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Old 08-13-2021, 07:41 AM   #21
flybouy
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I think another often overlooked aspect is that what may work in a S&B house may not work in the confines of a trailer. High frequency sound is very directional and doesn’t trasmit or telegraph well thru objects, especially soft surfaces. An example of this is the standard subwoofer. You can place a powered subnin the truck of the car or in the corner of a room but the speakers with the mid and high range speakers must be pointed at the listener for optimal performane.

So while a "sonic mouse repeller" may work well in my open, 1,000 sq ft basement with slate floors it won't be as effective plugged into an outlet inches from the carpet and facing a couch. If that location keeps the mice out of that area it won't work thru the floor in the underbelly. Same situation for the "under hood rodent repellent " devices. They are designed to workbin a very small hard surfaced space and using them in an environment completly opposite of the design parameters will likely jot produce the desired effectivness.

So while you can "just add more" of the devices it won't be as easy or convenient in a trailer. To go back to my basement scelario there are many outets in the basement of the house. There's outlets where the sump pump exits, there's outlets where the utilities enter, and there arebplenty of outlets throughout the house. Trailer have a very limited number of outlets with some none to convenient.

Just some "food for thought". But food is another dissimilarity between RV and home and I've rambled on way too long already.
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Old 08-13-2021, 10:21 AM   #22
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When camping we just put out 5 or 6 traps with peanut butter around the rv at various locations and one in the most common spot inside the trailer. Then when the trailer is unattended for any length of time, we just turn on the stereo with some Hank Williams Jr. music on and that seems to keep everything away.
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Old 08-14-2021, 06:53 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by crowbar View Post
When camping we just put out 5 or 6 traps with peanut butter around the rv at various locations and one in the most common spot inside the trailer. Then when the trailer is unattended for any length of time, we just turn on the stereo with some Hank Williams Jr. music on and that seems to keep everything away.
Hahaha, the movie " Mars Attacks" Slim Whitman's Indian Love Call... killed them aliens dead. Might work on mouses too.

https://youtu.be/II297o2FxR0
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Old 08-18-2021, 08:20 AM   #24
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Mice

We too are of the "I want to see the dead bodies" camp. We set out trips with peanut butter and a cheerio stuck in the middle. Has worked well in both the farmhouse and the RV. I even have a trap or two in the truck that is stored in the barn. I do use the Fresh Cab in the shop, just to (hopefully) keep them out. Yep, "show me the bodies".....then I'll believe it.
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Old 08-18-2021, 03:19 PM   #25
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Bottom line is .... DO NOT USE POISON to rid the mice. They eat it, crawl in a hole in your walls, your roof, your air ducts, in your wires, even in your electric outlet boxes, and die! What they leave is a stink you'll NEVER get rid of, unless you burn the camper to ashes! Use traps and catch them. That way, you won't have dead mice hiding in your walls.
So true, the stench of the dead mice lingers forever. We had dead mice in my truck years ago. Husband and his buddy couldn't find it at first. Got so bad I would start it run the fan at full speed for a few minutes before I could get in it and used a ton of air fresheners. They eventually found a nest and dead mice up farther in the duct. All was good after that. Years later while cleaning it out when we sold it found a perfect skeleton way in the bottom of the glove box. Was so cool we put it in a little clear box and my daughter took it to school for show and tell.

I left my 5ver plugged in last winter with 3 of those rodent plug ins and lots of fresh cab stuff that smells like pine, no evidence of mice like the yr before. We have used them in our garage for years with good results.
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Old 10-25-2021, 01:31 PM   #26
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TL;DR
  • Rat-X bait around and in trailer - thins the population.
  • LIGHTS: one 4W LED light per area to minimize the area they'll nest or traverse. This was key in turning the tide in our favor.
  • Mint spray (mixed results)
  • Sticky traps - not humane, and they will stink, but crazy effective
  • Bucket trap - can catch multiples and helps keep the stink down.
  • Seal the gaps - Can be challenging to find.

-----------------

Here's our experience:

We have two 5th wheels parked on 39 acres in NE AZ high desert.

Field mice, pack rats and rabbits (jack and cotton tail) are pervasive on our property. We also have a couple of massive ravens and a... Badger! Occasionally, we see a coyote, bobcat, owl or condor.

The first line of defense is four bait trays filled with Rat-X located around the property. Rat-X allegedly suppresses the thirst response of mice/rats causing dehydration, fatigue (they retreat to their den to sleep) and death. It claims to harm no other wildlife even if consumed directly. This product was reviewed by Mousetrap Mondays on Youtube, and it appears to work as advertised.

The second line of defense - LIGHTS. Rodents will not nest where there is constant light, and they are reluctant to traverse well-lit areas. Our trailers are powered by an off-grid power system, and they consume about 100W continuously between 9 LED bulbs, the 12V converters and the power system itself (the inverter burns about 30W alone).

The addition of lights was transformative. The Keystone was preceded by a Class A motorhome, and rodents nested on the engine like crazy. Since the addition of a light in the engine compartment, they never nested again.

We tried concentrated mint spray. That appeared to be somewhat effective, but it didn't last nearly as long as the product claimed. We did enjoy the smell, though.

We have a 99 Newmar American Star that has successfully been sealed from intrusion - at least a year since any evidence of mice have been noted. This was EXTREMELY well sealed from intrusion from the factory. The single point of ingress was the grommet for the slide motor wiring. They chewed through it and the wires, and got in the frame and everywhere else. Wires fixed and holes plugged. Since then, not a single rodent or turd has been seen.

As a precaution, we use sticky traps at potential points of ingress (slide seals) and in areas where rodents would like to traverse. We also include bins of Rat-X bait under the cabinets where mice might access and hide.

Our 07 Keystone Montana Big Sky is a new addition to the property since 2/2021, and it is the current primary target for the rodents. Keystone allows red carpet like access to rodents at each of the 4 slides' piston rod frame holes. In our case access to the living space is then granted by the pipe cut-outs in the floor under the kitchen island. The rodents have nibbled those holes larger.

In addition to the bait and sticky traps, we have added a "bucket trap" to the arsenal as well.

We are offsite for 2-5 weeks at a time, and we tend to snare 1-3 rodents between visits.

This last weekend, we encountered "Goliath". He is the largest pack rat I've ever seen. His body took up the entire length of the sticky trap.

So, our problem isn't fixed, but we are in a holding action. They come in, then they die.

I'd like to get away from having 10+ sticky traps to set and check every visit (and they're certainly not regarded as humane), so I need to tackle getting the frame openings sealed.

Lastly, I just need to repeat how effective LIGHT is. Until I got the power system accessible for off-site use, we were losing the fight. We had major intrusions between visits with turds and pee puddles everywhere. Yes, we'd catch some in traps, but illuminating all areas with light made a HUGE difference. This was most evident in the Class A as there were many points of ingress. Lights and sticky traps in the under floor compartments restricted their ingress dramatically.
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Old 10-26-2021, 12:29 AM   #27
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Local guy in Cave Creek markets a device called "Rid-A-Rat." Active ingredient is a simple strobing LED. Runs 6 mo on dry cells, or cables to your battery, but the rats out here have a thing for chewing precisely those wires so I got the dry cell version. Too many dark cavities in the trailer to be useful there, but installed it under the hood of our TV after a packrat took out the instrument cluster harness and four inches of spark-plug wire. It's been a month, and so far, so good.
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Old 10-26-2021, 08:59 AM   #28
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We occasionally get a mouse in the house, especially in the Fall when the farmers harvest their fields. We've never had one in camper.

We attribute our mouse free environment to our cat, who (was) quite a "mouser."

Unfortunately, we think coyotes got the cat after 11 years. He did live a wonderful life (for a cat) But we've also had dogs who were excellent "mousers" also. Our current little girl fur-ball is quite the hunter. In the last 7 days, she's massacured 3 moles and 2 mice. I'm not sure how or where she's finding them. But all I know is, she's not finding them in the camper!
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Old 10-26-2021, 08:00 PM   #29
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I’d like to look more into the spray foam and steel wool idea, anyone have some pictures of this process?
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Old 01-17-2022, 08:28 AM   #30
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What a nightmare. I feel your pain!
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Old 01-17-2022, 09:54 AM   #31
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I’d like to look more into the spray foam and steel wool idea, anyone have some pictures of this process?
Dave, I don't have photos but it's pretty simple. I spray on a base layer of foam then press coarse, loose packed steel wool into the opening then fill that with more foam. Last step is smooth the foam for aesthetics.

It works well. I have not had a squirrel/mouse/pack rat make it through one of these patches. So far, no problems on our new Fuzion but on my old Terry that did not have the bottom of the frame sealed, places like where the toilet went through the floor to the holding tank. The cutout was one nasty hack job and 2" of free space for any rodent. I did not discover this until I had to drop the black water tank some years back.
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Old 01-17-2022, 11:11 AM   #32
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Keep in mind that steel wool rusts pretty quickly. Copper and aluminum wool are widely available and don't have that problem.

We use a donut-shaped copper "chore pad' for our power cord "mouse hole." The cable goes right through the center of it and it packs nicely inside the receptacle door.
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Old 01-17-2022, 08:39 PM   #33
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Keep in mind that steel wool rusts pretty quickly. Copper and aluminum wool are widely available and don't have that problem.

We use a donut-shaped copper "chore pad' for our power cord "mouse hole." The cable goes right through the center of it and it packs nicely inside the receptacle door.
true but normally these "holes" are where the sun don't shine and the steel wool has a layer of protection from the foam. I don't leave any wool sticking out when I do it. The wool is inside the foam plug. I had not thought about rust but so far (about 10 years) ....no rust showing.
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