looking first !!!!! If I had a hat band or belt made from all those moccasin hides, I'd have more than all the western stores in Texas and Louisiana .....

[gearhead]

^Yep, my sister lives in a big master planned community north of Houston. They have very lush landscaping around their pool and a greenbelt behind them. One day she was walking out to get in the pool and spooked a big black snake. It spooked her too, resulting in her slipping down on the concrete and fracturing her hip. That was at least 2 years ago and she hasn't fully recovered.

[gearhead]

Wiley Coyote.
Either a cat killer or mouser. Or both.

[Phil53]

I thought we had it nailed…i used the mouse foam spray, a ton of steel wool, and every kind of deterrent known to man….peppermint, moth balls, fresh cab….and it wasn't terrible: we had traces here and there, and one accumulation of acorns under one couch……but as there’s still evidence, now I’ve added glue trips. One of the challenges is that my trailer undercarriage is enclosed, so you don’t necessarily have access to all the spots where the wires and pipes/tubes come up through the floor….and all the holes had previously been sealed with foam. Good point earlier on the electrical: have to check out the battery and propane area more closely. I also like the suggestion about catching them outside, but we’re in the woods, and there are a ton of squirrels and chipmunks…..i think id be all day emptying traps.

[Bamabox]

Originally Posted by Phil53

I thought we had it nailed…i used the mouse foam spray, a ton of steel wool, and every kind of deterrent known to man….peppermint, moth balls, fresh cab….and it wasn't terrible: we had traces here and there, and one accumulation of acorns under one couch……but as there’s still evidence, now I’ve added glue trips. One of the challenges is that my trailer undercarriage is enclosed, so you don’t necessarily have access to all the spots where the wires and pipes/tubes come up through the floor….and all the holes had previously been sealed with foam. Good point earlier on the electrical: have to check out the battery and propane area more closely. I also like the suggestion about catching them outside, but we’re in the woods, and there are a ton of squirrels and chipmunks…..i think id be all day emptying traps.

I’m in the woods as well, and yes, chipmunks and squirrels were a problem setting off the traps. So I just fabricated little hooches out of 2x4’s that only a mouse can get into. About a 1” high opening. Inside has to be tall enough for the spring bar to swing. Victor yellow paddle traps set with a hair trigger. Deadly.