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Davydd · 06-25-2006, 03:03 PM

Dryer sheets are worthless. We put them everywhere in our trailer and it did nothing to deter mice. Maybe if you wallpapered the walls and laid the floor with them they might work. We kept our cushions and curtains inside our house during the winter. Knock on wood, lots of wood, in the way we built our timber frame house with 2 inch thick T&G wood walls and roof covering, we have never had a mouse problem in our house.

We had great success with the simple gray plastic traps. As Buttercup found out the trick is to make that tasty peanut butter hard to get. The plastic traps as opposed to the old traditional wood and wire traps are much easier to reset. They are fairly hypersensitive to disturbance. In fact a few failed after a time and wouldn't reset.

We would start out in the fall catching a lot and usually by January we got them all, for miles around I suppose. In the winter they usually would be frozen so we just threw them out in the woods for the other creatures. They would be gone in a day.

Don't do the poison thing.

greg176 · 06-25-2006, 04:58 PM

I have two ball bearing mouse traps. One caught a rat yesterday.

uwe · 06-25-2006, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buttercup

I have the sonic type in the garage (6 of them to be exact) - I can't hear them with my naked ear but with an ultrasonic receiver (yes I do have one) can hear them. But they haven't done JACK for me in the garage.

Might be too many of the sonic mouse annoyances. You might have a few in unfavorable locations, cancelling out the others to where it's not annoying enough to the micies.

flamingo-kid1 · 06-25-2006, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jordandvm

Get the "buggers" before they get in by setting out D-con packets around the AS. I learned that after they had gotten in.........so I set the traditional snap traps under the sinks, and even in the overhead where we store dry foods (one had eaten my Orville Redenbacher popcorn). Caught one under the bathroom sink (by one leg) one day after placing it.......and the day before we left on a 30 day trip recently. When we got back, all the bait had been eaten in several d-con boxes.....so I figured I'd knocked back the population a bit in the area. Haven't seen any new mice since.......but I know they're out there waiting to get another chance at my popcorn!

Be CAREFUL with the D-Con if your darling puppy might come near a mouse who ate any! (Or or cats or any other creatures!)

AZstreamin · 06-25-2006, 09:13 PM

The real problem with D-con is the mouse doesn’t fall over dead on first bite so you may end up having a dead mouse hiding in something like the wall then you have a rotting mouse carcass. Good old traps work with peanut butter, soft cheese, butter etc. If the trap was previously used, singe the trap with a match. Don’t ask why it must be a dead mouse thing. All I know is it seems to work my Mom and Grandma both did it to catch mice on the farm in Iowa.
AZstreamin

Cracker · 06-26-2006, 11:11 AM

Do a search for earlier threads on this subject for more advice and ideas. I've personally been using the electronic devices for some time now - both at my camp and in the AS. They seem to work great for me!

clancy_boy · 06-26-2006, 11:33 AM

I always spread the peanut butter thinly under the trigger mechanism for scent purposes and deep into the crevis of the trigger (the little curl of metal that is supose to hold the bait). I also use bacon fat. I try not to deploy the traps for a day leaving it all out to get CRUSTY and hard - much more difficult to lick and they have to pull. The stuff under the trigger is to get them well under the swing arm (the killing mechanism). Caught two that way - made my day.

BTW, where there are mice - there are snakes........

airdrmr · 07-17-2006, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZstreamin

The real problem with D-con is the mouse doesn’t fall over dead on first bite so you may end up having a dead mouse hiding in something like the wall then you have a rotting mouse carcass. Good old traps work with peanut butter, soft cheese, butter etc. If the trap was previously used, singe the trap with a match. Don’t ask why it must be a dead mouse thing. All I know is it seems to work my Mom and Grandma both did it to catch mice on the farm in Iowa.
AZstreamin

Heed that D-Con warning! It's no fun to find the rotted remains of a rat (or two, like in our case) in dark recesses of your AS. And, they smell ten times worse when they are moved! The PO of our '67 Safari used the stuff and the little buggers died in some very tough places to reach.

That smell is so nasty, I'm not sure we'll ever get it out of the bathroom closet. If anyone has any great ideas for de-stinking small spaces, please let me know! I've tried disinfectant, stick-ups, and a box of dryer sheets and I still can't bring myself to store anything in that closet!

Zeppelinium · 07-18-2006, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

We had great success with the simple gray plastic traps. As Buttercup found out the trick is to make that tasty peanut butter hard to get. The plastic traps as opposed to the old traditional wood and wire traps are much easier to reset. They are fairly hypersensitive to disturbance. In fact a few failed after a time and wouldn't reset.

Maybe these are the same things I've got--sort of a box with the trap inside and one mouse-sized access hole (mine are black)? They force the mouse to step on a large trigger in order to get to the bait and they can be "emptied" and reset without touching the interior trap itself (if you're cootie-phobic).

The field mice around Tonopah were so durn fast that they could trigger a normal wooden trap and still dodge the catch! The plastic traps don't allow much maneuvering and, as said above, they are very sensitive. I had tried putting sticky sheets around wooden traps and that had some limited success (slowed them down a little), but the plastic traps did the trick.

However, I found the real trick is to store all mouse-accessible food in mouse non-accessible places. And I do mean all. If it's not a can or bottle, it's in a special cabinet or a plastic box with latching lid!

Roadtoaster · 07-18-2006, 10:22 AM

Meredith, there is some hope for the smell. Try your local pest control supply house. Friend had the same problem in his home and bought something that he sprayed around (including in the wall). It immediately fixed the problem. Sorry, but he can't remember the name.

Greg

early · 07-18-2006, 01:14 PM

Meredith,
I have used amour hammer pet fresh for tough odor and it works great. I just sprinkled in the area and let it sit then vacuumed it up. Sometimes I v'e had to repeat the process, but it really has helped.
Dawn

airdrmr · 07-18-2006, 10:03 PM

Greg and Dawn,
Thanks for the great ideas. Of course, the pet store is a great place to find the solution! It will be a relief to have the closet back - every inch of storage space is needed with our family of four!

Buttercup · 07-18-2006, 10:20 PM

Natures Miracle. It is an enzymatic cleaner. it breaks down the oils (volatiles) that produce the smell. It may take several applications to get the job done but it DOES work. I bought a gallon of the stuff because i had (the operative word) a cat who took a fancy to peeing in the corner of my daughters room.
I don't have that cat anymore....

nmloehr · 08-02-2006, 09:07 AM

Hi - just bought my first Airstream - a 1970 31" Sovereign and was delighted until I found my first mouse - alive in the tub! After quickly disposing of him it got me thinking about the odor in my AS which I thought was moth balls but cannot find any. The previous owner just did a floor restoration but I also found boxes of D-con all over the place. I have disposed of the D-con thanks to all of the wonderful direction from this forum. I will replace with the sticky traps and look into an ozone generator. However, all of that will not be enough without finding the dead ones, if there are any. My questions are: other than the obvious places (cabinets, under sink, closets, etc) where should I look? Is it possible for them to get into the walls between the interior and the aluminum exterior? I know this is a disgusting question but I have never had a rodent problem in my life anywhere so what do these dead ones smell like? My husband and I are very new at all of this and I have been dreaming of the Airstream lifestyle for years to fulfilll a dream and now reality is setting in! Your help is appreciated.

Look forward to hearing from you soon!

classic67 · 08-02-2006, 09:18 AM

I found that the Glue traps work the best in my garage. Especially during the wet seasons when mice are looking for shelter. You just have to have the stomach to scoop up a live mouse and throw it away. Snap traps work on ocacsion, and I have put poison down, but not sure that had any effect. I even got one once with my son's whiffle ball bat (a home run!).Haven't seen any mice or evidence of them in a few years. I think becase our neighbor's cat like to prey around the neighborhood.

airdrmr · 08-02-2006, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nmloehr

other than the obvious places (cabinets, under sink, closets, etc) where should I look? Is it possible for them to get into the walls between the interior and the aluminum exterior? I know this is a disgusting question but I have never had a rodent problem in my life anywhere so what do these dead ones smell like?

I am certainly no expert in finding dead mice inside airstreams, but what I CAN tell you that we had NO IDEA there were dead rodents inside our trailer until we stumbled across one of their mummified carcasses in a small space in the back of a closet, between the wall and the skin of the AS. When we first brought our trailer home, I had noticed a disagreeable odor coming from the closet, but just passed it off as an "old airstream smell." Once we found the rat and disturbed the carcass, it really started stinking! It was a smell you couldn't ignore...a strong, musty, rotting flesh smell. Just yucky! We also found another dead rat in one of the outside compartments, again wedged in between some components. One dead giveaway (no pun intended) of our rodent inhabitants were signs of their bedding materials - fur, pine needles, loose insulation, etc. Good luck!

scottanlily · 08-03-2006, 12:08 AM

Hey Mer , thats a real distinctive explanation of how that dead rat smelled.
maybe a wipe down on all surfaces with a bleach solution ,That cat pee smell
eliminator at the store they sell really does work ,so that also could be sprayed around .Lily had a cat many years ago ,not anymore ,Im allergic,anyway that stuff works and believe me that cat smell is just as bad
if not worse .......maybe.

Scott around the corner

AirstreamGypsy · 08-03-2006, 07:53 AM

Before disturbing anything mouse.... dead, alive or droppings. Spray (mist) with a 10 parts water 1 part bleach solution. Wait 10 to 15 minutes before sweeping up. The minute you disturb droppings they release minute particals to the air, you breath in, out you go (If the mouse is diseased).

These are the precations we take in Southwest CO. And who knows, maybe you picked up a hitch hiker on your way through.

airdrmr · 08-03-2006, 11:59 AM

great advice regarding precautions. I must admit, I'm not used to having rodents, dead or alive, in my living spaces, so I will heed the warnings! Coincidentally, we purchased our trailer in a rural area near Littleton, CO in June. These critters (which had been there for some time) must have been using it as a resort while it was parked and unused for several years.

Since our discoveries, we have scrubbed the entire interior with a bleach solution and used the pet deoterizer in the closet which helped a great deal with the odor. We have little kids so, of course, I am especially concerned about jeopordizing their health. I'll have my squirt bottle ready in case we unearth any more of those little critter carcasses!

CaddyGrn · 08-03-2006, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirstrmGypsy

Before disturbing anything mouse.... dead, alive or droppings. Spray (mist) with a 10 parts water 1 part bleach solution. Wait 10 to 15 minutes before sweeping up. The minute you disturb droppings they release minute particals to the air, you breath in, out you go (If the mouse is diseased).

These are the precations we take in Southwest CO. And who knows, maybe you picked up a hitch hiker on your way through.

I am not the squeemish type, raised on a farm.... but sometimes these things do release nasty things into the air. I would be cautious. I think this is good advice! I suspect that folks with compromised immune systems (like Diabetes, heart problems?) would be more likely to be extra careful. No reason to invite trouble.

Besides, we all want to go camping!

Mrs. NorCal Bambi (traveling in S Tardis)