RV Critters - how to keep out rats, etc..?

[cbatsford]

Hello,

I store my travel trailer in a small field (the size of a football field). It is regularly mowed, but does get a lot of critters roaming around - mostly gofers. Not to be confused with golfers. And, my RV can sit for a month or two at a time between uses.

What is the best way to keep rats out of my RV? Is there a spray that won't cause bigger problems or be harmful to my kids if they get into it?

Any and all recommendations appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Charlie

[NH_Bulldog]

We crawl underneath and seal all the little cracks and crevices with TomCat expanding foam and then pull the floor registers up and drop a few pouches of FreshCab in the underbelly area and a couple more under sinks and cabinets. Knock on wood, we have not had any uninvited guests.

You can also limit chances of something getting in by limiting ground contact (don’t have leveling jacks or stabilizers down). Also really inspect any potential openings near the running gear and front jack.

[LHaven]

Ranked in order of most effective:
1. Get under the rig and chink up ALL possible access ports with copper wool and spray foam. Tomcat makes a rodent foam I haven't tried, but I will next time I need some.
2. If you have a pull-out shore power cord and it's in service, surround it with a Chore Boy inside the access cup.
3. Rig an LED light rope around the skirt, if you can power it. Rodents hate light.
4. and last are interior deterrent products: frequency generators, scents, traps, and so on. Rodents are too diverse for these products. One species makes nests on sachet packets that repel others. I had one chew up the entire battery lead on an ultrasonic unit at a distance that supposedly should have incapacitated him. I've always had much better luck with straightforward barrier methods.

[spicercars]

Welcome from northern MN. We have had very good luck with grampa guss packets. They sell them at Menards.

[jxnbbl]

We use various rodent deterrent and found Grampa Gus to work well.

[djengr]

Originally Posted by cbatsford

Hello,

I store my travel trailer in a small field (the size of a football field). It is regularly mowed, but does get a lot of critters roaming around - mostly gofers. Not to be confused with golfers. And, my RV can sit for a month or two at a time between uses.

What is the best way to keep rats out of my RV? Is there a spray that won't cause bigger problems or be harmful to my kids if they get into it?

Any and all recommendations appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Charlie

We too parked our first fiver in a field, mowed regular etc. etc etc.
I agree with all the suggestions given, but want to put my 2 cents in. I stuffed as many hole with steel wool, foam, traps in the front battery compartment. Had one bugger hop on the battery case and chew a hole in the central air duct. Replaced the expose with heavier duty aluminum. Now don't forget about any vents from your fridge (if you have an absorbtion type refer) We had a rat chew through the plastic and build a nest on top of the fridge. Replace with steel mesh screen. Rat could not get back in to tend to the nest or her pups. Yuk

best of luck.