A mouse in the kitchen

[Xicaque]

Originally Posted by idroba

All the holes through the plywood floor where the drain and vent pipes penetrate are the usual suspects. Airstream cut big holes for little pipes and never sealed around them. Find all the holes, fill them with expanding foam or cut metal shields for them to keep the mice out. Also, the furnace has 2" ducts which go to the tanks for heating them. More holes, and the ends of the ducts are open, nice mouse runs.

That said, I have had many Airstreams, and some I never could find the mouse entry points.

This is pxxxx poor QC at the factory. Ridiculous for the amount of dollars these things cost.

[3wd67rg]

A hole the size of a dime will admit a rat. I know you may not believe me but it's true. Rodents have ways of squeezing through things without breaking bones, go look it up. You need to block every single hole, get underneath your AS and you will find many. Some people use steel wool, some people use canned foam, all it needs to be is completely inedible or unusable by the rodents. Food is not the only thing that draws them, they love paper and cotton and other nesting materials. Never assume there is only one mouse, and when there are two or more, the little buggers ARE prolific like you cannot believe!

My husband and son refused to trap/kill the tiny cute little mousies in our apartment and soon, within a week, we were so over run that I'd be cooking and the little butts would be popping out of the top of the stove and running across the counter!!! I finally bought mousetraps and soon snap! snap! snap! was all we heard for a week. They called me a murderer, I was cruel and inhumane 'witch' as I threw the still wriggling little bodies into the trash, (happened twice). But after a full week with no snaps, I put away the traps. I bleached everything to death, and the house felt clean again. Then they admitted they liked it better without mice, but I was still a murdering witch.

Traps are generally the quickest way to kill a mouse. I don't approve of glue traps, or drowning. If I had to choose how to be killed, I'd want it to be an instant death, wouldn't you?

When you are cleaning up after mice, always wear gloves, damp spray, (very very damp), with a bleach solution, and maybe even wear a mask. I know that only certain mice and rats carry Hanta Virus, but why take the chance? Especially if there if maybe your mouse got in when you were camping. You get Hanta from touching or breathing in the dust from their droppings, body fluids and fur.

Directions for Proper Clean Up of Mouse/Rat Droppings, Nests, etc. Apparently I was not as thorough as I thought I was. So I'm a lucky gal considering how many cabins I have cleaned in my time as a Scout Leader.

http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/pdf/HPS_Brochure.pdf

[wdkennedy]

Think Habitat
Mice like cover.
Remove any plant material from a 20 ft radius of where your trailer is parked.
Adopt some 'barn cats". Make sure they are neutered.
Stop killing coyotes. They love to play with and eat mice.(and barn cats).
Go online to Victor Pest Control and purchase "electronic" mouse traps. Use them outside your trailer.

Remove ALL food from your trailer when it is not in use.

[RxGuy]

I have used this type of product to help keep mice/other critters out and woodchucks away. Hung one on the tongue of the trailer, and one near the back. A few years ago I had a woodchuck chewing on the wiring of my vehicles if I left them parked outside for any period of time. Found out that the insulation on the wires of GM vehicles were a soy based product and pretty tasty.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hanging-M...BLOCK/43984631

[B4WEDI]

Our mouse family found entry via our black pipe exit. A small crack in the rubber gasket next to the pipe. I guess they never rest looking for a way in !

We decided as long as they were here we should invite them to stay for dinner and even put out our best "china" for our guests...... must have been something we said, they never did come back for dessert !

[Hittenstiehl]

B4 could you tell us what brand of traps those are.

Unfortunately/Fortunately they look quite effective.

We had to use tacky paper recently as that was all we had on hand and we were actively chasing one at the moment. The tacky paper was effective as we scared it out of its hiding spot but a better trap would be up for consideration.

[B4WEDI]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

B4 could you tell us what brand of traps those are.

Unfortunately/Fortunately they look quite effective.

We had to use tacky paper recently as that was all we had on hand and we were actively chasing one at the moment. The tacky paper was effective as we scared it out of its hiding spot but a better trap would be up for consideration.

Why, "Tom Cat" of course !
Available Everywhere ! Wallies, HD, Ace, Amazon etc...
https://www.tomcatbrand.com/smg/gosite/Tomcat/home

Excellent product. They say the traps are "disposable" but emptying them and washing them off seems to work fine. If you have one, you have 21 !

I hate meeses to pieces !
I set one trap and slept in the truck that night. Had one in the AM and thought all was well. Next night they were back at it and freaked me out all the more ! Set Two traps the next night and got the above results. Do the job and get it done.

Dryer sheets might keep them from nesting where the sheets are placed,
(I have about 3 boxes placed all over the trailer) but they don't keep the little buggahs from entering you trailer and working around them, potentially making a very big mess chewing wires, nesting, procreating and defecating all over the place.

I also use steel wool to block up runways and potential entries too.
They don't like that at all. They had a runway through the wire chase from the water heater to the other side of the trailer to the panel under the floor. Came up under the bed and set up shop !

[Hittenstiehl]

Thank you will get a couple of those. None in the trailers.....Yet

[B4WEDI]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

Thank you will get a couple of those. None in the trailers.....Yet

Mostest Welcome !

[tjdonahoe]

Forget the dryer sheets,they don't work, they just make you feel better..placed some in my engine compartment and they were messed on letting me know they are here...

[la nomade]

YES FOR FRESH CAB....it really works in rv..house..cellars,garages etc....no more mice...and it smells nice

[John Woodrow]

Originally Posted by B4WEDI

Our mouse family found entry via our black pipe exit. A small crack in the rubber gasket next to the pipe. I guess they never rest looking for a way in !

We decided as long as they were here we should invite them to stay for dinner and even put out our best "china" for our guests...... must have been something we said, they never did come back for dessert !

Looks like you got a "two fer".

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by sallye

What does a bucket of water do, with or without the soap?

Not much... until you add a diving board... a piece of wood that makes a ramp with peanut butter on the end that is suspended over the bucket. The mouse runs up to get the treat, the stick tilts the mouse into the water, then the stick falls back. The dish detergent lowers the surface tension of the water so the mouse's fur absorbs it and puts an end to the critter's sufferimg fairly quickly.

If you are the soft hearted kind who favors releasing them back into the wild you might try putting peanut butter inside an old glass milk bottle (as far as you can reach with a finger). The mouse stretches to eat the treat and falls in, and you check daily and take the bottle to a nearby field to release.
Plastic bottles tip over too easily, but coild.be secured to some kind of base, and of course you still need an access ramp of some kind.

Paula

[dprvashon]

Hi.... our son had mice in his RV kitchen and bought the Victor Mini PestChaser which is a sonic deterrent from Home Depot. They come in a package of 3 for around $20. Once he plugged them in around the RV, he heard a lot of scurrying and that was the last of the mice. No more issues. I went out and bought a set and keep them plugged in right at the door and back in the bedroom of our 25' FB. We have had no issues and it works great as a night light. The sonic aspect cannot be heard by humans and our dog does not pay any attention to it. Its worth a try!

Good Luck

[twobikes]

The sonic pestChasers seemed to work for us (you never really know what you have prevented ). When we were off grid the mice somehow came back....
"why don't you get one of those electronic mouse chasers that works on batteries", my beautiful daughter asked? THE SOUND OF HEEL SLAPPING FOREHEAD

yes they do make them. They look like an oversized hockey puck with a little blinking red light. All has been quiet since

[Dobergirl]

Remember that adult mice only need a space the size of a dime to squeeze in. I've heard that Irish Mist bar soap does actually help, but can't personally vouch for it. Steel wool which is then sprayed with spray foam is effective as an insulated chew-proof way to prevent re-entry when used to fill openings. Sprinkling light powder across the floor in a line can help on dark hard floors to show footprints if you're not sure if they're inside or just in the walls. In dry areas they can chew water lines if there isn't water otherwise available. I've had them chew into windshield washer reservoirs when parked in the garage.

[SilverGate]

Snakes favorite food... mice.

or

How not to keep mice out of an RV!