The other day I am changing out two starter batteries in the luggage bay of my Prevost which is the last bay in back. Start the engine and go to close the battery door and I hear hissing and it is coming from the plastic pvc tube which runs from the last bay to the front and has a bunch of plastic tubing running through it and I pull on one of them and a mouse has chewed into the air line feeding the front tanks. Made a temp fix but now coach will not air up past 100 lbs so it is not raising up. Was supposed to take it to get OTR serviced. What do you guys and gals use to keep rodents out during the winter months. I have trays of mouth balls in the bays but it seems to not have worked. Turned on the defrosters a few weeks ago and got a face full of acorn shells, found acorns behind the batteries also. Getting frustated, who knows what else they damaged. First time in five years I have had these problems.
we use cheap dryer sheets in drawers and cabinets..use spray foam in end of conduit runs(easy to remove if you need access)it forms around wires and lines....will be watching other peoples solutions...look for a big entry hole if you have acorns inside;fresh air intake screen above front bumper.around steering shaft and brake rod.. good luck
We've tried Dcon and dryer sheets. Best solution for us has been the rattlesnakes here in Abilene. ;)
Hanging a pic of libby in the bays helped us, now and then we will hear a high pitched scream and the stampede of little feet heading away from the bus and we know a new one has tryed to move in. lol
Quote from: Dreamscape on April 09, 2010, 05:11:50 AM
We've tried Dcon and dryer sheets. Best solution for us has been the rattlesnakes here in Abilene. ;)
What do you use to get rid of the rattlesnakes when the mice are gone and you want to use your coach again? ???
I don't like snakes!!
I had mice in the bus last summer. Trapped a whole family. Best solution before that seemed to be the buscat that adopted us.
She kept them out of the bus and out of the garage, but she's no longer with us.
I've heard about the dryer sheets, but have not tried them.
One thing I forgot, dryer sheets also work great to help keep the ants out. Just wrapped them around our water hose, power cord and sewer hose. Also put some around all the tires.
I don't like snakes either, never have seen any under the bus. They just have helped keep the little four legged critters away from the coach.
At home, we use totally natural rodent control devices. We use CATS. We had a feral cat & her 5 kittens move in about 5 years ago. Over the years some of the kittens left, but we still have Momma and one of the kittens (Princess). Yeah Cody, Momma is still there. When they first moved in, we caught them and had them neutered. Jack
Try coyote urine ...you can get it at local hunting/fishing stores ....I spray it around the perimeter of the shop and have never had a problem with rodents or possums ...you can also spray it on the tires ...it works great !
Do not slow to less than 34 miles per hour. If you must stop, pee on the bus!
We have an environmentally benevolent control device known as George the cat - he is in charge of interior rodent control.
For the storage bays we practice chemical control. Most of the bays have a margarine tub with solid bait inside it and a mouse sized hole cut in the container. The tubs are labelled with felt pen to remind me what is in them. AFAIK mice can't read.
In three years the score is George 2, chemical control 0 but the chemically controlled ones may have crawled off somewhere else to die.
never had a problem with mice with 3 cats around. I also tske one with me when I travel so always have a guard cat. Jerry
We just tell the cats it's "snack time" they pretty much control the problem.
We do however have a few brave mice. They usually only last a day or so
until the hunting parties get to them. I have been afraid to use baits because
of the cats.
Dave...
last year in quartzsite our neighbors had a rat and mice problem they grated up irish spring soap spread it around their bus no rats, snakes, or mice worked like a charm
Quote from: Hartley on April 09, 2010, 06:58:26 AM
I have been afraid to use baits because
of the cats.
I've never met a cat that would eat a mouse that he didn't kill. The anti-coagulant baits wouldn't be lethal to a cat anyway unless he consumed multiple rodents that had died from bait, and even then he'd have to eat them in quick succession. The purpose of the margarine tubs with rodent-sized access is precisely to prevent anything except rodents from getting at the bait.
When we used to put the RV in storage we used moth balls as a deterrent. I think they worked but we may just have been lucky.
We have used packets of spearmint in the draws and cupboards with good success. Last year though, it did not work with a some that moved in. We added dryer sheets, and that did not work either. Finally we bought some rat poison bait traps. I believe they work better than the mouse bait. Anyway, it seemed to work. We no longer have our cats. They disappeared. Probably the coyotes got them. There are lots of coyotes here, but we have not been able to convince them to urinate in advantageous places. There are rattle snakes too, but I am told that they do not make dependable pets.
Dryer sheets work well for us in cabinets and under beds.
The best thing is a plain ole mouse trap at each wheel since this is usually the only way they can get into a bus. I use a trap at each wheel for an airplane, mice are deadly inside airplanes.
Quote from: Eagle78550 on April 09, 2010, 06:19:05 AM
Try coyote urine ...you can get it at local hunting/fishing stores ....I spray it around the perimeter of the shop and have never had a problem with rodents or possums ...you can also spray it on the tires ...it works great !
Now there's a job you don't see advertised much... Coyote Urine Collector.
Quote from: gumpy on April 09, 2010, 06:41:49 PM
Quote from: Eagle78550 on April 09, 2010, 06:19:05 AM
Try coyote urine ...you can get it at local hunting/fishing stores ....I spray it around the perimeter of the shop and have never had a problem with rodents or possums ...you can also spray it on the tires ...it works great !
[/quote
Now there's a job you don't see advertised much... Coyote Urine Collector.
A whole new meaning to "Urine over your head" :D
Maybe that's how the coyote paid ACME!
A real pi$$er
better off than on!
SO THATS WHAT THE COLLECTION AGENCY WANTED :D
Sorry squirt!
That's not the hard job. I was told that you can keep deer away from your garden by spreading Mountain Lion urine around.
http://www.yardlover.com/mountain-lion-urine-pest-repellent-8-oz (http://www.yardlover.com/mountain-lion-urine-pest-repellent-8-oz)
Move to the Beach !!! since we have lived here I ain't seen one mouse,maybe they don't like the sandy soil. Anyway i AIN'T COMPLAINING. Now how do you get rid of roaches !!! OOps they call them Palmetto Bugs,even nuclear waste don't work ;D
Send me some mice I trade,some are so big my dog runs from them !!!
ED
That is just hilarious!
Quote from: garhawk on April 09, 2010, 06:24:00 AM
Do not slow to less than 34 miles per hour. If you must stop, pee on the bus!
Mice have been one of my biggest problems. I have done everything there is to try and the only permanent success I have had has been poison. The only problem with it is that it can take several days, and a mouse that is setting up house can do a lot of damage before it dies. They also die in inconvenient places that make it a challenge to get them out of, and by the time you know they are there, it is gross. :P
Peanut butter used as bait in the trap.
Absolutely NO FOOD left in the coach, and vacuum up the crumbs before leaving it parked.
Cats only redeeming feature is mouse control.
Otherwise, they'd be GONE.
Good topic!
happy coaching!
buswarrior
You might think I'm a total hippie weirdo, but I dont like to use chemicals in my bus when I don't have to (especially for killing life - not good!) so I plant mint around my bus in the warm months. Mice don't like mint, and the plant grows like a weed.
It works really well!!!
-DRT
If you don't want to use poison, you can use a mix that a friend of mine that cares for big birds (read hawks, falcons, eagles...not the bus, etc.). She takes dry cement and mixes it with grain or something that the mice will eat. Place a small pan of water nearby so that they can get a drink. She claims that it works like a charm...and she can feed them to her birds.
Ahoy, BusFolk,
Rats here are a big problem. They eat cars, bus, and what else. Too cold for rattlers here in Carmel - go into Carmel Valley and they are present. Besides, as noted, they are lousy pets.
Had a visitor who brought three cats. In no time at all, one could have opened a third world restaurant!!! So --- I got two cats -- who have now become house pets!!!
I insist that hunger will make a cat a hunter.
A household discussion continues about hunger vs cruelty to cats. Not yet resolved. Wish me luck.
Enjoy /s/ Bob
Removed
Had to replace three air lines today two 3/8 inch and one 1/4 inch to the front replays. Hopefully on Sunday she will air up. My wife loved some of your replies especially the coyote urine and the rattle snakes. We have cats but they are strictly house cats, lost many to coyotes now that they have migrated to Connecticut. Thanks for all the suggestions, will try some of them.
I have been reading these posts, laughing at some :D and thinking I sure am glad I don't have a mice problem. Low and behold I go to the shop to do some tinkering this evening and see guess what on the work bench? MOUSE TURDS! Damn!
There were none two days ago ::) So off to get the sticky traps. I have used them in the past and they work great. A small piece of cheese brings them every time. I don't like the poison either because they tend to die where you don't want them to.
And I would hate to be the guy collecting the Mountain Lion urine :o
Bryan
Not to derail things...but...
Dr. Dave Reloaded, I noticed you changed your name and avatar. I kinda like the "new look" 8). Aloha, Hartley....
God bless,
John
I havent had any problems, but I sure enjoyed the thread. Some of the fixes are totally funny. ;D I know dealing with mice is not a fun thing though. We use to live in Texas, and we bought a house there, moved in, and couldnt believe what happened there. It is a long hilarius story, too long to tell now. Maybe I will tell it sometime on the off topic thread. Good luck with the remedies.
Mothballs, had a friend who put crush mothballs between rows of strawberries kept the raccoons and other critter away. Heard they will keep mice and squirrels away too. Good luck.
Once mouse down! Hopefully no more ;D Trusty glue trap and cheese ;)
Bryan
We spent one night in a wooded area next to a river. The next morning we heard the tell tale sound of little feet. That afternoon, I saw a little pinion mouse sauntering across the kitchen floor. We didn't have any traps so this would have to wait until we got home. We did move away from this area.
When we got home the battle began. From the pitter patter of little feet, it was obvious we had more than one. Being the animal lover I am I wasn't big on poisoning them, Don thinks I'm crazy, and then there is that thing about where they will die. We could tell they were in the chase behind the cabinets that ran the full length of the bus. So I proceeded to set live traps. The first night, five little critters. Thought that was the end. Wrong. By the end of the week, I caught a total of 21 little critters. They all moved to a nice field a long long ways away..
I opted to leave water and food out until I knew they were all gone. I figured, better to keep them comfortable, than for them to go hunting for it. Lucky, the only damage we had was a little hole in the side of the sofa.
Don and Cary
GMC4107
Neoplan AN340
Ed, For roaches and ants, use boric acid. It's a powder not a liquid, put some in a shallow container in a few places.
Quote from: Ed Hackenbruch on April 11, 2010, 04:12:03 PM
Ed, For roaches and ants, use boric acid. It's a powder not a liquid, put some in a shallow container in a few places.
20 Mule Team in the laundry section is a cheap and easy way to get the borax. I always throw some in when I have a wall cavity open. Moth balls work well in the ventwells around the house.