Mice infested first winter of storage

flourhair

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May 20, 2022
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We bought our 2022 Imagine 2970RL travel trailer last July 2021. Used it twice and then time to store. Spray foamed every nook and cranny underneath the rig. Had slide outs in when this was done. We have had campers travel trailers with wheels you name it for years and years and never had any mice issues. We always make sure we spray foam everything so nothing can get in. Opened up travel trailer to get ready for memorial day holiday and found it was infested with mice. Brand new trailer my heart broke. Mice poop pee everywhere. There was no food left in this camper and it was left sparkling clean. They brought their own food in pine nut shells everywhere. Had To throw the mattress away and spent a week of heavy and deep cleaning. Looking for where they got in. We noticed when the slide outs were out we could see daylight in each corner. There were holes that you could see daylight out of in the slides. Called Grand design and they said that’s how they make it so that water can escape if it happens to get behind the rubber seal on the slide out. I said well what about the mice that got in my trailer and completely destroyed it over the winter. She said she would send me some plugs for those holes but then we may end up with water in our fifth wheel. So I guess my choice is mice or water lol. We’re still trying to find a way to plug those holes. Can’t use spray foam because it’s a moving part. The mice actually chewed some of the rubber seal to make a bigger hole so they could get in easier. Any suggestions from anyone who has experience this would be so appreciated.
 
Many use steel wool in those slide holes. Do a search on steel wool and the threads should pop up. Good luck!

BTW, we notice the first place they like to go in our trailer is the pass-through by the Nautilus hook up area. We always set traps there to catch them before they go further. Also we use Irish Spring soap bars in cheap plastic soap dishes where we drilled holes into to let the smell out. We then strategically place them in around the trailer like behind the toilet, under the hutch, on the pantry floor, under the sink, and lastly in the pass-thru area. Get one or two mice every now and then, but been successfull keeping them at bay.
 
Thank you for taking the time to post to this thread. We have heard about the steel wool and have used it in many areas as well as spray foam. We will definitely be using some stainless steel steel wool in those problem areas of the slide out. I just don’t understand why they would design it that way it really needs a better design. Disappointed because we really researched before we bought this unit thinking it was superior to some and finding that’s not the case. When you spend $50,000 you shouldn’t have to use steel wool to plug holes in a slide out because of that design issue. Lol thanks again I really appreciate it
 
We're out in the country so mice are a living fact for us. We filled the slide holes with steel wool, made sure that the underbelly didn't have any expose holes and put bounce dryer sheets every where they'd be interested in. So far so good.

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We bought our 2022 Imagine 2970RL travel trailer last July 2021. Used it twice and then time to store. Spray foamed every nook and cranny underneath the rig. Had slide outs in when this was done. We have had campers travel trailers with wheels you name it for years and years and never had any mice issues. We always make sure we spray foam everything so nothing can get in. Opened up travel trailer to get ready for memorial day holiday and found it was infested with mice. Brand new trailer my heart broke. Mice poop pee everywhere. There was no food left in this camper and it was left sparkling clean. They brought their own food in pine nut shells everywhere. Had To throw the mattress away and spent a week of heavy and deep cleaning. Looking for where they got in. We noticed when the slide outs were out we could see daylight in each corner. There were holes that you could see daylight out of in the slides. Called Grand design and they said that’s how they make it so that water can escape if it happens to get behind the rubber seal on the slide out. I said well what about the mice that got in my trailer and completely destroyed it over the winter. She said she would send me some plugs for those holes but then we may end up with water in our fifth wheel. So I guess my choice is mice or water lol. We’re still trying to find a way to plug those holes. Can’t use spray foam because it’s a moving part. The mice actually chewed some of the rubber seal to make a bigger hole so they could get in easier. Any suggestions from anyone who has experience this would be so appreciated.
I use Mouse Free and Moen's Mouse Mix. Both use peppermint oil extract to keep the critters away. You need an air compressor to spray the Mouse Free, and coat the undercarriage, and the Moen's Mouse Mix you put into the include baggies and set them out in "strategic" spots, like the basement and around the tires and landing gear. Mice and rats don't like the peppermint oil because it interfere with their sense of smell so they can't smell a predator approaching.

It's been a good investment for preventative maintenance for me.

I also have a small spray bottle of peppermint oil that I spray outside at the slide water drains. As of yet, no nice.

EDIT: no nice should be no mice!
 
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Yes, mice can be one of the banes of an RV owner's life. We've had battles with them over the years. As stated, plugging holes with steel wool works. For us, peppermint oil has worked the best, as have other non-toxic repellants. Also, parking where mice can't drop onto your rig from nearby trees is good.
 
Ordinary steel wool can rust over time, especially in areas of high humidity. I switched to copper wool that lasts much longer. Its available on Amazon.
 
I’ve used everything from Mouse Free, Moen’s, Sniff N Stop, copper mesh, Xcluder, dryer sheets, Irish Spring, Fresh Cab, pond and stone spray foam, spray foam infused with cayenne pepper, you name it.

In my experience:

- The physical barrrier is the only thing that works consistently, and even then, it’s nearly impossible to find every possible access point or seal them if a moving part, e.g. slide ram openings. I like the copper mesh and Xcluder best. Rats have removed stainless steel wool to gain access.
- Mouse Free seems to help but not 100%. Plus, we live down 3 miles of a country gravel road and the dust sticks to the Mouse Free coating and makes a mess. If you get under the trailer to service something after spraying, you (meaning, “I”) get covered in Mouse Free. It doesn’t like to come out of your (meaning, “my”) hair. But at least you smell like a candy cane.
- Don’t bait and use repellants at the same time. The bait is just an open invitation. I’ve used uncented/unbaited glue boards instead of baited traps. If you do use traps, peanut butter in the T-Rex traps works well. Just make sure a trapped but not dead mouse can’t drag the trap off to somewhere you can’t access. Ask me how I know.
- One of the best traps I’ve used outside of the camper, placed at least 20’ away, is a trap door or plank trap on a 5-gallon bucket filled with a few inches of water. It catches mice. Rats have escaped from it though.
- Rats and Mice apparently like the taste of Irish Spring since I find teeth marks in the bars of soap.
- Rats and mice pay no attention to Moen’s. In fact, I’ve found the little baggies of freshly prepared mouse mix in their nests.
- Same with Sniff-N-Stop.
- Same with dryer sheets.
- Same with Fresh Cab. I’ve found droppings on the sachet just a couple of days after placing a new one!
- I did use the Sniff- N-Stop repellant under carriage paint around the slide ram openings. I don’t know if it worked or not. Wish I could figure out a way to use Xcluder in the frame openings for the slide rams.
- I’ve also used some highly rated, but horrible smelling granules (picked up at Costco) that I poured on the ground to encircle the camper. Watered them in. Supposed to repel everything from dogs, raccoons, squirrels, rodents, other people, etc. Our dogs would lay on top of it.
- ultrasonic pest repellers don’t work for us. Tried everything from the multi unit pack for $20 to a $100 unit. I think the devices worked more like a mirror ball to invite more rodents to the party. Rats chewed through the cord of one of the units while on super repel mode or whatever the setting was.

Bottom line is that it’s a never ending war and apparently I’m willing to try just about anything if it has a 1-star rating or above on Amazon.
 
Only thing that I have found to work consistently is peppermint oil.

I buy it by the quart from Amazon and soak cotton balls when putting the trailer away for winter. Strategically placed (everywhere). Knock on wood, no mice since doing this several years ago.

Bonus of having a minty fresh trailer every spring when opening back up.
 
Only thing that I have found to work consistently is peppermint oil.

I buy it by the quart from Amazon and soak cotton balls when putting the trailer away for winter. Strategically placed (everywhere). Knock on wood, no mice since doing this several years ago.

Bonus of having a minty fresh trailer every spring when opening back up.
Do you have the link to the quart? I can only find the little bottles.
 
Hello! we've switched from steel wool to bronze wool to avoid the rust. Use this stuff around our house bulkhead too. Have not had any mice in the house or rv the past 2 years. The trick is finding the nooks and crannies they squeeze through, which can be tough.
 
If you are going to use traps you might want to try this: I take a d-Con block and cut it into chunks and hot glue a little to the trigger mechanism. I don’t have to worry about cheese or peanut butter drying out or falling off. I check my camper weekly in the winter. If I get a mouse I often just have to dispose of the critter and the trap doesn’t have to have fresh bait put on. This was our first winter with our 303 and I couldn’t believe we didn’t catch one mouse in the eight traps we set. In our Jayco travel trailer I’d get 7-8 each winter. I think it’s luck, but what a relief. I think a mouse can squeeze through a quarter inch opening.
 
Following this thread. We have a 2018 303 and I have never noticed any "holes" or daylight in the corner of any slides when they are in or out.

Can someone educate me where these "holes" are located
 
We bought our 2022 Imagine 2970RL travel trailer last July 2021. Used it twice and then time to store. Spray foamed every nook and cranny underneath the rig. Had slide outs in when this was done. We have had campers travel trailers with wheels you name it for years and years and never had any mice issues. We always make sure we spray foam everything so nothing can get in. Opened up travel trailer to get ready for memorial day holiday and found it was infested with mice. Brand new trailer my heart broke. Mice poop pee everywhere. There was no food left in this camper and it was left sparkling clean. They brought their own food in pine nut shells everywhere. Had To throw the mattress away and spent a week of heavy and deep cleaning. Looking for where they got in. We noticed when the slide outs were out we could see daylight in each corner. There were holes that you could see daylight out of in the slides. Called Grand design and they said that’s how they make it so that water can escape if it happens to get behind the rubber seal on the slide out. I said well what about the mice that got in my trailer and completely destroyed it over the winter. She said she would send me some plugs for those holes but then we may end up with water in our fifth wheel. So I guess my choice is mice or water lol. We’re still trying to find a way to plug those holes. Can’t use spray foam because it’s a moving part. The mice actually chewed some of the rubber seal to make a bigger hole so they could get in easier. Any suggestions from anyone who has experience this would be so appreciated.

I was told by someone many, many moons ago that if the mice want to get in they will. With that mindset, I put out Rat-X every winter in the camper. So far, I have never had to dispose of a dead one, but if they do get in, the Rat-X will dry them up with no smell.
 
It is almost impossible to find every hole that mice can use to invade your trailer. We had mice in ours and the only thing that worked was peppermint oil. I put down squares of aluminum foil (to prevent staining) and then put a liberal amount of concentrated peppermint on a cotton pad and they do NOT like it. It’s a relatively inexpensive solution and certainly worked for us.
 
It is almost impossible to find every hole that mice can use to invade your trailer. We had mice in ours and the only thing that worked was peppermint oil. I put down squares of aluminum foil (to prevent staining) and then put a liberal amount of concentrated peppermint on a cotton pad and they do NOT like it. It’s a relatively inexpensive solution and certainly worked for us.

Yep, they will find holes you even see. We use the old method of an automotive antifreeze and peanut butter to catch them if they get past the missed entry points. Drill 2 small holes near the top and opposite sides of a 5 gallon bucket. Punch small holes on top and bottom of a beer/pop can. String a wire through the can and holes in the bucket. Smear peanut butter on the can and put an appropriate piece of wood for a ramp up to the top of the bucket. Nothing fancy. Dump a jug of automotive, not rv, antifreeze into the bucket. We manage a remote fishing club in Quebec with a number of old log houses and use this method. Also did the same with out 5th. We also put one under the rig to pre-empt entry. Good luck.
 
2 years now No Mice - We use steal wool in the water panel hose access hole (Permanent Camp Site) Winterized, all slides come in - Spray a mixture of Tea Tree & Peppermint Oil, about 30 drops each/1/2 gallon water in a tank sprayer, all around the camper legs (anything that touches the ground) This also helps for ant invasions. I spray this around a few times a year - And of course wife has bounce sheets all over the camper, these for sure help with bugs/ants in the outdoor kitchen! Just be careful with the the essential oils, this stuff is supper potent, a little goes a long way!
 
We use Bounce Dryer sheets and moth balls in bags. I put the sheets in every drawer and around the room then I throw the moth ball bags in each room. I also use both in every outside compartment and put a bag of moth balls on the tires and the top of the steps. Seems to work. Of course, you have to air out for days. We did not use the trailer for over a year, and no problems. Over kill, maybe, but better than visitors! Never heard of the steel wood. Will have to give it a try.
 

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