Mice in coach

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Mice in coach

October 12, 2013, 03:24:25 pm

We live in the woods and if we leave the coach alone MNEXT TO OUR HOUSE for a couple weeks, when we return there are mouse droppings.

We've killed three of them with traps but wonder if anyone knows 1) a way to keep them out and 2) if there's a place underneath, they might be crawling in.

Thanks,

Mz. Daze

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #1 – October 12, 2013, 03:44:34 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143114

This past winter we could not travel and by the time we knew this, all the indoor storage spaces were taken so we stored "Wild Thing" in outside locked storage under an Adco cover.
Before the cover went on I put mothball-filled (cut off at the knees) pantyhose tubes in the over-stove vent from the outside, in the generator and engine exhausts plugged with steel wool, laid several under the hood, and was very liberal with the scented Bounce fabric softener sheets inside the coach...in cabinets, between cushions, and from the inside of the over-stove vent. I festooned the cab vents with them, as well. And I left the mostly empty box of them on the dining table.

We did not have a single mouse intrusion.
I would note that this July when we left "WT" at her summer spot, also outside and very woodsy, we did not do all of this. This fall, unlike all the previous, when we retrieved her we found a mouse had made a nest of paper towels (a nest the size of a basketball) under the dinette seat (the one that is accessed only by its (inside) door in the kitchen. I did wonder why that stored roll of papertowels in the other dinette seat storage looked a bit ragged....
I'm certain that he/she was very cozy, but in the end, paid the price of starving to death in its nest. Fortunately, Mousie did not chew any fabric or wires while awaiting its ancestors, or leave succeeding generations.

TinaP

2006 MB "Wild Thing"
Two Days from Blast-off

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #2 – October 12, 2013, 04:31:33 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143115

We have had success with raspberry Renuzit.

John A Wozniak

Sent from iPhone

Please excuse any typos

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #3 – October 12, 2013, 05:40:43 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143116

Paul and Mz. Daze,

Try putting a bowl of boric acid on the dinette table when you are not home in RV. Boric acid kills mice dead.

Donna of
Vaughn, WA
1997 RB LD

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #4 – October 12, 2013, 06:23:16 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143118

In addition to what's been mentioned so far, another tactic is to put LED rope lights under the hood. My friend Barbara Dewell and I did this to our E450-based rigs a couple of weeks ago, and she documented the installation very nicely with words and photos on her blog. The 16-foot lights cost just under ten bucks, and installation was pretty easy. Power consumption is only 1.1 amps at 12 volts, so I leave mine on around the clock.

Andy Baird
http://www.andybaird.com/travels

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #5 – October 12, 2013, 08:04:10 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143120

Who knew? Really, who knew/figured out/noticed/discovered that LED lights would keep mice out? And should they be cool white, white, warm white, red, blue, green ....?
Are mice mainly a problem when you are parked for several days? Would starting the engine for a few minutes every day discourage mice, even if you didn't drive?
Eric

wrote, On 10/12/2013 3:23 PM:

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #6 – October 12, 2013, 09:50:27 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143124

"who knew/figured out/noticed/discovered that LED lights would keep mice out?"

It's fairly well known that these critters prefer to nest in dark places, so it makes sense that lighting up the engine compartment would discourage them. The practice has been recommended by folks who store their RVs for months at a time in the southwest, where small rodents are active year round. This is also why you'll often see RVs in remote campgrounds with their hoods up: daylight in the engine compartment helps discourage nesting, although of course it doesn't help at night.

"should they be cool white, white, warm white, red, blue, green ....?"

Anything but red. Most small mammals, and especially small rodents, are unable to see red light--they don't have the right kind of cones in their retinas. (This is why we used to observe rats and mice under red light when I was a lab assistant back in the 70s.) In general, the closer you get to daylight, the better. The rope lights I used were cool white, which yields the brightest light per watt.

"Are mice mainly a problem when you are parked for several days?"

I don't have numbers--specific data about any of this is impossible to come by, because there are just too many variables--but I'd be willing to bet that the longer your rig is parked, the more likely it is that you'll have a rodent problem. Rigs in storage for months at a time in warm climates are probably at highest risk, but I've seen a number of cases where rigs in daily use by full-timers became infested. It happened to me with my old 1985 LD "Gertie"--that rig was not nearly as tight as a modern Lazy Daze, and a mouse got in and built a nest under the couch.

"Would starting the engine for a few minutes every day discourage mice, even if you didn't drive?"

Again, I don't know for certain, but I doubt it. They're probably out foraging during the day, so unless you did it at night, they might not even be there to notice. And a few minutes a night probably wouldn't scare them off permanently if they'd already built a nest.

Let me suggest a little experiment for those who have E450-based RVs--that's any Lazy Daze built in the past twenty years, and some models going back as far as 1997. Open your hood. While standing in front of the coach facing the engine, walk to your right (toward the driver's side or street side of the rig, in other words). See the big black box that holds all the larger fuses? It's located near the front of the engine compartment on that side. Shine a flashlight straight down between that box and the grille.

You'll see a nice flat, empty space about 15 inches down. If you see small leaves, grass, pine needles, or shreds of paper and other debris down there, you have--or have had--a rodent nesting there. My friend Barbara, who had been annoyed by mice for months, had such a nest. To my surprise, I also had one--and I had had no idea there were rodents infesting my rig! It would be interesting to know how many others in this group discover the remains of rodent nests in that location.

Please understand that I'm not claiming lights are a guaranteed solution to this problem, nor are they the only solution. I also use Gain dryer sheets--the smelliest on the market--tied in little bundles in various parts of the engine compartment, and I keep Fresh Cab organic rodent repellent bags in all my outside compartments. A multi-pronged approach has the best chance of success.

And obviously, at best the lights will only help protect your engine compartment, not the rest of the coach. But the engine compartment is a particular concern, because rodents gnawing on wires and hoses there can do thousands of dollars of damage--it has happened to more than one friend of mine!--and can pose a safety hazard as well. Ten bucks worth of rope lights and a couple hours of time seem like a good investment to me. :-)

Andy Baird
http://www.andybaird.com/travels

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #7 – October 12, 2013, 10:31:59 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143126

Maybe this space could converted to a sloping surface unappealing to the nesting types, even if it's just gluing a plastic bottle on to it.

Eric Greenwell
wrote, On 10/12/2013 6:50 PM:

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #8 – October 12, 2013, 10:48:46 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143127

Do the lights, dryer sheets and the Fresh Cab organic rodent repellent bags also help to keep out squirrels? How often do you change the dryer sheets?

Jan/Scottsdale AZ.

Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 18:50:27 -0700
Subject: RE: Re: [LD] Re: Mice in coach

"who knew/figured out/noticed/discovered that LED lights would keep mice out?"

It's fairly well known that these critters prefer to nest in dark places, so it makes sense that lighting up the engine compartment would discourage them. The practice has been recommended by folks who store their RVs for months at a time in the southwest, where small rodents are active year round. This is also why you'll often see RVs in remote campgrounds with their hoods up: daylight in the engine compartment helps discourage nesting, although of course it doesn't help at night.

"should they be cool white, white, warm white, red, blue, green ....?"

Anything but red. Most small mammals, and especially small rodents, are unable to see red light--they don't have the right kind of cones in their retinas. (This is why we used to observe rats and mice under red light when I was a lab assistant back in the 70s.) In general, the closer you get to daylight, the better. The rope lights I used were cool white, which yields the brightest light per watt.

Re: Mice in coach (Dogs?)

Reply #9 – October 13, 2013, 07:49:38 am

Yahoo Message Number: 143131

I have a theory that mice don't like dogs. We have 2 Bichon's and at our S&B Townhome, mice have never entered our unit in 12 years. (Our neighbor reports trouble with them). Perhaps the same will hold true with Bessie...I'm going to encourage them to pee on the tires before we put her in storage in December. Our new indoor storage facility is not as good as the last (out in an open field) and I'm a bit concerned. Thanks for post and all of the suggestions. I sure admire Andy's skillset with regard to installing the lights under the hood. Will the lights under the hood attract insects?

Thanks!

Todd '99 RB and '02 CRV

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #10 – October 13, 2013, 11:58:49 am

Yahoo Message Number: 143139

"Do the lights, dryer sheets and the Fresh Cab organic rodent repellent bags also help to keep out squirrels?"
In theory, they should help. But as I've said before, it's impossible to find hard evidence for any of this, because there are too many variables (location, season, etc.), so we just have go make our best guesses based on what seems to be working for others.

"How often do you change the dryer sheets?"
Not often enough, evidently--they were almost odorless after a month or so. The heat of the engine, when running, probably helps bake out the perfume. I haven't been using them long enough to have a good idea, but I'd guess at least monthly for the engine compartment; longer if using them in outside storage compartments.

But frankly, the dryer sheets are so cloyingly smelly that I don't want to risk that perfume stink getting inside my rig, so I prefer Fresh Cab for the compartments--it has a clean, natural pine-y smell.
"I have a theory that mice don't like dogs. We have 2 Bichon's and at our S&B Townhome, mice have never entered our unit"
I hope you're right, but I'm not sure you can extrapolate from a townhouse to an RV. My friend Barbara Dewell--a full-timer--has a fairly noisy Chihuahua living in her rig. It alerted her to the mice in her coach (repeated infestations over a period of months), but evidently did nothing to deter them.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #11 – October 13, 2013, 12:05:58 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143140

Jan Miller

Message 9 of 10 , Today at7:48 PM

"Do the lights, dryer sheets and the Fresh Cab organic rodent repellent bags also help to keep out squirrels? How often do you change the dryer sheets? "

The lights are a humane way to keep the little critters from bumping their heads on the motor parts in the dark. Whilst the dryer sheets will help keep their coats nice and soft . . . sheets should be changed on condition (i.e. if you spot any shaggy looking mice).

bumper

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #12 – October 13, 2013, 12:46:31 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143142

"Maybe this space could converted to a sloping surface unappealing to the

nesting types"

Smart idea, Eric! I'll look into it. Of course, they can still find other places... but this one is just SO inviting.

Andy Baird
http://www.andybaird.com/travels

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #13 – October 13, 2013, 03:19:13 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143149

Lol!!!

Bill Bussiere

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #14 – October 13, 2013, 03:38:59 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143150

Too funny, guess I asked for that, but thanks Andy for answering.

Jan/Scottsdale AZ.

To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com
From: bumperm@...
Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2013 09:05:57 -0700
Subject: [LD] RE: Mice in coach

Jan Miller

Message 9 of 10 , Today at7:48 PM

"Do the lights, dryer sheets and the Fresh Cab organic rodent repellent bags also help to keep out squirrels? How often do you change the dryer sheets? "

The lights are a humane way to keep the little critters from bumping their heads on the motor parts in the dark. Whilst the dryer sheets will help keep their coats nice and soft . . . sheets should be changed on condition (i.e. if you spot any shaggy looking mice).

bumper

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #15 – October 13, 2013, 08:06:50 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143156

After reading Andy's directions for finding the mouse nesting spot under the hood below the fuse box I ambled out to Gandalf the Grey, popped the hood, and Dang! Sure enough! I have a cleanup job ahead I had no idea was waiting. Thanks Andy!

Charlie Sattgast Gandalf the Grey, 1999 MB

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #16 – October 13, 2013, 09:00:05 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143157

Hi all,

Not to alarm you, but a word to the wise is sufficient. Many of you in this post refer to cleaning up after mice that have made a mess in your Motorhomes. Remember field mice and rats have been known to carry Hantavirus. Although rare, Hantavirus can cause one to become very ill or even cause death. One should not come in contact with the critters urine, salvia, or droppings. If one of these animal has the virus it will become airborne and you could get the virus by just breathing the air around them. ALWAYS wear PPE(Personal Protective Equipment) which includes but not limited to an approved respirator , (not a dust mask either) disposal coverall, gloves and rubber boots when dealing with any wild animal secretions. You may think this is over kill, but what is your life worth?

Re: Mice in coach

Reply #17 – October 13, 2013, 11:32:56 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 143160

Good point, Steve. I haven't cleaned out Skylark's nest yet, but I plan to wear protective clothing, gloves and a mask when I do. Hantavirus is dangerous! Fortunately, standard disinfectants such as chlorine bleach can be used to kill the virus. Here's an article about hantavirus that includes instructions for disinfecting rodent nests: Hantavirus disinfectant. The gist is: spray liberally with a bleach solution, and wait at least ten minutes for it to soak in, before removing the nest.

Andy Baird
http://www.andybaird.com/travels