Mice Problem

I have a 2007 Trailmanor 2619 and have had mice get into it on (2)
different occasions while being stored. Anyone else having mice problems?

[Bill]

Click on "Search", and then enter either "mouse" or "mice". Lots of advice and experience here.

Bill

We had mice for a few days prior to opening last year (we know they were not there long as they had not chewed anything and the pile of pumpkin seeds was stacked, not chewed...thank goodness!).

Where there is one mouse, there are 20! I have been looking all over online, and I found one additional solution I will try this year to be EXTRA sure (in addition to traps set in garage/mice caught, holes sealed up, more traps out and changed regularly, food nearby for mice to gravitate to). It sounds wierd, but my engineering dad is all for it! A guy on the RV Newsletter site posted pics (if I can find a link, I'll post it but I am not savvy) of what looks like rings of sheet metal around each contact point (ie tires, hitch). The premise is that if there is nothing for the mice to grab onto (tires, hitch, even a plug wire) and just slippery metal in it's place, they can't get in. Why not? The sheet metal sits on the floor in a perfect ring around the tire, like a doughnut. I forget how high the sheet metal goes, but it obviously does not touch the bottom of the trailer and will be high enough that a mouse can't stand up to grab the top and hoist him/herself onto it. I'll let you know how my contingency plan goes!

Meantime...set the traps along the path, remove food source, plug holes in TM with steel wool. Clean the prior nesting spots thoroughly (Pine Sol was recommended on one site, and another suggested peppermint oil as a deterrent). Mice tend to wander along the walls/straight lines, and tend to be habitual offenders. Apparently they don't often stray 20-30' from nests, so sometimes just moving the trailer a bit out of the established path can also help, per the rodent removal specialist who has been to my house in the past. Good luck!

Here is a trick with mice.

ALWAYS when storing a travel trailer leave some paper towel pieces laying around in all of the locations mice would frequent. When (not if) mice get in the trailer they will nest and they will pick the paper towels to chew up and use for bedding before they try to eat away at your seat cushions and mattress pads.

Also...I set out the blue mice baits and I also set out a snap style mouse trap near the door opening. The snap trap will wack them right away and the blue bait will get any others.

ALSO...I uses a small 12" by 12" piece of plywood and screwed the smap trap and the bait to that piece of wood. This makes setting the snap trap much easier and less scary than without it. Also...you can pick up the wood and move the trap and bait areound without being fearful of the thing snapping your fingers. The bait needs to be kept away from pets as they will eat it.

Our dog ate a bait trap and after we rushed her to the vet the vet said the next time to pour a cap ful of hydrogen peroxide down her mouth and when the peroxide bubbles up in her stomach the dog will barf everything up and clean her up as good as new.

[Brittany Dogs]

Peppermint oil on the inside has been working for me. I use an empty jar with two sheets of paper towels inside the jar to act like an air wick. The inside smell come Spring is much nicer than moth balls.

However I use moth balls on the outside of the camper. I use an old sock with say five moth balls inside of it and put that in some areas like the back bumper, the refrigerator area and parts of the TrailManor trailer that seem like logical areas for mice to enter.

Lastly, I use an old skillet filled with a half box of moth balls and I place that about center under the camper. The skillet won't blow around in the wind and it stinks up the general area under the camper to help keep mice away before they even think of going inside the camper.