I was all ready to write an article about getting ready for a long trip—things like sanitizing water lines, checking that everything works, cleaning and clearing out things no longer needed.
But life lessons got in the way of that article. Last year, we bought a project house in the Southern Arizona mountains. We were living in the RV for about ten months while traveling, camp hosting, and discovering that our project house was really a fixer-upper.
After those ten months of angst, rising costs, and four contractors, we finally moved into the house, unpacked the RV, cleaned it up, turned off the water and the fridge. Every couple of days, I would go in and check the RV’s mouse traps.
Every day brought new challenges with the house: something new to fix, a leak to stop, paint, stain, or patch. We were busy and fell into bed exhausted every night.
Fence down, rats in
When 40 feet of the solid block snake fence needed to be taken down and rebuilt, we started an epic battle against pack rats. Beady black-eyed, fat, so-and-so pack rats. I had traps everywhere, little snap traps, big snap traps, ones that would have taken my finger off if a stick hadn’t set it off first. Electronically flashing lights with sirens. Everything!
Glue traps
Glue traps, too. A word of advice about using glue traps outside: Don’t. On the first day, we got two rats in one trap. On day two we had to peel off both a large lizard and a small bird. Both survived, although a bit traumatized with sticky feet and a few less feathers. That was the end of glue traps outside.
My big mistake
With the rats semi-under control, it was time to get the RV ready for our northern trek: vacuum the bays, and clear out stuff we won’t need and haven’t used. That clearing out is where I found out my big mistake, big time. I opened a bay door and terrified both a live rat and myself.
First, I rolled out the tray in the bay, found lots of little paper shreds and… ughhhhhh… rat droppings. More droppings, more shreds of everything chewable. Three large nests under the pull-out trays. Even though I diligently checked all the mouse traps in the RV, I did not think of the bays; I ignored them. I actually ignored the whole RV for the last several months.
Three arduous days later, it was finally done. I took everything out of the bays, disinfected and washed everything that could be cleaned, and threw out what couldn’t. I had to buy a $99 shop vac. No way was I going to get rat droppings in my house vacuum! I went through two bottles of 409, two economy-size cans of disinfectant, and a full dose of regret. Because, as a decades-long RVer, I knew better.
No sympathy
I found a place for the glue traps, though. Inside the RV bays, weighted down so they couldn’t be dragged off. They worked. One of the rats was the size of a small cat. Ugh, ugh, ugh! Rats on glue traps are not for the faint of heart! They are stuck but not dead. They require what the package directions advise: “Humanely euthanize before disposing.”
I don’t actually do the kill; that is my husband’s lot in life. When he suggests that I should kill the rats, I just mention that he grew up on a farm. I thought I would feel sorry for them—they are kinda cute. But, no. One look into their black soulless eyes and another glance at my favorite now-chewed-up camping rocker ended any sympathy I might have had.
Prevention is worth a pound of cure!
So we went into our old tried and true methods of mouse and rat prevention, but on steroids. We checked for entrance points and sealed them with foam spray. We put rope lights under the RV, peppermint spray in the bays, ultrasonic mouse repellers, snap traps, glue traps, solar flashing lights with sirens around the RV, and coyote pee. So far, so good.
The moral…
So, the moral? You can’t ignore an RV, no matter the circumstances. You just cannot ignore an RV.
And when spraying coyote pee around the RV, don’t spray into the wind…
What we used (and has worked)
Being 20 miles from the closest Home Depot and any hardware store, Amazon has become our go-to, and a lot of those items can be found there.
What works and what doesn’t? Mice and rats can get used to anything if food and shelter are available. Best to seal everything and make sure no food source is available.
- PredatorPee Original Coyote Urine
- PredatorPee Coyote Pee Yard Cover
- PESTECO Solar Animal Repellent
- Grandpa Gus’s Rodent Repellent Spray, Peppermint & Cinnamon Oil
RELATED
- 5 steps to keep mice out of your RV during storage
- RV design makes mice infestation easy
- One very easy fix to keep mice and other freeloaders out of your RV
- An easy, cheap DIY fix for RV mouse infestation
- Do you have rodents in your RV furnace? Prevent pests from getting in
- RV fires can start with bees and pests—be aware!
Wow! What an experience!
I thought I sealed all the rodent entrances. But there are a couple BIG holes through the floor into the trailer belly that simply cannot be sealed. Besides, rodents in the belly chewing on wires is no better than having them in the cabin. And then it finally clicked- Got a through the frame rack & pinion slide room system? Through the frame. The holes for the mechanism are a rodent highway! And you cannot foam them or your slide won’t work.
You have to block those holes. I’ve read several techniques, but for me using metal mesh adhesive drywall patches worked. Cut a hole for the screw drive and make a few radial snips to act like wipers when the slide is moved.
Dave Solberg posted a longer description with my photos. You can find it using this newsletter’s search function.
Hi, Jim. Here’s a link to Dave’s post that you referenced. Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I have done all of the above but also we can leave the trailer plugged in 24/7 so I turn on the radio on full volume and tuned into a talk radio station and it seems the mice think we are living in it and they must feel it’s too crowded and move on.
Rap music might work even better😜
What was not mentioned was the amount of luck that was involved.
The rats became squatters, and like most squatters, they made a mess of the place. The author did not state if any real damage (eating of wires) was done by the animals.
Let her hindsight become your foresight- take all the precautions you can to protect your RV. We have our coach in a climate-controlled garage, and I still have traps (I use the electronic rat traps that zap them dead) set up around the coach for added protection.
Seems pretty simple, don’t leave food in the camper. If the mice/rats smell it they will look for ways to get in. That’s what happened to our friends, they stored their camper with a bag of dog food inside.
Also, anytime that you’re cleaning up rodent droppings, be sure to wear a mask. I believe that the possibility of hantavirus is there.
Anyone using glue traps anywhere, inside or out side, I hope you get caught in an appropriate sized glue trap yourself.
I just finished the article about rats in an RV. We all need to be aware that rats can carry the Bubonic Plaque via fleas. Another problem to be aware of is the Hantavirus which is transmitted through the feces/poop of mice. I think this would have been a good addition to the article. It is important to know how to clean up after rodents.