Darn the Mice

[steveqvs]

Well after all winter and the spring we now have found evidence of a mouse in or seasonal camper.... in fact it ran down the DW leg while sleeping. Yes it was a wake up call for all!!! <grin> All winter no problems. This guy must have just moved in. We were there several weeks ago and did not see any evidence.

So the mission begins. Think of the movie Caddyshack and gophers!

Any suggestions?

Obvious places I looked at. There is a vent system behind the fridge. On the outside is lots of louvers and holes easy enough for something to crawl in. So I will get some metal screen and mount it to the back side. There is another smaller rectangular vent higher. I did notice a wasp nest in there. Its a little harder to get at as it just has screws. Not sure what that is venting. Its on the kitchen side but much higher than the fridge vent that is floor level. I also noticed a wasp nest by the heater so that will get metal screen too.

I suppose I will get some expanding foam and look from underneath. How is the best way to do that.... I am thinking maybe in the day... but also at night in the dark with lights on in the camper.... course i am not too excited about crawling under the camper at night!

I do remember seening some light spots when I winterized from under the bathroom sink... so i will check those.

Oh and of course we went to the store and got the usual supply of glue traps and the snap traps and set it up like a war zone when we left.

any other ideas or suggestions. I have only solar when I am not there so I don't know if the sound things would work.

thanks
On a Mission

[Radio]

Can't comment to the mice but you are best to go after wasps and hornets late at night. That's when they all come back to the nest and bed down. Zap them with whatever is designed for wasp/hornets and get them all at once.

[NDJollyMon]

The upper vent is prolly your range hood vent.

I use D-con under the trailer. I suggest putting something over the poison so other critters can't eat it. Mice need only tiny holes.

Expanding foam works great for filling gaps, so does steel wool. They won't chew it. Forget the dryer sheet myth...it doesn't work. (trust me) Just find every hole/gap and fill it. Good luck. There are some other tips on mice if you search here too.

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by Radio

Can't comment to the mice but you are best to go after wasps and hornets late at night. That's when they all come back to the nest and bed down. Zap them with whatever is designed for wasp/hornets and get them all at once.

RAID jet spray. Other brands don't work as well.
Agree with the night attack. The cooler the better as in just before
sunrise is best but you can do it before bed too.
Use a flashlight to adjust your aim. Shoot them with RAID wasp spray
and click off the light.
Be careful not to step on the one's that fall out.
They can get you barefoot the next day if you step on them.

As far as mousetraps go. Bait them with peanut butter.
It is almost guaranteed to work.
EVERYTHING likes peanut butter.
I swear you could catch fish with it if you could keep it on the hook.

Good luck!
KyDan

[steveqvs]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't realize that about the wasps... good tip. I did bait... okay my 13 year old son did bait 4 snap traps with peanut butter and we put out 4 or more glue traps. So hopefully by saturday, my next visit i will be disposing of the little critters!!!

[marc]

I have used dryer sheets for a long time, never a sign of a mouse or any other creature. Don't even have any spiders or bugs. It keeps the camper smelling fresh as well. Don't be skimpy on them, use atleast a 40 ct box.

[KyDan]

P-nut butter is good bait.
Everything likes p-nut butter!
If they were serious about catching Big Foot, they should
use p-nut butter!!
If you could keep it on your hook you could catch fish with
p-nut butter!

[steveqvs]

wow, this is a thread from last year! Well after attaching screen to the fridge exhaust, the range exhaust, and by the water heater, I have seen no evidence of the little 4 legged friends. I do have a nice meal of peanut butter on a lovely spring trap in several locations but no one has showed up. As for the wasps, flies and moths I used one of those sticky tapes over the winter. They work real good and actually pulled some of my arm hair off too!! doh!

steve

[KyDan]

Don't look at me!!
Marc resurrected it yesterday and I was just replying!

[Dave_Monica]

Another entry point to check is where the drain lines go through the floor into the grey water or galley tank. With our trailer, they had a 2" hole cut for the 1 1/4" drain line under the kitchen sink and the chalking fell out.

Dave

[TravelSoftballDad]

I am a HUGE fan of the glue trays. I put a little peanut butter in the middle (be careful when doing this) of the tray and place along wall(s). Get the larger "rat" sized tray and enjoy. The wife doesn't like it, but I will leave the trapped fella there for an extra night or two. I have found that his 'friends' will come to his aid (or to steal the peanut butter he doesn't seem to want) and also get stuck. Never had great luck with spring loaded traps but the trays work great for me.

Happy hunting !!