Kevin Means
Site Team
This is rather long, but you might find it helpful if you have mouse problems. In more than 30 years of RVing, we never had a mouse problem... until recently when we parked our motorhome on the lot where our new Arizona facility is being built. While overseeing the project, we lived in the RV on the same lot for nearly a year.
Not surprisingly, we started seeing signs of mice in the RV after a couple months, but they really seemed to gain a stronghold when we left the RV unoccupied on the lot for a week. When we returned, the fight was on. Over about six months, we tried different types of traps and bait, and we trapped a lot of mice, but we just couldn't get them all. They even seemed to become "trap-aware" over time. We had to put paper towels, toilet paper, cloth towels and other things up high, or we'd find them shredded, and stuffed in various places throughout the RV.
Beyond the mouse poop, we started to see some real damage. An ABS warning light illuminated, and when I took it to Freightliner, they found that mice had chewed through some wiring associated the the ABS system. That repair cost a little over $1500.00. A few weeks ago, we drove the RV to San Diego, but the morning we left Arizona, I discovered that our inverter's remote control, and our electrical management system's monitor were both inoperative. I spent a day in San Diego trying to locate the damage, and found that mice had chewed through two communication cables under the bed. I was able to fix them myself.
The morning we were to head back to Arizona, we woke up to a hissing sound, and I discovered that mice had chewed through the water hose in the wet bay. We were hooked up to water at the time, so water was everywhere, but other than the hose itself, I found no damage. I decided to fix the hose the next day when we got back to Arizona.
The new facility has a climate controlled RV garage, and when we got there, I parked the RV inside, and we slept in it that night. When we woke up the next morning, we woke up the the smell of diesel fuel. When I stepped outside the RV, I found that we were sitting in a pool of diesel fuel. There was a slow stream of diesel coming out from under the RV, and much of the garage floor was covered in fuel. I got the RV out of the garage and tried to locate the leak, but was unable to, so I arranged to have a facility in Tucson work on it. They were able to find and fix the leak a few days later, but only after cutting an access hole in the belly of the RV to access the fuel line. They said mice had chewed through the line. That repair cost more than $3200.00.
After it was repaired, I contacted a tent-fumigation company in Benson, Arizona and asked if they had ever tented an RV. They said they had, but it was rare. They agreed to tent it, and it was a two-day, $1600.00 job. We knew we'd have to deal with a dead-mouse odor for awhile, but that was infinitely preferable to more damage. Here's the good news, our insurance company (Farmers) agreed to fully reimburse us for the cost of repairing the fuel line.
Our motorhome is inside now, and the building is very well built. I have diligently searched for anyplace mice could get in, but found none, and we've seen no signs of mice. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, and traditional traps aren't working for you, tenting might be an option.
Kev
Not surprisingly, we started seeing signs of mice in the RV after a couple months, but they really seemed to gain a stronghold when we left the RV unoccupied on the lot for a week. When we returned, the fight was on. Over about six months, we tried different types of traps and bait, and we trapped a lot of mice, but we just couldn't get them all. They even seemed to become "trap-aware" over time. We had to put paper towels, toilet paper, cloth towels and other things up high, or we'd find them shredded, and stuffed in various places throughout the RV.
Beyond the mouse poop, we started to see some real damage. An ABS warning light illuminated, and when I took it to Freightliner, they found that mice had chewed through some wiring associated the the ABS system. That repair cost a little over $1500.00. A few weeks ago, we drove the RV to San Diego, but the morning we left Arizona, I discovered that our inverter's remote control, and our electrical management system's monitor were both inoperative. I spent a day in San Diego trying to locate the damage, and found that mice had chewed through two communication cables under the bed. I was able to fix them myself.
The morning we were to head back to Arizona, we woke up to a hissing sound, and I discovered that mice had chewed through the water hose in the wet bay. We were hooked up to water at the time, so water was everywhere, but other than the hose itself, I found no damage. I decided to fix the hose the next day when we got back to Arizona.
The new facility has a climate controlled RV garage, and when we got there, I parked the RV inside, and we slept in it that night. When we woke up the next morning, we woke up the the smell of diesel fuel. When I stepped outside the RV, I found that we were sitting in a pool of diesel fuel. There was a slow stream of diesel coming out from under the RV, and much of the garage floor was covered in fuel. I got the RV out of the garage and tried to locate the leak, but was unable to, so I arranged to have a facility in Tucson work on it. They were able to find and fix the leak a few days later, but only after cutting an access hole in the belly of the RV to access the fuel line. They said mice had chewed through the line. That repair cost more than $3200.00.
After it was repaired, I contacted a tent-fumigation company in Benson, Arizona and asked if they had ever tented an RV. They said they had, but it was rare. They agreed to tent it, and it was a two-day, $1600.00 job. We knew we'd have to deal with a dead-mouse odor for awhile, but that was infinitely preferable to more damage. Here's the good news, our insurance company (Farmers) agreed to fully reimburse us for the cost of repairing the fuel line.
Our motorhome is inside now, and the building is very well built. I have diligently searched for anyplace mice could get in, but found none, and we've seen no signs of mice. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, and traditional traps aren't working for you, tenting might be an option.
Kev
