Mice!!!!


happycamper12

New Member
I am looking for ideas in keeping mice out of my Montana fifth-wheel. I have used Bounce sheets, moth balls, electronic "pesticator", steel wool, foam insulation, and poison.

I haven't seen traces of mice inside the camper since adding the Bounce but they are still entering the storage areas. I believe they are entering around the legs in the front. I have tried to block that opening with steel wool but the mice just pull it down.

Does anyone know about a cover to block these huge openings for the legs? My Montana is permanently parked at a campground so I'm not worried about having to remove the cover often.

I am especially worried about this winter when the electricity is off and the "Pesticator" isn't operating.

Any suggestions?
 

elurrule

New Member
RE: Mice!!!!

My rant: I woke up quickly to how silly it was to use steel wool for mice when I realized that there were no directions on any steel wool package for rodent control. If it worked as a mice control product, companies could sell 1000 times more steel wool for rodent control than for what the product was originally recommended. The same goes for numerous other non-remedies that get passed around, boric acid, moth balls, etc. Rumors that certain Avon products were good for insect repellent were rampant a few years ago. Avon didn't stop the rumor, but rather sat quietly until Consumer Reports tested Avon products and concluded they were just about as useless on mosquitos as steel wool is on mice.

My solution: For the solution, poison and glue. Place DeCon, not steel wool, where the mice are entering your valuable RV. At the same time, set lots and lots of glue strips or glue traps outside and inside. The idea is not to repel, but kill.

I read a few posts elsewhere before I posted here. Several misguided people thought that poisons and glue traps were inhumane and preferred trapping and setting mice free. They are partly correct. Gluing mice is inhumane. Mice aren't human, and they aren't cute. They carry disease and insects that are detrimental to our health and our pet's health (cats included).

Don't skimp on the products. If it takes $100 - 200 worth of glue strips or traps as well as poison, it is a small price compared to one visit to the emergency room to treat a bite by a mouse let alone the cost of long term illnesses from living around mice.

Get nasty with these nasty pests!
 

sp

Senior Member
Re: Mice!!!!

HC,

Can you send me a picture of the openings for the legs and the surrounding area? If they don't make a cover, you can probably have some sheet metal or aluminum fabricated for those areas and install them with sheet metal screws.

I've had pretty good luck since I started using the fabric softener sheets. In the old camper I had the old fashion snap trap with peanut butter on it which worked better than my cat running around the outside of the camper. I beat him in a mousing competition 6 to 2.

sp
 

AnotherRookie

New Member
Re: Mice!!!!

Elurrule wrote:

"My rant: I woke up quickly to how silly it was to use steel wool for mice when I realized that there were no directions on any steel wool package for rodent control. If it worked as a mice control product, companies could sell 1000 times more steel wool for rodent control than for what the product was originally recommended. "

Not quite true. I worked in pesticide development for quite a while. The last one we labelled had $145 million invested just in toxicology and environmental testing before it was labelled, That didn't count building the manufacturing plant for it, marketing, etc. That one was an easy one. Many are much harder. There are a lot of things out there that have pesticidal properties, but they will never be labelled because the manufacturer doesn't have deep enough pockets.

That having been said, I agree with you for the most part. Coarse steel wool is still useful for keeping mice out, but when you get it stuffed compactly into the hole, caulk over it. That forces the mice to gnaw it out with the concurrent damage to their G-I tract. For existing infestations, poison, snap traps, and sticky boards are the best way to go. By the way, the ultrasound devices don't work on any pest that I am aware of, but a lot of companies have sure made a bunch of money saying that they do. All the fabric softener sheets do is cover up the smell of any more attractive food, so the mice aren't attracted into that area.
 

elurrule

New Member
Re: Mice!!!!

Wannawander,

You just expanded my knowledge about product development! Also, I guess I was thinking that the steel wool was used to plug holes and not as a substance to do internal damage to mice. Thanks for the info on that, and I stand corrected (and enlightened).

I didn't want to knock the electronic mice deterrents, but if they were useful, Walmart would be selling them faster than aspirin. I know from experience that poison can kill a small population of rats, but if an RV is near an endless source of food such as a garbage dump, it would be hard to kill all of them...the population may build a resistance to the poison over time. I like the glue traps for mice...no resistance buildup is possible.
 

minerz

Member
Re: Mice!!!!

I do use steel wool, but I use a gob of it and drive it in with a blunt object such as a bolt, but only when it can be surrounded by steel. I still use the decon, dryer sheets, mouse traps, and sometimes threaten them with a 12 gauge. I also find that during the winter as we park it here on the ranch, I go out turn Judge Judy on and let the persian cat roam around for an hour. She will usually let me know if anything is in there that needs my attention. (and no I don't rent my cat). Have a good day.
 

rabbit44

New Member
Re: Mice!!!!

my cats would be perfect for keeping my rv free of mice. they'll eat everything in site. even after all the mice are gone, they'll keep eatin
 
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