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Old 07-11-2018, 06:07 PM   #1
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Angry Rodent Proofing a Winnie Journey

Has anyone succeeded in keeping mice out of their coach? While parked and unused recently, it appears a plague of mice moved into our Winnebago Journey and had a party. I've heard that mice can push their body through a hole the size of a pencil eraser. I suspect they climbed the tires and found entry in a place where plumbing, electrical, etc pass through the floor. After searching behind drawers in the kitchen and bath areas I've found some likely entry points. How about a combo of steel wool and insulating foam (into the steel wool)? All tips and advice are welcome (except keeping a cat in the coach - the co-pilot is allergic to cats.)
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Old 07-11-2018, 07:13 PM   #2
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I put decon in a few of the bays along with some old fashion mouse traps
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Old 07-11-2018, 08:04 PM   #3
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Don't leave ANY food in the RV when stored (except maybe canned stuff.) We have used "Fresh Cab" repellant in our bays for years and have never had mice. CLICK! The Fresh Cab has a nice pine tree fragrance. I have no idea whether it really works or if we've just been lucky.

If you already have an infestation, you'll need to set traps to get rid of them.
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Old 07-11-2018, 11:34 PM   #4
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There is a "Nice" way and a "Not So Nice" way of dealing with rodents

Normally I wouldn't do anything, but my mother just had her engine wires chewed on by a rat/mouse (TWICE). The first repair bill was $550 and the second was $750. So just last week I finally decided to take preventative measures around my RV out in the woods of Montana. ...That and because I found a dead rat in the grass next to my RV parking stall that presumably ate some rat poison... recently since it wasn't too dehydrated.

SO WHAT IS AN RV OWNER TO DO ABOUT RATS AND/OR MICE?

First the "nice" way: You can spread dryer sheets here and there. It's cheap and effective.

Apparently, mice don't like the smell of a number of things. I hear peppermint oil is also used, but I don't like the smell of peppermint; and I don't like the smell of mothballs either, which is another tried-and-true method.

We also like to use a garden hose type of ant & insect spray; and we spray that on the ground around the driver's side of the RV were we don't walk much.

Now for the "Not So Nice" way: You can make your own rat/mouse poison by making a 50:50 mixture of regular/ corn flour and cement powder. (Many say Portland cement has the most lime in it and apparently rats and mice are attracted to lime.) ...So the varmint eats the mixture, and then goes in search of water. And once they drink some water....game over! The cements hardens and hopefully dies right next to the water bowl!

I got this tip from a friend who said it worked well for him when he lived on a houseboat docked close to the rivers edge. In fact, you want the rat or mouse to die right next to the water bowl, because you don't want to die in your walls and stink up the joint for weeks!!!

I haven't done the cement & water bowl route, yet, but is sounds plausible. However, I would think it would be a good idea to cover the bowls with chicken wire or some other barrier to keep squirrels and your household pets away from any death trap you set.

I have been using dryer sheets successfully for the last 3 years and I have not had any mice problems, but I'm not often near a mouse ridden field.

$15 INSURANCE METHOD: I just bought a 3-pack of AC powered "Sonic" pest repellent devices at Home Depot. I plugged one in the basement of our RV, since we have an AC wall plug there; one at the AC power pole outside; and then we ran an extension cord from the AC power pole to the front of the RV, and hung the cord over and behind our generator.

However, we really don't know if these sonic things work or not. Some people say they do, and there are even website reviews, but for we basically thought $15 was cheap insurance and worth the peace of mind.

My guess is that you can only achieve "Peace of Mind" if you do everything you possibly can... because anything a rat or mouse chews on is going to cost you a lot more money, and could even leave you unable to start your engine and leave you stranded. Not good! I also think gas engines are more susceptible to this type of problem than diesels, because they have spark plug wires and distributor wires, but that's just a guess.

What I can tell you is that after we installed these 3 sonic devices in our RV basement, we then started to notice, about 2 days latter, 4 or 5 spiders entering our living area, and that has never happened before. (Then no more spiders.) So maybe these sonic devices do work and have some affect on insects (just at the label says). However, we don't know how good a sonic device works as a perimeter device to keep mice or rats away? (TBD)

Conclusion:
Definitely use dryer sheets; and spend $15 on some sonic devices as a minimum. You also can get an insecticide to spray for $5-8. (We also use this in an around the underside of the rv to keep the spiders out of the engine and generator bays. Not to mention behind the slideout!

Note: Sonic devices draw little energy and can also work when you are on AC-inverter power. And if you are staying for more than 2 weeks, then you might consider mixing up some corn meal or flour (+ sprinkle some salt) and Portland Cement... and put a water bowl next to it... WITH A WIRE MESH OVER THE TOP that will allow the rodent in, but keep squirrels and birds and your pets out!
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Old 07-12-2018, 12:41 PM   #5
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fox urine keeps them away.
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Old 07-12-2018, 03:00 PM   #6
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I think I'll pass on the fox urine!

I have no idea how effective it is but some of the spray can insulating foams claim to be rodent proof. Even so, I think I'd use steel wool as well. I wonder how a foam and steel wool "sandwich" would work. That would keep the steel wool in place.

Remember that rats can get through a size of a quarter and mice as small as a centimeter (a little less than 1/2"), and baby mice can get through a hole the size of a ballpoint pen. Apparently it's the size of their skull that is the limiting factor). I'm no expert, I Googled it.

I haven't yet had this problem and I've owned two TT and now a motorhome since 2005, but now that I've broadcast this to the world, I just know I'm going to find rodent droppings in my rig.
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Old 07-12-2018, 10:10 PM   #7
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My daughter has a large bag of charcoal in her TT parked at my small farm in Nebraska. She hasn't had any rodent or insect problems for two years. I put a medium bag of charcoal in two of my storage bins in my new View. So far, we are on the road so much the mice can't catch up with us.
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Old 07-15-2018, 05:59 PM   #8
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Too many dryer sheets activates carbon monoxide alarm

I have a mice phobia and am scared to death my love of camping will cease to exist if we get mice. Accordingly, I take great care to see that they don't get in. In the summer, I store things like bread and chips in the refrigerator and in the off season months, I take everything out of the camper including food and linens. A few years ago, I heard that dryer sheets would keep mice away so I put dryer sheets everywhere. I used a whole box in a 24' travel trailer. One night, we were watching tv and got a call from our neighbor that an alarm was going off in the camper. When we opened the door, the odor from the dryer sheets hit us in the face and the carbon monoxide alarm was loudly sounding. Needless to say, the hubs made me get rid of more than half and we never had problems with either mice or the alarm going off again. We just bought a motor home and are going to be semi-full time when my husband retires in 48 days. So far, we haven't had any mice problems. I'm praying we don't ever.
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Old 07-18-2018, 04:34 PM   #9
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We have lots of field mice in our area, and have never been able to keep them out. I do, however, have a simple home-made mousetrap that I keep in the MH while in storage. Since I have been using it, mouse damage/droppings have almost disappeared.

Attached is a simple drawing. It is made out of scrap wood, duct tape, an empty beer bottle and a 5 gallon bucket. Can capture and kill a number of mice at one time without any maintenance or need to reset. I do suggest though that you check it weekly, otherwise the little buggers start to stink.
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Old 07-18-2018, 04:35 PM   #10
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I've stayed up in the forest near Lake Tahoe in the spring in my Journey and all I did was put slices of Irish Spring on top of each tire, made sure the electrical and water were off the ground to act as a deterrent to climbing from the ground into the basement (not that it would stop them but just to make it a bit harder). And then I put Fresh Cab in 3 places around the RV.


I was there for 6 weeks and never had a mouse. Of course the Journey is pretty well sealed up to begin with but I believe those other measures helped too.
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Old 07-18-2018, 07:40 PM   #11
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Works for me

Years ago I read (or heard) somewhere that an unwrapped bar of Irish Spring soap will keep mice away.

I have used several bars of soap (under sinks, kitchen cabinets, etc) in two travel trailers and now in my Winnie. It has worked well for me.

PS, I do have field mice in the area as I always catch 2 or 3 over the winter in my garage.

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Old 07-18-2018, 08:46 PM   #12
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The Winnebago forum on irv2.com contains a post about dryer sheets. The poster said he found a mouse nest made out of dryer sheets in his MH.
There is a pet-safe mouse bait station designed by an irv2.com member. It consists of 1 3/4" pvc tee, 3 12" lengths of 3/4" pvc pipe, 1 3/4" pipe cap, 1 12" length of 1/4" all-thread 3 nuts and one flat washer. The side pipes are open, the top pipe is drilled to accept the all-thread, which is permanently attached with 2 nuts. The mouse bait blocks have a hole through them already, they are slid over the all-thread and secured with the washer and remaining nut. As mice eat the blocks the next one falls down, but none of the bait can leave the bait station.
That's the best I can describe his invention, sorry - no picture; the picture is in his irv2.com post.
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Old 07-19-2018, 08:15 AM   #13
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We also recently owned a Journey. We sprayed the undercarriage with Mouse Free (mouse-free.com). Our Journey was stored out in the country where there were plenty of mice--never had a problem. I know other people who have used this product and also had no problems with rodents. This is the best product we have found. We previously owned a fifth wheel and had a huge problem with mice. We tried all of the usual remedies with no success. Mouse Free is the way to go.
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Old 07-19-2018, 08:56 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Papa Dave View Post
Has anyone succeeded in keeping mice out of their coach? While parked and unused recently, it appears a plague of mice moved into our Winnebago Journey and had a party. I've heard that mice can push their body through a hole the size of a pencil eraser. I suspect they climbed the tires and found entry in a place where plumbing, electrical, etc pass through the floor. After searching behind drawers in the kitchen and bath areas I've found some likely entry points. How about a combo of steel wool and insulating foam (into the steel wool)? All tips and advice are welcome (except keeping a cat in the coach - the co-pilot is allergic to cats.)
We always use lots of rat and mouse poison so they have lots to eat. Plug any holes with steel wool and that should work. Mice can do real damage to the RV wiring not to mention the calling cards and smell they leave behind.
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Old 07-19-2018, 09:49 AM   #15
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i second Cab Fresh no mice since i started using it (Knock on Wood) nice smell i spread 4 around the MH twice a year
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Old 07-19-2018, 09:52 AM   #16
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The problem with poison is they pick places to die that you cannot get to. Then they entertain with their oder for quite a while.

I use Cab Fresh as previously mentioned. I put four or five inside the MH, and I scatter four or five under the unit as well. Really eliminated the mouse problem.
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Old 07-19-2018, 10:04 AM   #17
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I find Fresh Cab but not Cab Fresh?
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Old 07-19-2018, 11:39 AM   #18
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It is Fresh Cab.
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Old 07-19-2018, 01:48 PM   #19
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There used to be Cab Fresh which was balsam oil, and now there is Fresh Cab which I think is mint. Both work.
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Old 07-20-2018, 09:54 AM   #20
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Please don't use the likes of decon as this poison is passed up the food chain to pets, birds and other mammals. I've tried a lot of things that don't work: dryer sheets, peppermint oil, fresh cab herbs, mothballs and probably some I've forgotten. If they work for you that's great! what I've tried that does work are the old fashioned traps or a bucket 1/2 full of water where they go and drown. Here in NM there is an endless supply of mice and pack rats so these require checking, emptying and resetting daily. What does work best is rid-a-rat available online of check your local hardware store. Cost about $60 and can be battery operated or hardwired to chassis battery of any vehicle. Comes with a might strong magnet that holds tight. It's a flashing LED light and I have they in my tractor engine compartment, RUV, MoHo, pickup even though the MoHo and tractor are parked inside. Have not had any nest building or wire chewing since I started using them. Also sloar LED rope lights work well and I'm using them under an apple tree to keep the mice from sampling the ripening apples. AND yes, stuff any openings with steel wool as long as you're not blocking a vent.
G'luck!
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