Keeping mice away during winter storage!

[Burridge]

I presently use poison and am not happy doing it. Is there anything else that works other than live animals? :-\

 

[Rene T]

I have tried everything from peppermint on cotton balls, bounce sheets, spraying under and around the RV with a chemical, mothballs and electronic devices. Nothing worked for me. I had to use mouse traps. Home Depot has the type that when the mice enters the trap through the door opening, the floor pops up and slams them against the back of trop ending their life. Just open up the door and shake them out. Clean and simple.

 

[56safari]

We use Fresh Cab - a natural product that repels mice with a scent.  Safe for everybody, but the mice don't like the smell.  It's available on Amazon and at Tractor Supply among other places.  A strong odor, but not unpleasant and it's gone soon after opening the RV.  Haven't seen any signs of mice.  Put on on the engine, a couple in the lower storage that held food and grill during the summer and some inside.  Farmers use it a lot in tractor cabs over the winter.

 

[Cant Wait]

We've had good luck with 1) 1/2 a dozen hole cloves tied in a piece of nylon stocking, place 5-6 of the bags around the unit,  2) dryer sheets same thing 6-12 placed in the basement and under cabinets, etc.  First things first though get under your unit and SEAL-UP ANY opening that is 1/4" of larger in the underside where mice can get in in the first place. The spray foam Great Stuff works great and is inexpensive.

 

[Rene T]

I just read quite a few reviews on Fresh-Cab. Try reading some of them. In areas where they used it, they still see droppings. In fact one of the reviewers said the mice used the pouch for a bathroom. Too bad there wasn't a 100% guarantee on it. In my opinion, it sounds to me like it's a waste of money. Only you can decide.

 

[Rene T]

First things first though get under your unit and SEAL-UP ANY opening that is 1/4" of larger in the underside where mice can get in in the first place.

If you plug up all the holes, why would you need to do anything to repel them. I also tried the dryer sheets. Had them all over the bed and guess where they went to the bathroom. The sheets saved the bedspread from getting stained. The rig did smell good though in the spring when we opened it up so  it wasn't a total waste of time.

 

[lumpy75]

We use the dryer sheets and has been the only thing that has worked. Also have made sure all holes I can find are plugged. I also looked for a storage place that is not a mouse area. What I mean by that if you are next to a wooded area or corn fields there will be lots of mice to deal with. We have ours in an open gravel lot with a 30 yard plus buffer zone. This does not mean mice can not get to your rig but they have to travel over open ground to get there and most do not make it.  ;D

 

[SeilerBird]

I have three cats living in my RV and mice just are not a problem. ;D

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I use to have that issue but no longer. I took the time to pack all openings with steel mesh and expanding foam and no longer have any signs of mice in the RV anywhere for nearly 2 years now. The only device that I found that actually keeps mice out is a device Rodisonic and humans can hear this. It extremely loud and obnoxious which is what keeps the mice out. Ultrasonic (or quiet versions) don't work good because they only work in line of sight and wall and furniture will dampen the frequency. As for testing Ultrasonic boxes just use a AM Radio you find the frequency and you be able to see how far the sound travels (which is not very far). But this box works awesome sad to say no longer manufactured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb4LYwUdNxs

 

[USA-RVNomads]

Make sure the area under the rig is gravel or other paved surface. Grass provides concealment for the rodents...not to mention it holds moisture under your rig as well.

Light. A well lit area under the rig also deters night active critters. If they can be seen by predators, they'll avoid the area. You can setup solar powered lights...spot lights pointed under the rig work well. Light also helps deter human trespassers too.

Make sure there is nothing attracting them...food stuffs. Don't provide them with what they want or need. Clean the cabinets out thoroughly.

Some say a perimeter of moth balls around the rig helps too.

Or you could have a pet snake...they seem to do a great job of keeping rodents out too. LOL

 

[Charlie 5320]

I live in the country, and have tried about everything except fresh cab. Seems that nothing works good. I put strips of Irish Spring soap, dryer sheets even electronic detectors. I used moth balls winter before last, won't be doing that again. Took almost a year ro get rid of the smell. I just keep a supply of decon in and around the MH. Also keep decon in my workshop where I store the MH outside off.

 

[Rancher Will]

While reading the above comments I wonder why anyone would be intersted in just "repelling" mice. On our ranches we have numerous ranch equipment that is stored in our machine sheds, for sometimes months, other times for a week or more, and some equipment that is stored outside between uses. If we let them, mice will build nests in and on engines, is other places in and on the equipment, and in general create danger and problems of extra cleaning, etc.

I buy material (there are verious ones available) at our CoOp that we keep distributed in the shops, and in the engine compartments, etc., of our trucks, tractors, machinery, etc., when they are in storeage. By hanging tubes of mice blocks (the ones I use have holes designed for twine to tie to) in various places where mice can get to them, we almost never see any sign of mice. I suspect that the mice blocks probably contain Warfarin or similar. I don't know but I know that after we had mice problems many years ago, and decided to stop the problem, we never have any more mice now.

 

[Rene T]

Will,
What is mice block? Is there a manufacturer name for it?

 

[Rene T]

I just keep a supply of decon in and around the MH.

The only problem I can see with DECON is the little varmints crawling into the wall and dying. The smell could be worst than mothballs.

 

[Rancher Will]

The mice blocks that we use are called "Final Blox Rodenticide". I buy a pail of these about once each year and every time we store a machine for the season, we run baler twing through a block and hang it on the engine and any other places when mice can build a nest.

 

[vmyoung61]

Decon dehydrates the little critters and they leave the house/shop/RV looking for water.  There shouldn't be any of that in your walls. 

 

[Rene T]

There shouldn't be any of that in your walls. 

Would you like to hear the story I had when I was on vacation and one of my tenants called me and said there was a rat in the house. It came up through the city sewer drain. He used decon and the dam thing died someplace in the house. After careful smelling around, they pulled down the ceiling in the area where the smell was the strongest and there it was on th4 ceiling. The body was about 10" long without the tail. Don't even try to convince me that the little critters will leave to find water and they won't come back. I know better.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Would you like to hear the story I had when I was on vacation and one of my tenants called me and said there was a rat in the house. It came up through the city sewer drain. He used decon and the dam thing died someplace in the house. After careful smelling around, they pulled down the ceiling in the area where the smell was the strongest and there it was on th4 ceiling. The body was about 10" long without the tail. Don't even try to convince me that the little critters will leave to find water and they won't come back. I know better.

Just like the pack rat that decided to crawl up in a hole of my tailgate of my pickup and died there. Yeah nasty bloated rat hanging out of the tailgate of my pickup. I can't stand using poisons because mostly what mice and rats do is pack it away for winter time so they never consume it. You just find little piles of DeCon everywhere and it possible for you pets now to get a hold of it.

This why I use the loud noise makers. All living creatures have to sleep at some point. If there is ample enough noise where you (or the rodent) can't sleep you'll move on to find a place you can sleep. 

The only problem I can see with DECON is the little varmints crawling into the wall and dying.

The guest house on the property here had a problem with mice when we first moved here. Of course using DeCon and end up with a foul stink in the living area. Peeled down the paneling and what was happening was the mice were dropping down a romex hole in the ceiling and into the hollow area of the wall and dying there. Yuck! Once again expanding foam and steel mesh fixed that problem.

 

[scottydl]

You can try all you want to "keep them out" but chances are they will still find a way... better IMO to kill and contain them once they are in.  I always refer people back to the Ultimate Mouse Trap which consists of building (pretty easily) a bucket trap that you leave in your RV.  Check out that link.  And use RV antifreeze instead of conventional antifreeze, to avoid polluting the woods (or wherever) you later dump the bucket.