Mice made nest inside heating duct

[BGlickster]

Hello...

Looking for some advice regarding mice making our 233s home over the winter. Went through and cleaned top to bottom. Turned on heater and had to remove chewed toilet paper from bathroom vent by allowing it to be blown out. Noted duct under bathroom sink with small hole and entry point. Suggestions to clean the duct work or replace. Noted smell present when heat runs.

[Skyliner]

Hantavirus is a fatal respiratory disease that is transmitted by mice feces and urine. If the droppings are fresh, use an approved respiratory device and a Dupont Dyvek disposable coverall suit. Respiratory device that is approved has an N-100 filter or a current NBC military mask will also suffice.

During cleaning, wear nitrile rubber gloves.

Do not stir up dust by sweeping, high pressure spraying, or vacumming droppings, urine or nesting materials. This will generate potential infectious aerosols that can be breathed in more easily.

Thoroughly wet droppings with a bleach solution consisting of 1.5 cups of bleach per 1 gallon of water. I used a new chemical sprayer (used to kill weeds) that I bought from Walmart. I sprayed the solution into the uphill ductwork vent.

Once wetted, remove items by hand using lots of paper towels.

Ensure RV is parked on a hill so water drains down hill. The ends of ducts are not water proof.

Rinse ducts again with bleach solution and then rinse with water.

Rinse a third time with your favorite scent of odoban that freshens things up and smells better then bleach.

Remove heater from RV
Using sprayer carefully rince all contaminated areas with bleach and odoban. You may have to use a soaked towel to protect electronics and the motor.

Use chem sprayer to get soak the squirrel cage being careful not to get motor or electronics wet.

Let dry in open sun.

Spray gloves with bleach before removing

Discarded gloves and coveralls should be double bagged or burned.

I did this a couple of months ago to my camper. I ended up using a wet/dry vacuum that was vented outside and flooded the vents which then sucked up stuff that I couldn't get by hand.

Last step: monitor yourself for any respiratory issues in the next 45 days.

Odoban is available from Home Depot. I like every scent except the Eucalyptus one. It works great for pet odors too!

[shackontheRock]

I had the same problem a few years back. I had to remove the entire heater vent hose and replaced it. I actually upgraded it to a aluminum one versus the paper type.

[Eric F.]

The duct is pretty easy to remove. It runs from under the shower pan to the heater. Use a screwdriver to remove the panels below the bathroom sink, lower part of the pantry, and heater cover. It is taped to the register below the shower pan. Snake it out and try not to spill anything, snake in a new one the same way you took it out and make sure to clean up any mess.

[Cool Canuck]

I am not familiar with your trailer. I had mice in a trailer and found their main nest under the furnace which was vented down through the bottom. It might be a good idea to check there. Our public insurance company wear masks and hazmat suits if a trailer has rodents in it.

[mopwr4me2003]

We have had no issues as of yet with mice. We use dryer sheets to help keep nice out. 5 yrs and no mice yet anywhere that I have seen. I know this doesn't help for the clean up but for future issues it's cheap and worth the try. Good luck.

[Jasonandaja]

What do you do with the dryer sheets to keep the mice away?

[mopwr4me2003]

Originally Posted by Jasonandaja

What do you do with the dryer sheets to keep the mice away?

You put the dryer sheets all around the camper. In drawers, cabinets, anywhere you can think of that may be an issue area. And the other thing I forgot to mention if you have a hole or a spot that can lead to the outside use steel wool to put in the hole or patch it.

[trbomax]

We had mouse turds,dried urine spots and some nesting material in the basement of ours when we pdi'd it. I pointed it out to the salesman ,his responce was "there's no extra charge for that".I vacumed it up when we got home because the basement was full of sawdust,wood chips,and tie wrap snips.

[shackontheRock]

The misses stands by "Bounce" dryer sheets. She tried all types and this brand works the best. (We didn't use Bounce and mice made a beautiful home in the heater hose.)
Also, deployed small electric rodent buzzers. Mixed comments about them but we've been using both for years and no mice.

[Old Eeyore]

We use the stinkiest dryer sheets we can get our hands on. Brand isn't too important. If we can smell the unopened box from the end of the aisle that's the one we buy. Put at least one sheet in every cabinet, drawer, storage area, shelf - everywhere. Wearing gloves will keep your hands from smelling to high heaven for a couple of days.

No mice and no spiders in 20+ years. (We also remove all paper products when we put 'er into hibernation.)

IMHO brass wool is better than steel wool for plugging holes. Both work - but steel is more likely to rust.

[tuckerfamily]

I learned the bounce trick from my mother years ago. Try it once the trailers cleaned. Sorry for the hassle. Mice make horrible messes.

[SeaDog]

I used dryer sheets and they seemed to work then I was told about Irish Spring soap, cut it in quarts and place it around, it worked the first winter then when the smell diminished the mice ate the soap! lol stick with the dryer sheets and check often for any signs