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Old 07-22-2014, 06:20 PM   #1
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Eeeekkkk - A Mouse

This is our second year with a TT. We store our TT in a barn and have never had trouble with mice. DH set me up at a local campground for a week of peace and quiet. He would join me a couple days later. When DH arrived and began to put his stuff away he noticed the paper towels in the cabinet shredded. He calls for me and we begin the hunt. Found TP shredded under bathroom sink and the beginnings of a nest under the dutch oven in the basement. At this point I am feeling VERY confident that we did not get this mouse at the barn, it clearly took up residence while at the CG. So begins the process of cleaning and the laying of traps. Two days later at 2:22 AM we hear the wonderful sound of a mouse securely attached to a sticky pad and desperately trying to escape. DH gets up and carries mouse and pad outside to the edge of our campsite. Being the soft heart that he is, he didn't bop him in the head but thought he would let the mouse struggle and think about what he had done. 45 minutes later DH went outside because he couldn't sleep and mouse was gone. Sticky pad was still present but about 10 feet from where it started. The mouse obviously became a snack for something passing through. No additional signs of mouse activity after several days so that is good news. My question, and I am sure this is not the first time this has been discussed. What serves as the best mouse deterant? We hang mothball socks from the camper when it is stored. I have dryer sheets everywhere. And now I am adding cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil. Is this overkill? As I said, not to worried about it while sitting in the barn. But what do you do to keep the critters out when you are camping??
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Old 07-22-2014, 06:39 PM   #2
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This is what I use in my camper over the winter. Does it work? Who knows but I haven't noticed any little rodents yet. It doesn't smell all that bad either.
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Old 07-22-2014, 06:48 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by CindyandDave View Post
This is our second year with a TT. We store our TT in a barn and have never had trouble with mice. DH set me up at a local campground for a week of peace and quiet. He would join me a couple days later. When DH arrived and began to put his stuff away he noticed the paper towels in the cabinet shredded. He calls for me and we begin the hunt. Found TP shredded under bathroom sink and the beginnings of a nest under the dutch oven in the basement. At this point I am feeling VERY confident that we did not get this mouse at the barn, it clearly took up residence while at the CG. So begins the process of cleaning and the laying of traps. Two days later at 2:22 AM we hear the wonderful sound of a mouse securely attached to a sticky pad and desperately trying to escape. DH gets up and carries mouse and pad outside to the edge of our campsite. Being the soft heart that he is, he didn't bop him in the head but thought he would let the mouse struggle and think about what he had done. 45 minutes later DH went outside because he couldn't sleep and mouse was gone. Sticky pad was still present but about 10 feet from where it started. The mouse obviously became a snack for something passing through. No additional signs of mouse activity after several days so that is good news. My question, and I am sure this is not the first time this has been discussed. What serves as the best mouse deterant? We hang mothball socks from the camper when it is stored. I have dryer sheets everywhere. And now I am adding cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil. Is this overkill? As I said, not to worried about it while sitting in the barn. But what do you do to keep the critters out when you are camping??
Cover EVERY vent you have - camco sells vent screens cover your refer, hot water heater, gas outlets and get some screening and cover the openings in your roof A/C.

This will take care of mice mud daubers and other critters that love to nest in YOUR nest!

Most new campers these days are "sealing" the undercarriage. If yours is not done like this you might want to look in to doing this yourself - this should totally seal your unit to the outside world - OH, check your propane bays as well and seal accordingly - don't worry, there are propane vents for any leaks.

Hope this helps!
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Old 07-22-2014, 07:00 PM   #4
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Cover EVERY vent you have - camco sells vent screens cover your refer, hot water heater, gas outlets and get some screening and cover the openings in your roof A/C.

This will take care of mice mud daubers and other critters that love to nest in YOUR nest!

Most new campers these days are "sealing" the undercarriage. If yours is not done like this you might want to look in to doing this yourself - this should totally seal your unit to the outside world - OH, check your propane bays as well and seal accordingly - don't worry, there are propane vents for any leaks.

Hope this helps!
I think we have all of the vents covered. We have an enclosed underbelly and the ONLY opening we can see is at the slide. The little critter can jump from the tire to the slide rail. But thanks for the suggestions. We will run through the whole camper again to make sure we haven't missed some tiny little access point.
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Old 07-22-2014, 08:13 PM   #5
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Other folks can chime in here but it will be really helpful if you let us know what rig you have
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Old 07-22-2014, 09:36 PM   #6
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Other folks can chime in here but it will be really helpful if you let us know what rig you have
Sorry, I should have mentioned that. We have a 2010 Flaggstaff 26RLSS. And by the way, we love it. Couldn't be happier with our Forest River product.
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Old 07-22-2014, 09:45 PM   #7
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When we pop-upped, we would get peppermint tea bags and peppermint essential oil. coat the tea bags with the oil then spread around in drawers, closets, storage areas, near the doors, etc. On the pop-up, we would also put them under the canvas after we collapsed it.
We stored the unit on grass (we live in a rural area) and never had a problem.
Covering all the vents and open areas with screening is a great deterent as mentioned already.
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Old 07-22-2014, 10:09 PM   #8
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We have always used Bounce dryer sheets. Put them everywhere when in storage and in drawers and storage areas when in use. 1 popup and 2 TT later we have never had a mouse. Have stored in back yard, a storage lot and at a friend's farm over the years.
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Old 07-22-2014, 10:36 PM   #9
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A mouse has a flexible skull and can fit through a 1/4" round hole (so I was told). You could try to fill all openings in the underbelly you can find with steel wool.
They also climb up power cords and water hoses, the solution for that would be a plastic lid, like from an ice cream pail, with a cross cut in the center and a hole just a hair small than the hose or cable, put over the hose where the lid sits horizontal over the vertically hanging hose or cord.
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Old 07-23-2014, 07:21 AM   #10
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I pride myself on my mouse hunting skills. Having a deer camp in a remote area that I only visit three times a year. Twice for deer hunting, and one visit to clean the camp and rid the camp of mice prior to deer season.
My Flagstaff (not used for deer season) sits at home, and we had mice as well. I scoured and sealed every possible opening.
I heard him traveling in the AC chase in the ceiling?? After much looking I finally determined where the entry point that I missed was.
The black tank hangs on the steel cross members suspended on the frame. Leaving a 1/2 " space between the top of the tank and the underside of the floor. The vent pipe coming from the tank goes straight up to and thru the roof, as it passes thru the TT is where he entered. My pipe ran verticle between the bath room and bunk wall. The mouse traveled up and ate the styrofoam in the ceiling for added nesting, and he crossed from one side to the other by chewing his own path around the bathroom ceiling roof vent.
The fix: I pushed the tank up hard against the floor, and chocked it with some 1/2" pressure treated wood stock. Temporary for now, until I decide if I wanted to move steel framing up. I cleaned all nesting (lots) and after cutting a small hole in bunk room wall (under bunk) and sealing with foam aerosol super stuff. I later patched the hole using aluminum trim coil (removable for future inspections). All cleaned up, removed all ceiling vent returns vacuumed the entire AC chase with shop vac.
Been two months now....no mice. But checking always. Once they get in and nest, and breed it's a. Real battle. Bottom line.....find the entry!!


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Old 07-23-2014, 01:37 PM   #11
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Here is what we use. These only work when we have power and we very seldom drydock.
Victor Mini Pestchaser Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent (3-Pack)-M753S at The Home Depot
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Old 07-23-2014, 11:31 PM   #12
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Also, if you don't have screens, you can put steel wool into the openings for your vents. You can still use the vents or the appliances, but the mice won't be able to get in.
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Old 07-23-2014, 11:32 PM   #13
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We have a ready supply of barn cats who are excellent mousers!
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Old 08-28-2014, 08:53 AM   #14
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We stored our old fifth-wheel in a barn. First year, we got mice after using just the Bounce dryer sheet treatment. Last year, we used the dryer sheets, cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil and something called Cab Fresh (or maybe it's Fresh Cab), which is some sort of natural rodent repellent that we get at our local Fleet Farm store. When we picked up the trailer out of storage this spring, we found virtually no evidence of mouse presence. So we'll use all three of those things again this winter. There's no kill like overkill when it comes to keeping mice out of the trailer, I say.
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Old 08-28-2014, 08:55 AM   #15
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Also, been told that renuzit the original sent works very well also.............
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Old 09-02-2014, 10:14 AM   #16
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Still got a good supply of barn cats -- rent to own!

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Old 09-04-2014, 11:37 AM   #17
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My sad story:
in '99 we bought a competitor's popup and had it parked in the same location for 10 years, had no issues with mice. in'09 we bought a competitor's expandable and for 2 years had no issues. Always winterizing with sealing the vents and loading the campers up with mothballs and dryer sheets. About 3 years ago when we opened it up in the spring to get it ready for camping, we found the drawers filled with "chocolate sprinkles" and nests in the oven and bathroom vanity. On our first trip that spring, we opened the front bunk and found where they had eaten through the tent screen. My wife being crafty, cut the screen in the shape of a crescent moon and stars and sowed in screen patches. It actually looked kind of cool. That winter I did the norm for winterizing, plus went around and stuffed every hole with fiberglass insulation. The following spring. Everything looked good. No nests in the oven or "chocolate sprinkles" to be found. But good news didn't last long. I opened the front bunk to find they had destroyed the tent material and the mattress (several deceased ones still there). Had to order a new tent and a mattress. Last fall a friend recommended a pest away product from Lowes. It was advertised to keep rodents and deer away. It was flakes you would shake out around the camper. This spring we had absolutely no damage or signs of mice (PC no mothballs or dryer sheets were used).
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