Keeping Mice Out Of Motorhome

[hermanmullins]

I just found a new item called "1 Bite".

Can be found in farm stores. Haven't used it yet but have heard good reports.

Herman

[lewisedge]

To: jleamont

Moisten cotton balls with the peppermint oil and put them where there have been infestations. When the fragrance is gone replace the cotton balls with freshly moistened ones. The peppermint oil from Amazon is food grade, also repels certain insects but is not toxic to humans, so it can be applied almost anywhere. That seems to work for most folks.

[manholt]

Herman.

I get mine from Farm/Ranch store. It's a green bar that looks like a Kwiki Lunch. Break off small chunks and throw them around in compartments, on ground and I also put some where the water hose and elect. cords are at.

The rodents are attracted to the stuff, they love it. One little nibble and they have to drink water, they founder and die away from the coach, house, garage or barn! Great stuff, because it does not hurt or affect other animals.

One bar last me 2 years....$5.95. Cheaper than a cat and no mess!

Carl

[lewisedge]

I just found a new item called "1 Bite".

Can be found in farm stores. Haven't used it yet but have heard good reports.

Herman

The active ingredient in Just1Bite is bromethalin which poisons the central nervous system by uncoupling mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, which causes a decrease in adenosine triphosphate synthesis. (Wikipedia). The same poison is sold under the trade name Tomcat Rat and Mouse Killer and is available in pet and child resistant refillable bait stations at Lowes, Home Depot and Amazon among other places. Like previous rodent poisons, it's toxic to pets if they eat the poison or the rodents poisoned by it. The poison bars or their pieces should always be handled with gloves both for personal protection and because rodents won't eat it if it has a human scent. This same disposable nitrile gloves that I use when emptying my waste tanks are ideal for handling bromethalin. Answers to frequently asked questions about Just1Bite can be found at: http://www.justonebitebrand.com/faqs.html

[lewisedge]

Herman.

I get mine from Farm/Ranch store. It's a green bar that looks like a Kwiki Lunch. Break off small chunks and throw them around in compartments, on ground and I also put some where the water hose and elect. cords are at.

The rodents are attracted to the stuff, they love it. One little nibble and they have to drink water, they founder and die away from the coach, house, garage or barn! Great stuff, because it does not hurt or affect other animals.

One bar last me 2 years....$5.95. Cheaper than a cat and no mess!

Carl

That poison is highly toxic to pets. See: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/05/24/bromethalin.aspx

[jleamont]

Last year I had found some small piecs of acorns in the basement and one chair had a hole chewed into it, never saw any droppings anywhere and it was only in one basement compartment. Last year I had nothing placed anywhere for a precaution, our old coach I never had a problem.

I have no idea what it was the created this mess but I purchased the peppermint pre made packages and placed them throughout the coach. I plan on giving this a try this year, I ordered the oil from Amazon yesterday.

The frustrating part is......how did what ever it was get in there, I cannot locate any holes or gaps.

[manholt]

J,

How they get in? One of lives little mysteries, just like the elephant grave yard or dead snakes! LOL

lewis,

I have had dogs and cats for over 30 years now and no harm has come to them. My 2 best friends, have large Ranches in both Texas and LA. They are the ones who told me what to use. Animals will not lick or eat something that repels them.

I and everyone else I know, uses Anti Freeze...that's something that you have to be careful with around pets! We all have stuff in the house and garage, that needs to be kept away from animals and children. That does not mean that we can't use it in a controlled way!

Carl

[USRanger]

Thanks to all, is good info.

[jrbech]

On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2010 at 8:30 AM, AllegroRed said:

I put mothballs in a paper cereal bowl and place the bowls on top of the tires, not inside the coach. I use Irish Spring soap bars, cut them in half and place them around the coach, mice hate that smell but humans like it. I place them in the closet areas, behind the sofas, etc. I use about 4 bars.

My first year I thought folks told me Ivory soap, big mistake, the mice ate the soap bars, Ha.

Didn't have any luck with Irish Spring.  We cut up multiple bars and placed them everywhere.   Six weeks later we found that mice came in and they had been everywhere.  We are trying other methods to repel mice and will share what we find to work.  

[richard5933]

Block every opening possible. Use copper wool or stainless steel wool to block smaller openings. An opening as small as 1/4" is larger enough for small mice. Small mice become large mice. Small mice become lots of mice. Exclusion is primary. Then we put lots and lots of sticky traps in the bays, in the generator area, and in various spots inside the coach. traps get put in any place I could imagine a curious mouse trying to make a comfortable nest, as well as on the pathways that they would have to take. Goal with the traps is to keep the critters from doing any damage if they do get in. I make weekly checks on the traps to see what's going on. Just have to be sure I don't accidentally step on a trap. 

Our first coach had a great generator. When we took it in for inspection/service shortly after buying the coach it was discovered that the control box inside the generator was destroyed by mice. How it continued to run and not burn up the coach is a miracle. Since then we've been careful to keep the critters at bay.

[jleamont]

Call me crazy but...I have only gotten mice when the coach was covered. Like clock work, put cover on got mice, take cover off no mice. Not to mention also got a bunch of scratches and other non desirable damage. I wrote Adco a letter asking if they used corn byproducts in their materials. Mice love their covers. Never got a response.  

[richard5933]

1 hour ago, jleamont said:

Call me crazy but...I have only gotten mice when the coach was covered. Like clock work, put cover on got mice, take cover off no mice. Not to mention also got a bunch of scratches and other non desirable damage. I wrote Adco a letter asking if they used corn byproducts in their materials. Mice love their covers. Never got a response.  

Maybe the covers trap enough heat to attract he mice. I haven't had problems with our coach parked in the cold. Our first one was stored indoors by the previous owner, and I believe that's where the mice got in.

[jleamont]

Richard, I believe you are right. They also chewed up a fair amount and made a nest out of it in the generator. After I pulled the cover and had all of the scratches buffed out I ditched the cover. 

[rsbilledwards]

I have used the Peppermint oil as well but have found if it is plugged in the the sonic units work the best. One in the basement and if they get past that a couple top side eliminates their desire to inhabit your home. i live in the high country of Colorado where  they are prevalent and have not see a trace since adding the sonic units bought from Amazon. I use them in the garage since it is the main access to our home and none in the house any more either.

[richard5933]

When you live in a semi-rural area with lots of outbuildings around, there is really no way to eliminate mice and rodents totally. The best we can hope for is that they stay in the barn or outbuildings and away from the house and our coach.

The coach gets parked behind the barn in the winter.

[jleamont]

Bill, I use those in the garage, picked them up at Home Depot a few years ago, no mice since. Hadn't thought of using them in the coach basement, thanks. I also used the Peppermint oil in condiment cups with cotton balls in the coach, that and Fresh Cab seems to work. Ill keep my fingers crossed and add the sonic plug ins for another layer of protection.

[ispjs]

Learned a trick living in SW Florida from a neighbor who actually was from down there.  To keep rodents and snakes from coming inside your garage he said to put a couple bags of moth balls just inside the garage door.  It worked like a charm and we never had any living thing larger than a spider come into our garage.

Currently we are only stationary for two times during the year, once up in Illinois for a couple months and then back in SW Florida for 4 winter months.  At these sites I toss a couple bags of moth balls under the coach.  I rarely smell them outside and never have smelled them inside.  We never have snake issues or rodent issues in or even around our RV.

[wayne77590]

Be very careful. Moth balls are very poisonous to pets, livestock and children that may come in contact with them.

[ispjs]

These are the perforated bags of moth balls that Lowe's sells.  There is probably a very slim chance that someone's dog, steer, or child could crawl under my parked coach and start sucking on a bag of moth balls.  If that happens though I will immediately stop using them.

[rayin]

Well, if the OP hasn' t got rid of the mice in the last 8 years since their original question, nothing will. For those using home-remedies, read this: https://www.jcehrlich.com/mice/myth-busting-natural-mice-repellents/

[ispjs]

16 hours ago, RAYIN said:

Well, if the OP hasn' t got rid of the mice in the last 8 years since their original question, nothing will. For those using home-remedies, read this: https://www.jcehrlich.com/mice/myth-busting-natural-mice-repellents/

I'm probably not going to take advice from a company that makes their money getting rid of mice and rats in homes.  I'm thinking they would obviously bad mouth all home remedies and try to convince any homeowner that they were the only solution to keeping the little critters away.  

If my RV is parked at a site and there is a smell of moth balls detected under it where mice and snakes may crawl around during the night, it makes sense to me that they would rather move to the next site and leave my area alone.  

[rayin]

ISPJS, I really like your signature quote, it is an exact fit to today's political shenanigans. Keep the snakes around, they will control the mouse problem, just look before you step out the door.

[ispjs]

7 hours ago, RAYIN said:

ISPJS, I really like your signature quote, it is an exact fit to today's political shenanigans. Keep the snakes around, they will control the mouse problem, just look before you step out the door.

Now that is really good advise, especially at our winter home site next to the Caloosahatchee River.  Could be snakes out in the yard, or a scary gator!  So far so good though.

[manholt]

Where I live,  it's mice in the winter and snakes the rest of the year.  Per Linda, a rope covered in Sulfur powder and run around the coach, works for both!  I can attest, it does.  We dust the out door bird cage with it, no eaten birds in a year now and it also keeps the mites away! 

[rsbilledwards]

Hey Carl about time you got back and back to work... When it rains does it defeat the sulphur on the rope trick...wonder about snow?  Who is eating the birds off the bird feeder