Chances of fully getting rid of mice from recent purchase?

[Remington92]

Hey all we just upgraded to a 2017 chaparral 28bhs and took off for on the maiden voyage Friday night. Well bout 3am that morning we were woken up to the sounds of mice making laps through the walls and ceilings.

Looking around I can’t find anywhere they’re in the living area but sounds like they’ve got a hell of a highway around the bedroom. I pulled off an inspection panel for the inverter which is in the wall that separates the living area from the bedroom. There’s a few mouse turds there but you can see where the furnace duct work goes into the bedroom in a hollow area under the dresser and theres a large insulation nest they’ve been building.

Once it was daylight we loaded up and headed for the dealer that’s 3.5hrs away. It already needed to go back for patches on the roof they missed but we were waiting to get on the schedule and I’ve been tied up with harvest at work. The dealership was closed for Labor Day weekend but my salesman said go ahead and drop it off and set some traps and he’d have the shop get to it first thing Tuesday.

My question is how likely is it that they can fully eradicate and seal it up to prevent further issues? We live in town and it’s been parked in my driveway where we’ve never had issues with the house, shop or our old 1996 5th wheel so fairly certain they came with it when we bought it. Or is it even worth dealing with and a total deal breaker, has anyone had luck getting a dealer to take a used camper back in situations like this and how much are they even expected to do? It’s a decent size chain dealership in our area with 6 locations.

It is what it is but we also just put a set of tires on it and a new mattress that we may have to eat the cost on if they take it back.

[Chuck_S]

You need to get the mice to leave the camper. Traps with tempting food may work. Poison will get them quickly and their little bodies will rot inside the walls.

Learned this the hard way during the Great Southeast Asia War Games several years ago. Getting the cadavers out was a challenge.

-- Chuck

[Remington92]

Snap traps with peanut butter has always been my go to in previous battles with them.

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by Remington92

Snap traps with peanut butter has always been my go to in previous battles with them.

Yep, the pkg of 4 old fashion wood traps from Walmart are the go-to item to get rid of mice. When the mouse is caught, toss the trap and the dead mouse.
Bait the traps each with a dab of peanut butter.

Take care where you place the traps. Getting up for the nature trip during the night and stepping on or kicking one of the traps hurts like hell. (now how do you think I know that?)

Bob

[reidfo]

Fortunately I haven't had to deal with mice in the camper, but I battle them at a ranch house constantly. Wooden snap traps with peanut butter (but not too much, just a little dab!) in addition to large glue boards work best for me. Put the glue boards along walls and especially in corners where they like to run.

[Odyknuck]

Snap Traps with peanut butter are also my go too however I reuse them over and over. With the infestation that OP has it could get quite expensive to throw them out after one catch.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Your chances of getting a dealer to take back a trailer are pretty low.

Exterminators have traps that allow the mice to leave but not reenter. You don't want to leave any in there to decompose. We've used glue traps in the house and they work well. They don't leave any poison to contaminate the rig. Restaurants use them in the kitchens.
Once they are gone, you need to find where they are entering the rig and cram the space with stainless steel wool. Metal netting behind vents in the walls and roof can also help.

If they are in the furnace ductwork, they may be in the furnace and that's a problem. Once you turn on the furnace, the mice droppings might get into the trailer itself.

[Remington92]

Is it unrealistic to think the dealer should possibly take it back with this sort of issue that was not disclosed and came from them?

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Remington92

Is it unrealistic to think the dealer should possibly take it back with this sort of issue that was not disclosed and came from them?

See the first line of post #7. You might start thinking of ways you can prove the mice were in the unit when you accepted it/picked it up -- and that they didn't get in after you left.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by Remington92

Is it unrealistic to think the dealer should possibly take it back with this sort of issue that was not disclosed and came from them?

Yes It is very unrealistic. How would they know it did not happen with the new owner.

[dangerranger]

once they are out, I use peppermint oil on cotton balls to keep them out. I refresh them with a couple drops every couple months. DR

[ChrisParise]

Trap the heck out of them and hunt down their nest(s) hopefully it is just 1.

Word of caution on glue traps. They can drag them around out of reach sometimes. I use baited traps. Kills them quickly.

But take off panels where you think the nests are and clean.

Find the entry points and seal them. Once you have mice others seem to want to join them

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Your chances of getting a dealer to take back a trailer are pretty low.

Exterminators have traps that allow the mice to leave but not reenter. You don't want to leave any in there to decompose. We've used glue traps in the house and they work well. They don't leave any poison to contaminate the rig. Restaurants use them in the kitchens.
Once they are gone, you need to find where they are entering the rig and cram the space with stainless steel wool. Metal netting behind vents in the walls and roof can also help.

If they are in the furnace ductwork, they may be in the furnace and that's a problem. Once you turn on the furnace, the mice droppings might get into the trailer itself.

Dealer taking it back? HA! It just depends on whether the Dealer charged for the mice or provided them free of charge.

PLEASE do not use poison! The mice will eat it, crawl into a hole or inaccessible location, die, and stink for weeks. Now you have a REAL problem.

A cheap old-fashioned snap trap kills them instantly. It is easy to dispose of the remains.

We travel with an 18 lb neutered tom cat with claws. A mouse is no match for this cat that has an attitude. I'm sure you can understand why.

Bob

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

We travel with an 18 lb neutered tom cat with claws. A mouse is no match for this cat that has an attitude. I'm sure you can understand why.

A cat is a good idea. We had mice getting into our house after our cat passed away. Got a rescue cat and even though she's not a great hunter, the mice went away.

OP, If you have a neighbor with a cat, you might want to borrow some used cat litter and put that in the rig. Usually the smell of a cat will encourage them to find a better home rather quickly. They even move their young to get them out of harms way.
Of course, you're still going to have to get rid of the nests.

[Oaklevel]

I do not have any scientific evidence but just got to thinking. (dangerous) We live in the woods for over 35 years and with dogs we have never had a mouse in the living space of the house or camper.

Our last dog Lillie just passed at 15 she would catch a rat outside and kill it so do not know if that had anything to do with it.

[Kholder]

I feel everyone’s pain here. We had a chipmunk get in our 3010DS in June on the Oregon coast. I removed an access panel under the fridge where I can see under the flooring towards the bathroom. I put down a snap trap with yummy peanut butter. Within 30 minutes he was gone.

Now that’s only half the battle. How did that guy get in. Didn’t take much to figure it out. The sewer hose highway right into the rig. For those that might not have a good visual the Sunserkers have a compartment to hid the city water and sewer lines. There’s a screw out cover you remove to slide the hoses in from the bottom. Once hooked up you a close the compartment door. To hide things a bit. Now back to the chipmunk, my DW did a bit on research on how to prevent this from happening again. Steel wool was the answer. Mice and relatives can’t chew through it. Put the steel wool in ziplock bags and I stiff it around the sewer hose so there no gaps. So far so good.

[Chuck_S]

Steel wool will rust to dust quickly. Bronze wool, available at an hardware store, will not and is perfect for filling gaps.

-- Chuck

[Kholder]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

Steel wool will rust to dust quickly. Bronze wool, available at an hardware store, will not and is perfect for filling gaps.

-- Chuck

Good option. So far in ziplock bags there’s no signs of rust. :-)

[SailorSam20500]

If you have a really big infestation, you may want to move up to a bucket trap...


https://www.primalsurvivor.net/bucket-mouse-trap/

[Chazman]

Originally Posted by dangerranger

once they are out, I use peppermint oil on cotton balls to keep them out. I refresh them with a couple drops every couple months. DR

I too have had good luck with peppermint oil for keeping them out, (the key is to refresh it often, as stated. I like the once a month method) but the best thing is to seal up any little holes, cracks, or crannies where they can get in. I also agree with the peanut butter-snap trap posts for getting rid of them. Once they're out give the entire trailer a spray down with Microban or Lysol spray and let it sit for a day. Don't waste your time trying to get them to take it back, dollars to donuts they won't.