Pack Rats

[PancakeBill]

Pack Rats seem to be an issue here in the desert.  Lots of the RVs here have the rope lights under the coaches, I was told these don't work, but have found articles online saying they do.  I have 100' roll of rope light around the underside anyway.  I don't want to use poison because of the downhill effect on predators.  I am thinking I might add some snap traps. 

My neighbor is using a device called a rid-a-rat, it has an occasional blinking light and I guess an ultrasonic noise emitter.  He swears by this.  Another leaves his hood open, but you know what happens if you open your hood in an rv park, neighbors with tools show up. 

Any good solutions?  Ideas?  Pooh poohs on common attempts?  We are fine so far, but we are in our first weeks of 6 months. 

 

[JayArr]

If there is a rodent problem then there aren't enough predators or there is too much food or both.

The rats are willing to come into the campground but the predators that eat them probably aren't, maybe because there is enough to eat outside the camp without having to take the added risk of contact with humans.

Rats will live in a **** sewer under a subway line and they'll eat their own mother when she gets sick or weak. I doubt you're going to scare them away with a flashing light or some ultrasonic noise. At least not in the long term. The best you could probably do in a non lethal solution is to make it more pleasant for them to go live under someone else's RV.

The best solution is to trap them and kill them, water buckets are good traps.

https://www.ratrelief.com/bucket-rat-traps/

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Pack rats, ground squirrels and other members of the rodent genre aren't all as aggressive as garden-variety black (roof) or Norway rats, but they are all opportunists. They enjoy a free lunch and a cozy campsite as much as any being.

The more rigorous tests of noises & lights as a deterrent all seem to indicate that rodents quickly get used to it and ignore it within a week or two. And of course they all seem to work fine if the animals are finding their lunch elsewhere at  the time, i.e. the neighbors have better pickings thn your place.

 

[PancakeBill]

So, what you are saying is put gov't cheese under the neighbors RV.

 

[ChasA]

Put some of your pancakes under neighbor's coaches.?

 

[jackiemac]

Put some of your pancakes under neighbor's coaches.?

Or under yours ??  kidding, I've not been lucky enough to eat yours.

This has interesting advice....

https://www.howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com/2017/05/03/how-to-prevent-pack-rats-from-eating-your-car-wires/

 

[PancakeBill]

Pancakes.  Problem is they are habit-forming and if you miss a day they come after you.

 

[Tom55555]

When you see rats and racoons it typically is an imbalance of mother nature. 

We have a lot of wild life where we live and have a live and let live attitude. If you kill any species you just create a problem with another species. When I see a skunk, fox, coyote or anything else in my yard I just leave them alone. Used to have a mice and rabbit issue, not anymore.

Regarding our tomato plants, the birds eat most of the caterpillars and the squirrels don't eat that many.

The chipmunks make a lot of holes in ground but they don't hurt our house and I think they are pretty cute.

There are a few aggressive species in North America like bears, alligators and wolves and as long as I'm not on their menu I won't have to use my shotgun.

I do scare away ducks in our swimming pool with a pool leaf rake. LOL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

So, what you are saying is put gov't cheese under the neighbors RV.

Maybe unethical but darned effective!  More seriously, you may in fact gain or lose a rodent problem if neighbor moves in or out, or if they change something. A neighbors lights or ultrasound gadget might drive the rodents your way for awhile but later they fall back on old patterns. Meanwhile, YOU think whatever action you took in the interim solved the problem.

We have a lot of wild life where we live and have a live and let live attitude. If you kill any species you just create a problem with another species. When I see a skunk, fox, coyote or anything else in my yard I just leave them alone. Used to have a mice and rabbit issue, not anymore.

AMEN. Our home is an enclave surrounded by a national forest, so we get all sorts of animals wandering by, up to and including black bears.  That said, I always did what I could to discourage rodents and birds from taking up residence in our RVs. They do damage that can be anywhere from nuisance to major.

 

[jackiemac]

Pancakes.  Problem is they are habit-forming and if you miss a day they come after you.

We do like a pancake, although I like the thin crepe like ones more... ;D ;D

 

[Tom55555]

Gary, what's really weird. We have wild rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels that will come right up to me and we NEVER feed them. I have an animal ladder in our pool but still have to save a few babies by hand every year that can't make it up the ladder. Maybe it's a bonding thing but they know I won't hurt them.

https://froglog.us/

 

[jackiemac]

Gary, what's really weird. We have wild rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels that will come right up to me and we NEVER feed them. I have an animal ladder in our pool but still have to save a few every year. It's as if they know I won't hurt them.

https://froglog.us/

Oh I LOVE that!  How great that you do that.

It can be amazing what you see from inside a pool. We were in one lazing around in Borrego Springs and Steve was flicking the dead bugs onto the side of the pool.  A few minutes later a roadrunner came along and ate them all.  Because we were quiet in the pool he wasn't bothered at all.  We really enjoyed watching him.

 

[Tom55555]

Oh I LOVE that!  How great that you do that.

It can be amazing what you see from inside a pool. We were in one lazing around in Borrego Springs and Steve was flicking the dead bugs onto the side of the pool.  A few minutes later a roadrunner came along and ate them all.  Because we were quiet in the pool he wasn't bothered at all.  We really enjoyed watching him.

I'm a big wild life conservationist and appreciate your comments.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Most of the animals around us are trusting as well - they probably realize we don't chase or harm them.  Even our cat seems to have decided they are neighbors rather than prey!  They still are leery of sudden movements, though. Survival instinct, I guess.

 

[Tom55555]

Gary, I've trained all my dogs "NOT" to go after anything; just alert me and stay unless I say the word.

I'm sure you know their nose is 500 times better than ours which is their real asset and their down side is they're clingy and want to snuggle. I'm more capable of handling a situation so the word stay means stay. I would be upset if my dog was injured.

 

[Tom55555]

Oh I LOVE that!  How great that you do that.

It can be amazing what you see from inside a pool. We were in one lazing around in Borrego Springs and Steve was flicking the dead bugs onto the side of the pool.  A few minutes later a roadrunner came along and ate them all.  Because we were quiet in the pool he wasn't bothered at all.  We really enjoyed watching him.

I save every bee, ant, beetle and anything else I see when in our pool

Everything has a purpose

 

[lynnmor]

I save every bee, ant, beetle and anything else I see when in our pool

Everything has a purpose

What is the purpose of a tick?

 

[Tom55555]

What is the purpose of a tick?

We have ants and frogs that eat ticks. I wouldn't want to take their dinner away. LOL

https://frogcreekrv.com/