MICE - What Deterents Work for You

Seann45 · 05-13-2011, 08:38 AM

Last fall my neighbor took his Jayco 5er out for storage.. since we have read that placing bounce sheets everywhere in the RV will deter mice he placed them everywhere in his trailer. Well yesterday we went out to get the trailer.. mouse do-do everywhere in it even on top of the bounce sheets...another myth busted..

Denise · 05-13-2011, 10:25 AM

When we aren't using our tt, we keep it stored with canned/bottled food in case of earthquake emergency, but make sure any paper/boxed foods/etc are taken out. So far, we haven't had mice issues, but it could happen!

Short of renting the tt to our local stray cat, I would also love to know what others are doing to repel mice that is working for them!

Seann45 · 05-13-2011, 10:44 AM

Since I posted the original on here I have been doing a lot of thinking about it. My solution is not cheap but then again neither is dealing with animal damage. As many of you may know I am a big believer in solar power.. so I was thinking that a 135 watt panel on the roof, and the right charge controller etc to the battery and a small inverter inside with an ultrasonic pest chaser attached should work... now I have not sat down and done the math on if a 135 panel will top up the battery everyday, and it would have to be on a tilt mount to face S and get the max sun and keep the sn*w (dirty word) off.
Hopefully someone else will have a suggestion that is cheaper and WORKS.!!

etep571190 · 05-13-2011, 11:09 AM

I use a product called Mouse Magic. Its pretty inexpensive. I don't have any mice. But then again I didn't have any in the past either without using anything for a deterrent.

wiscampsin · 05-13-2011, 11:26 AM

The very best deterent is to find out how/where they're gaining access and seal the heck out of it. As you know they can get through a very small hole so everyplace an electric line, LP hose, water line, etc. penetrates the camper is an invitation for them to enter. And ALL traces of any food needs to be removed before storage.

nylyon · 05-13-2011, 12:05 PM

I've thought about this quite a bit as well. I wonder if there's anything you can do around the tires which will keep the mice away. They have to climb up somewhere and the tires are the most likely place. I wonder if putting grease on the tires or something would keep them from climbing up?

Spike99 · 05-13-2011, 01:10 PM

.

For my seasonal site 2006 Jayco 29FBS TT, I simply removed its underbelly hard plastic layer, removed its soft plastic fabric layer, manually removed its factory fibreglass insulation (that was full of dead and live critters), re-routed its dangling wires (into straight wire pulls inside plastic loom tubing) and put Gorilla tape over tank sensors. As some home renovation folks often say, "down to bare bones / stud to stud exposure". I then stuffed steel screen into visible holes, put screen sheets under the tub's gooseneck open hole ( http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/100_2056.jpg ) and put fabric material around the tank gaps. re: http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/100_0658.jpg I then hired a professional contractor with his mobile truck and Spray Foamed the TT's underbelly. Used "professional grade" Closed Cell - 2 lbs @ 3.5" - 4" thick. Not only did this mod stop mice from entering the underbelly area but it also tightened up the floor. The floor now feels solid - due to spray foam bonding anything it touches.

re:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/100_0696.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/100_0700.jpg

Not too sure if everyone will endure this DIY with professional grade Spray Foam "upgrade". But if "NO MORE future critters" is your main goal, do apply the same mass spray foam upgrade as well. If planning to keep your trailer for many years, this mod is well worth it. Especially at seasonal sites - where critters always look for food and shelter...

Hope this helps in your research....

.

Terry · 05-13-2011, 02:14 PM

My first year I had a bad time of the critters making nests in drawers (the about ruined all my manuals). Anyway - I now leave all the drawers cracked and the lower cabinet doors open. It seems they dont like to nest where it is not dark. So far - no nests!

I also use the glue traps rather than the spring traps. I have found that they decay with less smell and mess on the glue rather than being squished by the trap. I have had a couple in there for a few weeks and once I remove them and a quick sprits (is that a word?) of Fabreeze - the smell is gone.

I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I can never seal up all the holes and they will find a way in no matter what I do...so my goal is to minimize the damage that they do once they are in and to not encourage them to stay.

**FPM III** · 05-13-2011, 05:51 PM

This works well for me.

Sorry... I couldn't resist.

**Crabman** · 05-13-2011, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FPM III

This works well for me.

Sorry... I couldn't resist.

Yep, that one will work!

Lady Fitzgerald · 05-13-2011, 07:24 PM

I used to live in a mobile home court that had a huge problem with mice. Despite the place being lousy with cats, we were the only ones without a mouse problem. Our secret? A German Shepard named Lady. That dog took out everything that came into our yard, including an occasional cat. We were always find mouse heads laying around. One time we found 1/2 of a snake. The back half was lying outside the chainlink fence. Apparently, Lady gnawed off the front half of the snake and couldn't get a grip on the part lying outside the fence.

RLD0361 · 05-13-2011, 07:26 PM

When I store our trailer in the winter, we mothball it using about 2 boxes of the round mothballs and envelopes. We buy the a box of 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 envelopes and use a hole punch to place several holes in the envelopes. We then place several mothballs per envelope and seal the envelope. I then place all of the envelopes througout the entire trailer. It is easy to toss them anywhere in the trailer. What is nice about this is there isn't any mess to clean up once they are in the envelopes. Also, you can re-use them for a couple of seasons. When we remove the envelopes, I place them in a zip lock bag and keep them in our garage until I use them again in the fall to store the trailer. We've been doing this for over 15 years and have never had any mice in the trailer during storage. The only thing is in the spring, it may take a couple of days to air out the trailer.

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