Mice

[Scoop]

Mice, the dreaded age old question. I have a 2012 Cougar 25RLES and for the life of me I cannot figure out where they are getting in. I have put some extra screws in the plastic that covers the under belly to get it tighter, I have welded some mesh plate over the 2 air holes at the front where tongue meets frame that have only 1/8 “ holes so they cannot get in there. I taped shut where the last guy cut open the under belly to access slide control, and it is intact. I have put some steel wool behind the bell cup on the slide where the slide comes in and out. I am at a loss.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Scoop

Mice, the dreaded age old question. I have a 2012 Cougar 25RLES and for the life of me I cannot figure out where they are getting in. I have put some extra screws in the plastic that covers the under belly to get it tighter, I have welded some mesh plate over the 2 air holes at the front where tongue meets frame that have only 1/8 “ holes so they cannot get in there. I taped shut where the last guy cut open the under belly to access slide control, and it is intact. I have put some steel wool behind the bell cup on the slide where the slide comes in and out. I am at a loss.

Pick up a couple boxes of Cab Fresh (maybe Fresh Cab) from Tractor Supply & place the pouches under drawers/cabinets throughout the inside & in the storage compartments, this stuff smells good to humans but apparently not to critters.
Also pick up a bag of Ramick Green to scatter under & around the outside of the RV, this also deters critters, but is not a poison.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Pick up a couple boxes of Cab Fresh (maybe Fresh Cab) from Tractor Supply & place the pouches under drawers/cabinets throughout the inside & in the storage compartments, this stuff smells good to humans but apparently not to critters.
Also pick up a bag of Ramick Green to scatter under & around the outside of the RV, this also deters critters, but is not a poison.

I just ordered some fresh cab ..thanks

[Scoop]

The cab fresh I can find but I recall it saying you have to replace every month. I live in Canada, we have 6 months of no use. I have never heard of ramick green. Do they just dislike the smell? I would really like to know how they are getting in so I can close that hole for good.

[slow]

Originally Posted by Scoop

The cab fresh I can find but I recall it saying you have to replace every month. I live in Canada, we have 6 months of no use. I have never heard of ramick green. Do they just dislike the smell? I would really like to know how they are getting in so I can close that hole for good.

I too am in Canada and use Cab n Fresh (Canadian version). It lasts the winter storage season and the smell will be there in the spring when taken out of storage.

As for access points, it is not the underbelly skin that needs to be mouse proofed (next to impossible to do), rather it is the holes in the floor that need to be dealt with.

Also remove all food and clean so there are no food smells to attract the mice. Give them no reason to enter as a first line of defence.

[Scoop]

I put peanut butter in my mouse traps, is there something better to put in them that does not smell like food so they will want to stick there face in there?

[slow]

Originally Posted by Scoop

I put peanut butter in my mouse traps, is there something better to put in them that does not smell like food so they will want to stick there face in there?

Set the traps outside the trailer with peanut butter to attract them outside, not into the trailer.

If no food sources in the trailer, no reason for a mouse to enter or stay.

[Scoop]

Just googled Ramick Green and read the MSDS, definately a poison , and not sure I want to work with it, lots of hazards.

[crowbar]

I've had mouse problems myself in the past. I've used one recommendation of dripping peppermint oil into cotton balls and putting them in cupboards which has some limited success. I've also used a product called "Tomcat" Rodent Repellant and sprayed it all under my bathtub in the back of the trailer. It has quite a pungent odor that you can't smell once you button everything back up. I also use a mouse trap in one cupboard where I've seen the most intrusion and I always use peanut butter and check it every week. While in storage, around the wheels and hitch jack or any part of the trailer that touches the ground, I sprinkle "Comet" cleanser all around the area. All of this has seemed to keep them out in my experience (so far). Hope that helps.

[Lee]

Google "Walk the Plank" mouse trap

I leave mine set by a wheel year-round... it's self re-setting and works like a charm.

[Brentw]

Go thru every inch of the interior floor and seal all protrusions thru it, look under fridges, stoves etc and seal around gas , water lines etc. Seal any passages between cabinet's ( where a pipe etc passthru), screen any return air Vents. Start a continuous poison program in the area around your RV parking area. Set a couple traps in rv to capture any that do make it in. Nothing is100%,

[Bill Martocchio]

I spent 2 hours under our new 5th wheel sealing any openings I could find, the largest holes were in the frame where the hoses connect to the hydraulic legs. I then sprayed Mouse Free on the underside. No mice for 2 years!

[Gumby52]

Interestingly, we have never had issues with visitors until this year. We always just put bars of Irish Spring bath soap in different areas and dryer sheets on the floor and called it a day. I was told only the original scent green Irish Spring works, but that's okay because it gets put into ziplock sandwich bags in the spring when we de-winterize and is used when we're camping the following year.

Then in early October we were getting ready to go out for one final weekend for Columbus Day and found that critters had done some camping on their own. No pellets, no damage, just empty shells and grains of some kind. Spent a few days cleaning and sanitizing.

After our weekend trip, I went ahead and winterized. After everything was cleaned, I got a little heavy handed with the mouse proofing. In addition to the Irish Spring and the dryer sheets, we added peppermint and cinnamon oil soaked cotton balls and Grandpa Gus's repellent spray that I found at a local hardware store. The trailer has the attached shore power cord so I stuffed that mouse door with more cotton balls sprayed with Grandpa Gus's.

The smell in the trailer is not over-powering, in fact rather pleasant.

So. After writing the above, I started to get a little paranoid. Actually, paranoid is an inaccurate term. Talk about an epic fail! The little b*tards have been gnawing on the soap and crapping on the dryer sheets! Still no visible damage, and I was hoping not to use any kind of poison, but I'm at witts end. Unless they want to start making the payments on the trailer, they aren't welcome campers!

I'm going to spray more Grandpa Gus's and peppermint oil in there tomorrow and find some Fresh Cab, any other suggestions shy of a 30-06 would be greatly appreciated.

Gary

[JRTJH]

This year, to the Cab Fresh and the multiple mouse traps, I added some "sticky pad traps" with a single peanut placed in the center of the pad. So far I've thrown away 8 or 9 of the pads with a mouse on it and had to empty and reset the same number of spring traps. I don't know why, but this year, the mice and even the chipmunks seem to be overly aggressive. I've trapped 16+ in the trailer and at least that many in/around the pole barn. I've refrained from using poison bait blocks so far, but depending on this next week or so, I'm inclined to put the small "Tom Kat bait blocks" along the inside perimeter of the pole barn. Between boats, motorcycles, powered lawn/yard tools, the Cougar and the few other things stored in there, the investment is far too much to "let them little things run around and play all winter".....

[KeystoneKal]

Owned a Hideout 30RLDS. Our neighbors at the adjacent site had a serious mouse problem which spread to ours. I won’t list all the usual access points and products that attempted to stop the problem.
One access point I found was where the slideout rails go into the trailer. You could actually see wiring in the trailer through those small gaps. Our neighbors slide out had the same issue. I told them but they refused to block the openings. They had a pet dog and left food in the trailer. The mice chewed up the furniture!

[sonofcy]

Originally Posted by Scoop

Mice, the dreaded age old question. I have a 2012 Cougar 25RLES and for the life of me I cannot figure out where they are getting in. I have put some extra screws in the plastic that covers the under belly to get it tighter, I have welded some mesh plate over the 2 air holes at the front where tongue meets frame that have only 1/8 “ holes so they cannot get in there. I taped shut where the last guy cut open the under belly to access slide control, and it is intact. I have put some steel wool behind the bell cup on the slide where the slide comes in and out. I am at a loss.

Mice can get in tiny holes. Stuff any opening with brass wool. NOT steel wool as it will rust away.

[HDroadglide]

I ahd the same problem. I found in the Kitchen where the sink drain is the hole was large so I put set wool in the floor and placed steel mesh wire over it.
That took care of my problem.

Gary and Joy

[ubetcha]

On my old camper and our new Keystone, I sealed all the holes where any pipes or wires came through the walls or floor. Some of the largest were under the tub/shower area. I sealed any areas with 1/4" hardware cloth( metal screen) by stapling the screen down and then sprayed the edges with rodent resistant Great Stuff (green can) by inserting the hose through the holes in the screen. Check under the sinks and toilet too. Somehow the mice get on top of the tanks and then through the holes. I also sealed any smaller holes with the same Great Stuff. Last spring I found a mouse nest under one of the dinette benches. Not a big one, but one got in somehow. I did find some openings in the seals on the floor for the slide-in, so this winterizing, I put some stainless steel wool in the holes. Mice can chew on regular steel wool but stainless stays sharp and wont rust. I still want to put some traps in the camper just in case I missed something. It may take some time to find all the holes, but well worth the effort.

[flybouy]

Chinese Year of the rat: January 25, 2020 – February 11, 2021?

I've used Fresh Cab for years and never had an issue until this year. No changes in what's been done, where it is, or anything else that I can tell. About a month ago I saw signs of mice being in the camper. Placed 6 traps in the camper and a few days later I checked and a family of four checked out.

Could it be the Chinese Year of the rat: January 25, 2020 – February 11, 2021?

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Chinese Year of the rat: January 25, 2020 – February 11, 2021?

I've used Fresh Cab for years and never had an issue until this year. No changes in what's been done, where it is, or anything else that I can tell. About a month ago I saw signs of mice being in the camper. Placed 6 traps in the camper and a few days later I checked and a family of four checked out.

Could it be the Chinese Year of the rat: January 25, 2020 – February 11, 2021?

When I started having to replace clearance light wiring because of the little buggers, I investigated Fresh Cab. I was amazed at the number of comments that all said the same thing: those customers' experiences were that the scent of the stuff actually attracted rodents more than repelled them. From the repetition of exactly this comment, I came to the conclusion that there are some rodent subspecies that can't stand the odor, and others that apparently thrive on it. Since I had no way of knowing what subspecies my homegrown rodents are, I just passed on the product entirely.