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Have you ever experienced "critters" in your RV's?


The Few

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Hello all, just a general question..

 

Have you ever experienced any critters or annoying pests or insects in your RV, and how did you rid them??

 

By definition, a "critter" is a domestic animal "e.i" (cow, horse, mule), But I will using the slang term "little critters" meaning mice, rats, snakes, raccoons, birds, ants, roaches "etc."??

 

My questions again are " retrospectively", have you had any issues with dealing with critters, and how did you rid them??

 

Interested to hear your thoughts.....

 

Thank you all!

The Few

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Birds nesting in the fridge vent, added carpenter cloth screen to keep them out.

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Wasps and dirt daubers - I cut and installed aluminum cloth under the side reefer vents, and top under its cover. I had the same behind the water heater vent and furnace vent. These must be large enough not to restrict exhaust and air intake, but small enough to keep out the mud bringers and stingers.

 

We sprayed under and around the ground when we see ants trying to climb up. Especially the landing gear blocks I use under them, and around the axles and springs they use to climb up. Don't spray the tires even if you see them there as the chemicals could harm the tires. They have to climb the steel axle and spring assemblies to get to the RV from the tires. Spray there not the tires. Mice involved the usual Steel wool plugs reinforced by a squirt of urethane foam. We keep a can of Bengal spray for indoor use if we see a problem. We had large ants invade once and they were everywhere. Bengal got them too.

 

Fiver pin boxes also house wasps and birds. Keeping it sprayed keeps real surprises from flying in your face when grabbing the umbilical cable and breakaway switch cable.

 

We also did the steel wool foam in basement holes and around drains. The plugs help with heating and air conditioning too.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


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We had a cat climb into the basement when the door was left open over night. Found it at our next campground stop the following night. The owner came and retrieved him.

2013 DRV Mobile Suites 38TKSB3 w/ Hydra Lift motorcycle lift, MorRyde IS suspension, MorRyde hitch pin

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Just emptied the bird nest from a small opening over the hitch. Couldn't believe how much pine straw was under there in just the 2 weeks we have been here. The bird was back under the hitch this morning. Got to make a stronger patch cover til we leave. The sad part was seeing the eggs break as we pulled the stuff out. But that is better than driving off with the poor bird's babies.

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We have had experience with plenty of little critters. We had raccoons eating the weather stripping on our slide. We solved that problem by trapping the critter and relocating him 7 miles away. That fiasco cost $75 for new weather stripping.

 

We had mice which we got rid of with mouse traps and ants a couple of times which we got rid of with Terro.

 

All of our encounters happened in the state park we host in each summer for 3 months. I think these infestations are a result of staying in one place for 3 months.

2019 Airstream Flying Cloud 27FB
2011 Ford F350 CC SRW
 

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."       Will Rogers        

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We had mice in the fifth wheel one time. Just set out a mouse trap to catch it. We had a bird build a nest in the fifth wheel hitch. And, once, we had an invasion of moths! Not sure how they got into the rig, but we kept finding them here and there for about a week.

 

When we had our prior Class C, we camp hosted at a small BLM campground in northern California and discovered mice in the engine compartment. Fortunately, we discovered them before they did any damage and, like before, we set traps to catch them.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Birds like the area above the fiver hitch pin. If I see them thinking about making a home there, I just tuck aluminum foil in it. They can be brazen at times. We unknowingly carried a pack rat in our fiver bay from Libby, MT. to Coeur d Lane, ID. I opened the storage door and it took off to a dark spot. Went and got a rat trap, baited it, set it in the bay and shut the door. As we were walking to the truck I thought I heard something. Opened the bay door and it evidently was hungry. Had a mouse at Clark Canyon Dam in Dillon, MT. I backed too far off the gravel into a grassy area. A live trap baited with peanut butter, yes, my PB, got it within hours. This is in 12 years of fulltiming.

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We used to get mice occasionally in the winter at the storage place we used to use. And one year, we had birds figure out how to get into the vent for the stove hood and nest in there. That one was partly our fault, the vent flap had fallen off. It had to have happened pretty recently as I always check when we close up to move. It was easy to clean out, we just pulled the filter over the stove and the whole thing just tumbled out. Fortunately, the birds had moved on before we dd that.

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You can lower the mouse traffic into the RV by packing steel wool (use the brass kind so it don't rust) around the openings for the power cord, water hose, and anything else that goes into a storage bay. There are birds which can be very persistent about nest building in several locations of both trailers and motorhomes. We have also experienced a packrat invasion that chewed up wires to the fuel pump in a motorhome but lights that turn on at dusk will greatly help with that problem. Ants are probably the most difficult thing to keep out if they find the way in. We had friends also who got an invasion of fleas in the carpet which probably came in with their cats. If you have any kind of pest that can't be stopped in any other way, one of those bug bombs will kill them all but follow the instructions carefully.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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A lot of folks have told us besides the blocking all areas possible with wire wool, FRESH CAB is the best option to keep rodents at bay, and placing light strings around to deter pack rats causing damage to your wiring etc. We were also advised where lots of bugs/ants to spray RAID or HOME DEFENSE around the site where they might gain access to climb up into the truck. Thanks for the tip on chemicals causing tire damage RV, hadn't heard that before and will heed.

 

We've been making notes from many contributors over the years of when they had certain problems in certain areas at specific times of the year, and hoping to try as much as possible to avoid the worst times in those locations.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For any flying insects inside I find this to be worth it's weight in gold.

http://www.amazon.com/Stinger-Cordless-Rechargable-Insect-Zapper/dp/B00CO6WBAU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433898529&sr=8-3&keywords=stinger+bug+zapper

 

This was recommended to me after chipmunks got in my engine compartment and tore up insulation. It works. Just put a few drops on cotton balls and lay them around places you want to keep rodents from. Smells good too.

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Peppermint-Oil-ounce/dp/B00028MKRQ/ref=pd_bia_yo_t_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=09R248XG7WFTA2R7TQTC

 

Jim

Jim
SKP: 99693
If you think you can, or you think you can't. . . you are probably right (Henry Ford)
2014 Dodge 4WD Dually
1998 Carriage LS-341

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