Rodent Combat!!

[flagmanruss]

This morning, I was modifying the electrical pass through so we could better keep critters out. I've had no shore power in there since the last trip, waiting to get this done. (I had to mod the pass through door & the RV plug which had a handle that kept it from passing through the little door... now the pass through closes & is backed up with SS pot scrubber).Sheila went in the camper... found mouse poo between the sink drain & where the fawcet dripped. No where else. Not on the counters, not under the refridge / tub where I've stuffed steel wool until I can get back there.How can the mice be getting into the sink? It seems like they "must have" come up the drain & gone back the same way. The tanks underneath have been closed. Is it possible that they've gotten on the roof & come down the vents? I had mice in my old Scamper Camper 5th wheel... must have got on the roof & got into the water roof vents... but went into the roof between the vent pipe and the roof metal. I can't remember if I steel wooled it or screened with 1/4" hardware cloth. I have a lot of leg trouble on ladders... stairs are challenging enough... Sheila's going to have a fit... but I don't see her climbing up there! I can't be sure what is there but somebody has too look.

[Mopar1973Man]

Dang Russ... After all the years of living here in Idaho the only place I typically find mice is in the wood shed. But you have in your house, in your RV and in your vehicles...

[flagmanruss]

barns (used to find mouse nests between hay bales), sheds, chicken coop had rat holes all under it. I still want to build a roller with a water trap for mice & put it in front of my truck... let it "fish" year round.

[flagmanruss]

Taking a break from playing with cannon stuff (post 4th July). Back to ToyHauler...Sizing up the water/vent lines problem through the floor under the kitchen sink. This afternoon I pulled the electric cord out of the compartment through the tiny outside hatch... unscrewed a plywood panel to get to the water lines. Yup, just a stupid piece of carpet stapled mostly over the hole in the floor (of course). Lots of acorns & mouse poo. The vent comes through the floor through it's own hole. I can calk around it... GREAT! Only if fat me can just get far enough in through that tiny door. I may have to pull the door frame to work. Not starting that today. There are also (3) 1/2" water lines through an 8" square. A patch, cut into 3 strips with holes will close it & screw down. This is a relief. The hardest part will be access. I put it back for now. She's out tonight. I dragged the shop vac out to the camper. I worked under the fridge & tub on the plywood patches I sculped previously. I had to fight to get them in & then back out to trim again. After a few passes, I think I have them in place. Now they need to be secured down. I need clearance drills for the patches & then self-tapping screws to secure them to the deck. The fit isn't perfect but the gaps can be stuffed with steel wool, dum dum or calk. I'm overheated & dripping sweat (certainly smell bad). Time to regroup.Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

Wow... What a mess... Russ would you be willing to post up some pics of this I'm sure other would like to know what to look for as in plumbing passing through walls and floors..

[flagmanruss]

Hi Guys,

It's too late to view the hole under the tub/fridge where the plumbing comes through the floor "before" because I already screwed my patch pieces in but you can see the much more complex piping issues in the later photos.

This is under the kitchen counter, viewed from the electrical access hatch... I pulled out all the camper power cord. The carpet was stapled down...

This is what I found when I ripped up the carpet. Lot's of mouse sign & accorns... Obiviously the carpet is a NOT sufficient seal to keep mice out.

Actually this will be easier to seal as there is only 1 tank vent (black pipe) on this side & the hole it goes through is a decent fit. I'll stuff with steal wool & seal that up as is. The square hole around the hot & cold water pipes, after stuffing with steel wool, will take a square of plywood cut into 3 pieces... holes drilled for the tubing.

This is the other side of the camper, view from under the fridge looking at the bottom of the tub. A total maze of drains & supply pipes. I have stuffed with steel wool & sculpted plywood (after cardboard templates) & screwed down to secure.

This view is from the tub side. I had to cut out some of the tub support to get access to the floor underneath.

Again from the tub side, looking more under the tub. I'll have to replace section of the 2X4 tub support I removed. It will go on top of the plywood so I shaved it 1/2".

It is pretty challenging for me to do with 1 good hand & must be done from the floor & then I have a heck of a time getting back up. I have to have all my tools & materials within reach before I lay down.

Russ

photos by Sheila

[Mopar1973Man]

Wow! That is a project...

[flagmanruss]

Yup, it's a "project" alright. At least you can understand what I'm talking about now.

Hopefully, this will help someone else.

Russ

[Mopar1973Man]

I was worried about the very same thing but after a little working on my trailer I found out that all my plumbing has plastic collars around them and the trailer is rather air tight. I quite literially have to leave the door open to get the slide out. If I leave every thing closed (windows & roof vents) then try and open the slide it stuggles to open against the vacuum plus air is whistling in drains in the windows. So far no signs of critters...

[dripley]

that was a ton of work. it appears that the plumbers on rv's are worse on the framing than the ones i use out here building restaraunts. always having to watch them to be sure they dont cut columns or beams to route their piping. hope i find nthing like that in mine. i dfinately wont until it cools off a little.

[flman]

In my shop, I have cardboard boxes with fiberglass insulated flex duct. I buy some stinky liquid fabric softener, dilute it and put it in a spray bottle, and just shoot it all over where those little bastards like to cause their damage. I also keep a monthly reminder starting in August to get after the mice with poison, traps and that stinky spray until the cold winter sets in.

[flagmanruss]

In my experience, poison only works if the mice have no other food... ie they can not get out to get more food. If they can easily get in & out, I've seen them take the bait & store it... but not eat it. I used to work for a neighbor who ran a business from outbuildings... we moved a machine & found the whole base full of Decon.

The first step is to try to block access then bait & trap. Mice do not like mothballs but must be in a closed space. I used them in boats & campers successfully but put them in a Dixie cup so after they dissolve you can retrieve the remains & air the place out.

--- Update to the previous post...

I test fitted the frame for the panel in front of the tub. Installed a couple of back up blocks to screw to. I hope to never remove it again. If I do, I'll not destroy it this time.

Wife found more mouse sign in trailer. Was she surprised? The hole under the kitchen had not been closed... and she went to clean up mode again. I can't work if she cleaning & putting my tools all away. I tried to divert her to actually working on the problem.

I got her to vacume the mouse stuff in & around the hole from the outside, through the electrical door. While she was getting the vacume, I made cardboard templates for a cover panel. After she was done with the vacume, I tried the templates. They seemed to fit tollerably. I stuffed steel wool to the best of my ability... beyond reach at furthest, used long screwdrivers to hopefully stuff them. I took plywood, drilled out the holes for the waterlines, required the square to be in 3 pieces. Very tough place to work, head & 1 arm in, legs half crouched, barely able to get power driver on the piloted screws. So the patch is holding the steel wool in place & closes the hole. I got it done but my legs were so spent I could barely get myself back in the house. (I don't walk far anyway with the MS.) But I got the hole plugged. YES!!!

As far as I know, there are no more holes for the mices. We'll see.

[Mopar1973Man]

Russ Vs Mice... Russ 1 Mice 0

[flagmanruss]

The mouse sign was greatly reduced when I closed up the first hole. If closing this second hole does solve it I'll be very happy. I don't think I'll pat myself on the back until a week has gone by with no fresh sign... and Sheila did clean it all up... A nice square hole with 3 water lines running through it... a square patch even if in 3 pieces, looks much more workmanlike than the free-form maze under the tub. I have to complete & install that tub panel & a bit of trim... I suppose I'll tidy up some... but I don't want to pack all the tools up until I'm sure I'm done. (That would be a JINX & I already JINXed myself once this week... I know this because what I was trying to make happen didn't work out.)

[flagmanruss]

I set a mouse trap under the kitchen counter last night. Wife couldn't wait to check this morning & sure enough caught a mouse overnight. She reports there is a poo trail from black PVC vent pipe to the trap. The question is, was the mouse already in the trailer interior or did it get in from the outside after we closed the square hole?

Reset trap.

Are there still more holes to plug?

I couldnt really reach around the PVC tank vent... steel wool stuffed with long screw drivers. I have not inspected yet. There just isn't access. Thought about pulling the electrical pannel or even cutting an access hatch in the side of the kitchen counter (though there is not really much room to do that).

--- Update to the previous post...

OK, I went out & spent some time inspecting. (Found mouse trap tripped but no mouse. More poo between a heavy 3/4" electrical cable.) I reset the trap. Trap has a string to a cabinette knob to prevent it dissapearing down a hole.

I don't see any more unsealed holes in the floor. It appears the black PVC tank vent steel wool packing is undisturbed.

Under the counter, there is a bunch of wires that run from the panel into a generous hole in the outside wall a few inches above the floor. I think that the wall stands on the floor but there is just no way to know if there are holes that connect. The underside of the trailer is covered by mostly intact tough fabric membrane... but it blocks a lot of the view and the tankage blocks the rest. I don't know if I should steel wool or expanding foam but I've decided to seal around the wall around these wires.

I could pull the AC/DC panel to try to get access under the counter, but it only gets a ~12 X 12 inch hole against the floor. I'm looking hard at a nice unblemished side panel on the counter. Too bad it does just unscrew to access. The INVERTER (120 V AC to 12 V DC) is on the wall backing up to this panel. The heavy electrical cable I mentioned first turns out to be a 3 wire insulated harness this Inverter. I don't plan on using said 'add on' unit & it appears to be disconnected behind the electrical panel. If I need AC where shore power is unavailable, I'd start the generator. If I remove this counter side panel, the INVERTER unit will have to be removed.

I have a re-enactment this weekend... I hope to survive the heat & humidity... back to this next week.

[Mopar1973Man]

I wonder if you have one just trapped in the rig and looking for a way out...

[flagmanruss]

I'll give Mr Mouse a way out, Feet First! Trapped tripped overnight but not during today. I'm just back from a re-enactment... my job sitting in the shade at 90+ degrees. Sheila did all the set up in the sun! I've got to go out to the trailer & look for a clean period shirt... think I'll set another different trap.

[flagmanruss]

The mice seem to have taken the hint... If someone was trying to KILL you, you'd go someplace else to go too! But I don't know for sure how they were getting in & out, but I know they were, so the job's not done. The only other hole I can see is the wire passage into the wall under the kitchen. So I'm going to spray foam it.

[flagmanruss]

Sheila insisted she could reach where I could not... spray foamed the wire hole into the wall under the counter. Spray foamed around fittings under the tub... anywhere there were cracks. She thinks she can see more holes in the wall behind the furnace and stove. I don't want to disconnect either. I can't get in to see any holes. I can see the inside corner of the plastic fender liner under the stove.I have had trouble keeping the small round electrical cord door closed. I have a wad of steel wool wrapped around the wire so no mouse (hopefully) can get in from the outside. I found a wingnut with built in flange like a washer. I ground a clearance in the flange & mounted with a through bolt & lock nut so that it holds the round door tightly closed unless the clearance is aligned.

[Mopar1973Man]

War goes on... Wow... You should have Sheilarun around with that expanding foam and fill all the holes the best she can. It will improve the trailers ability to hold heat in the winter. Think about if a mice is entering and exiting then you got a cold draft. Is the trailer closed belly or can you see all the tanks?