Darn mice

[Raymond smith]

I have those darn mice in our 4104. I have crawled all under it and covered all the holes i could find with sheet metal.the only place i can think of is behind the engine where the shifter rods go down the tunnel.any thoughts would be appreciated.

[bobofthenorth]

A cat is the only permanent solution.

I never bother trying to plug every hole - I don't think its possible.  I've found them dead trying to crawl back out of a cultivator frame through a 1/2" hole - that's hard to imagine but I've seen it.  We built little fast food outlets for mice and scattered them throughout the bays and in some of the main floor lower cupboards.  We use empty margarine tubs, cut a small hole in the tub (mouse will easily get through a hole the size of a quarter) and put mouse bait in the tub.  Put the lid on and place the fast food outlet wherever you think a mouse might like a snack.  The tub keeps the bait safe from curious pets.  In 35 years of RV'ing now I think we've had maybe 4 or 5 mice in total.  They certainly do provide entertainment when they hop out of an upper cupboard and run down your wife's arm with the kids watching.  They can also make a H of a mess and I guess they can actually kill you if they carry Hanta virus so they're nothing to take lightly.

We always scatter mothballs on the floor when we're not going to be in the rig for extended periods and I put bait on top of the tires and on the frame.  I'm a big fan of the pesticide industry and mice are most certainly a pest.  If they get inside a forced air furnace and die in there it can be very smelly for a long time - ask me how I know.

[OneLapper]

I second the cat solution.  I feed a stray cat that has been with us now for three years.  She sleeps in the garage or shed sometimes, but her favorite place is on top of the bus muffler.  No mice at all in three years.  And yes, I always check to make sure she's not on the muffler when I go to start the bus. 

[gumpy]

Standard spring traps and peanut butter. They can't resist peanut butter.

[belfert]

I had mice in my bus this past fall for the first time in years.  The bus was not heated and no food anywhere.  It probably has something to do with moving a little further out to the edge of suburbia in a semi rural area.  I put some dryer sheets inside to see if that would help.  I haven't yet investigated to see if the mice chewed up anything.

My mother was talking about mouse traps this evening.  She has this crazy idea she can catch mice outdoors to keep them out of her garden.  There is no possible way to catch all the mice outdoors.

[skihor]

We had an infestation this past fall. I bought several "electric" traps. 4 "AA" batteries. baited with peanut butter. They crawl in and when they touch the second "pad"... ZAP DEAD. We caught 7 or 8 over a couple of weeks. Place along a wall. Mice have poor eyesight and tend to run along walls. They also tend to use the same route to and from a food source. If you see one, try to see where it came from or where it went and place along/near where you saw it. We also pluged in an electronic gismo. It emits a freqency that they don't like. It "transmits" through all of the 110 volt wiring. The jury is out on whether these electronic gizmo's work, but, we have only caught one since plugging it in. Dryer sheets were ineffective. Plug holes with steel wool, it works.
The worst part is we live full time and the wife was really having a fit. We are parked 50 feet away from the Hay shed.

Don & Sheila

[Dave5Cs]

We use dryer sheets and have had great luck with them since before we did we had the mouse from hell. It stripped all the plastic off a whole rack of aa and aaa batteries. There was no printing left on them just metal. shredded boxes anything plastic as in boxes to include printer ink (black) and then walked all over the bus and up walls, tile grout. Little black footprints everywhere. any liquid like dishsoap, cleaners, etc it ate the corner off and the liquid was all over the floors. We used the peanut butter to catch him. He had a new necklace around his neck near the door when I came in the next day. Then spread around the Dryer sheets in the bus and in the bays and not one since.

Dave

[HB of CJ]

We had mice in the cabin, not the Bus Conversion.  During cool weather, we would find big snakes sunning themselves on the road.  Grabbed up and placed into a big paper bag.  Released under the cabin.  Worked just fine as the snakes would follow the mice up into the house.

What did not work so fine was that these big wild garter and bull snakes would tend to crawl up into bed with us at night.  Guess they just wanted to stay warm.  Good pets actually once your worked through the crawling around and over you before settling down.  Worked for us.

HB of CJ (old coot)

[gumpy]

What did not work so fine was that these big wild garter and bull snakes would tend to crawl up into bed with us at night.  Guess they just wanted to stay warm.  Good pets actually once your worked through the crawling around and over you before settling down.  Worked for us.

OH HELL NO!!!

[scanzel]

Lavender dryer sheets work best for us,Walmart has them. I also use used cat litter when I clean all the poop out I sprinkle the cat litter around the outside of the bus the mice don't like the smell of the cat urine. Had to replace three air lines going from the back all the way to the front one year. Couldn't release parking brake one time and would not air up another time.

[Jim Eh.]

We had mice in the cabin, not the Bus Conversion.  During cool weather, we would find big snakes sunning themselves on the road.  Grabbed up and placed into a big paper bag.  Released under the cabin.  Worked just fine as the snakes would follow the mice up into the house.

What did not work so fine was that these big wild garter and bull snakes would tend to crawl up into bed with us at night.  Guess they just wanted to stay warm.  Good pets actually once your worked through the crawling around and over you before settling down.  Worked for us.

HB of CJ (old coot)

Yup, the wife would reeeeeally like that.

[Raymond smith]

Thanks to all that replied. I think they may be going up the shifter rods and into the compartment under the drivers seat and then up around the pedals. Will check when the snow melts ( hopefully soon ). Raymond

[gus]

I have those darn mice in our 4104. I have crawled all under it and covered all the holes i could find with sheet metal.the only place i can think of is behind the engine where the shifter rods go down the tunnel.any thoughts would be appreciated.

Go to your friendly farm store and get some bar bait. I fought this problem for years and am now mouse/rat free.

Just make sure to place it inside the bus compartments anywhere there are rodent signs and keep it away from pets and children. I have none of those so it is easier for me.If you think buses are bad just imagine them inside a small plane!

[bigred]

One other thing that seems to work is peppermint oil(available at health food stores) on cotton puffs.Dryer sheets are cheaper and seem to work as well though.

[Cary and Don]

We have used that nasty spray stuff to keep stray pets out of your yard.  Spray all around the tires and the electric cord. We haven't seen any mice since.  But then you only know when the plan doesn't work.

Don and Cary