Keeping mice out of the utility bay

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Keeping mice out of the utility bay

June 04, 2010, 08:23:13 pm

Before we became full-timers, our coach often sat for months at a time in a very rural setting and connected to shore power. I was concerned that mice might enter the utility bay and gnaw on the electric cable or the water hose.

I came up with the idea of cutting a sturdy piece of plastic to fit over the gap that opens when the drop down door is open. I used the lid from a Rubbermaid container. It is thick enough to bend, but not so thin that it is flimsy. I was able to cut a notch for the electric and water hose to pass through my "Rodent Shield"

.

With my shield in place I can close the bay door. However, when the sewer hose is out -- all bets are off.

Incidentally, the small spray bottle contains a 10% solution of chlorine bleach that I use to spray the water bib in campgrounds before we hook up.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #1 – June 05, 2010, 08:47:34 am

George,

Thanks, I like the both your suggestions.

Tony,
'99 U295 36'

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #2 – June 05, 2010, 10:19:43 am

I keep permanent small wooden run-of-the-mill mouse traps with peanut butter in the traps spread throughout the bays. Seems to work! If there aren't any mice, the traps are empty.
When we stopped in Montana at a friends house, the field mice saw us as a tour bus and tried to hop on. The peanut butter shop-and-stop took care of that!

The peanut butter is good for weeks, and seems not to be a problem with ants either. And, the traps are cheap!

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #3 – June 05, 2010, 10:48:26 am

I would think the Peanut Butter works so well it invites the rodents to the coach. The last place you want them. At home, the County pest control told me to put the traps everywhere but near the coach to draw them away.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #4 – June 05, 2010, 12:05:27 pm

George, it must be that time of year. I too just had an invasion of rodents and the entry point was the drop down utility door. Your solution is thought provoking and very timely.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #5 – June 05, 2010, 12:57:10 pm

When field mice invade, I think that they are looking for a nest, not food. When they first invaded, they started on the paper towel roll, tearing it apart for nest material. That is how I found out about the invasion. Two seperate nests! This was before the peanut butter. It took one day of the mouse traps to stop the nesting. A three bagger. All gone now.
How does anyone else figure out that they have guests? Loss of electricity? Holes in favorite cloth chairs? Me thinks a mouse sacrifice in a trap is a good indication that the battle is on, and, no paper nests is an indication that I'm winning, or at least, ahead.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #6 – June 05, 2010, 01:55:00 pm

In addition to the utility bay, mice seem to LOVE our rear end cap

Nothing like the sounds of scurrying and scratching behind the headboard and upper cabinets at 4 AM...

This is the second year in a row that our coach smells like "Grandma's Attic" from the outside with all the old fashioned mothballs scattered around, especially on all horizontal surfaces in the engine compartment. We have to clean them all up before we pull out in a few weeks, but it seems to work. Last year we tried the Bounce dryer sheets and coyote urine perimeter spray and neither worked. A generous application of the mothballs did the trick.

We're very glad these coaches are so well sealed - we can't smell the mothballs from inside the coach.

Michelle

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #7 – June 05, 2010, 08:56:10 pm

Pat Silva,

We loved the Oro Valley. We stayed at Catalina State Park. We even liked being "stranded" when the road was closed due to rain water filling the wash.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #8 – July 03, 2010, 09:26:19 am

When George and I were in Tortilla Flat, AZ we picked up a hitchhiker (we think it was a nesting chipmunk). They were everywhere in the campgrounds. After taking it several hundred miles, we kept noticing shredded papertowels. So I like to keep an open papertowel in the big bay as our first "warning" of an intruder. We found that peppermint oil dabbed on cotton balls or pads and placed about the area really seemed to work. Rodents evidently despise the smell of peppermint. You can find the oil at healthfood stores. And the smell is quite pleasant versus mothballs.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #9 – July 03, 2010, 09:40:42 am

A timely post, Sandy! We've been fine for weeks here with our "old fashioned mothballs" (and having removed the paper towels from the utility bay), but sometime in the last few days we had at least one mouse in one bay. No signs of a nest, but definite signs of "digestion".

One of the other workampers has a bird feeder up and it's attracting the red squirrels (which are VERY destructive).

I'll pick up some peppermint oil this morning.

Michelle

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #10 – July 04, 2010, 05:07:46 pm

Have you found peppermint oil somewhere in large quantities? The only sources I've seen so far is in rather expensive gourmet food stores in 1/2 oz bottles. I asked at a farm store recently, but they didn't know anything about using it for rodents.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #11 – July 04, 2010, 05:12:07 pm

Dave,
Google is your friend. Do a search. Somewhere it has to be in larger bottles.

Quote

On Sun, Jul 4, 2010 at 4:07 PM, Dave Katsuki http://sangeo-travels.blogspot.com/

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #12 – July 04, 2010, 05:37:36 pm

Quote from: Dave Katsuki – July 04, 2010, 05:07:46 pm

Have you found peppermint oil somewhere in large quantities? The only sources I've seen so far is in rather expensive gourmet food stores in 1/2 oz bottles.

I bought my bottle in the aromatherapy section (health and beauty aids) of a local natural foods store. $5.87 for 1 fluid ounce. I had also asked at the pharmacy inside the local supermarket and while they didn't carry it, they were willing to order it (and the pharmacy tech was familiar with its use as a rodent deterrent). This is in a smallish town in Maine, too.

Make sure it's oil of peppermint and not peppermint extract (which is mostly alcohol and will evaporate too quickly).

Michelle

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #13 – July 04, 2010, 06:31:18 pm

Dave --

go here

http://www.puritan.com/peppermint-342

Other places offer a gallon for $345.00 How many rodents do you want to keep away?

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #14 – July 04, 2010, 07:16:52 pm

So far, camped in and near wooded areas close to Lake Michigan for a couple of months, the rope lights, with timers set to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise, seemed to have (knock on wood) kept the rodents and cockroaches away from The Burrow.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #15 – July 06, 2010, 12:05:55 pm

That's great ($345 per gallon)! I'm now thinking of installing drip feed from a central peppermint tank to all possible bays and entry points, plus a feed to the central ice cream machine (converted from the ice maker).

Puritan.com peppermint oil at 30 ml for $9.00 may be high, though. Comes out to $3,400/gallon, so I'm conflicted - buy peppermint oil or a new set of tires?

Update -
I ordered 8 oz from bulknutrition.com for ~$20. We just got new tires, so can't afford the gallon size peppermint oil after all...

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #16 – July 06, 2010, 01:04:51 pm

I was gonna suggest planting some peppermint and squeezing your own oil.

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Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #17 – July 06, 2010, 04:38:40 pm

It doesn't take a lot of oil, but it takes a lot of peppermint to make a little bit of oil.

And there is another option for keeping the meeces away. It is a commercial product called Fresh Cab. Those who say it works, claim it is wonderful, and those who say it doesn't work say it is a waste of money. If you want to know more about it, check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Cab-Natural-Rodent-Repellent/107981312061?v=app_2347471856. I have been testing it, and am holding out for another winter before I will make up my mind.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #18 – July 06, 2010, 09:24:42 pm

Get a snake, if your snake fattens up, you can assume your rodent population is declining. We used to collect a few blacks snakes each year and give them rent free accomodations in the barn and corn cribs. We assumed they liked the place as they made their presence known to an unsuspecting sole or two on occasion, may also keep campground pilferers out with a "caution snake onboard" sticker at each bay.

Pepermint oil $340.00

Snake. Zero $$

Look on someones face that reaches in storage bin and finds snake - priceless
Greg 1995 280 se

Quote

On Jul 6, 2010, at 4:38 PM, "PatC"

It doesn't take a lot of oil, but it takes a lot of peppermint to make a little bit of oil.

And there is another option for keeping the meeces away. It is a commercial product called Fresh Cab. Those who say it works, claim it is wonderful, and those who say it doesn't work say it is a waste of money. If you want to know more about it, check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Cab-Natural-Rodent-Repellent/107981312061?v=app_2347471856. I have been testing it, and am holding out for another winter before I will make up my mind. 1994 U225 with a 2009 Focus chasing me around.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #19 – July 08, 2010, 12:20:00 pm

Quote from: Greg – July 06, 2010, 09:24:42 pm

Get a snake, if your snake fattens up, you can assume your rodent population is declining.

I know the snake never did anything to hurt me, but I see a snake anywhere in my rig, and he is going to be gone or dead real fast. Don't like snakes in my area. They are fine around and about, but not in my rig!!!!

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #20 – August 23, 2010, 08:01:32 pm

Drat...I got critterized!!! I have not been out much so the coach has been sitting in storage yard and this Sunday I had shredded Tolilet paper role and paper towel shredded in outside electric/water/ waste bay...

I did not have any cotton balls so I placed wet balled paper towels soaked with some peppermint oil into plastic glasses and placed in bathroom cabinets, kitchen cabinets, under sink, uppercabinets and under bed in engine compartment. Then I filled a spray bottle with water and peppermint oil sprayed inside areas and outside and thats when I found the outside shredding attack.... so I sprayed the engine compartment, all the compartments and the genny ........I sprayed the tires and around anything touching the ground.....

I need to go and get some traps what other suggestions does the group have ...about what else I can do ...where should I place the traps? how much peppermint oil versus water? and will the balled paper towels work or maybe cut up a sponge into small squares? or just get the cotton balls ....also what frequency while I am parked in storage...

I know I'm asking a lot of questions and for information but I am bummed.....

Thanks in advance for any help.....

Tony

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #21 – August 23, 2010, 08:49:14 pm

Tony,

You are doing what some of us have had to do in the past. There is not right or wrong answer and no scientific formula to do this "right."

I think traps are a good addition to your "attack."

When we had a sticks and bricks house I sometimes wanted to place a trap further than I could reach with my arm and yet I wanted to be able to retrieve the trap if I caught a mouse. So I did this: I would take a piece of 1 x 2 and screw the mouse trap to the end of the stick. sometimes I'd put an extra drywall screw in the end closest to my fingers and away from the trap so that I could easily retrieve my "prize." I think peanut butter works best. Put it where the mouse will have to struggle to get it. Those critters can lick a dollop of it off the end of the trap release and not get caught. So I would always smear just a little bit under the surface that is supposed to hold the bait.

Good luck. Don't let those critters get the best of you. Give 'em he _ _.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #22 – August 23, 2010, 10:07:01 pm

We've been using peppermint oil in all the compartments for 2 months now in prime mouse/rodent territory, and none so far (the paper towel test.) Too short a time period to tell for sure, but thus far so good.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #23 – August 23, 2010, 10:15:23 pm

CAT - rent a cat, borrow a cat or get a loaner cat.

Greg
1995 280 SE
Once borrowed moms prize mouser.

Re: Keeping mice out of the utility bay

Reply #24 – August 23, 2010, 10:18:35 pm

Thanks George and Dave and Greg ...I just got back from coach and read your posts, no cats love pets but I live alone.....well you know....

I went to Target and picked up some sticky and wood /spring traps but forgot the peanut butter at house. when I got to coach the critter had returned to the toilet paper...so I placed a sticky in cabinet and one under bottom slide draw in dining room cabinet where he/she is building a nest....put sticky traps under bed either side of engine in compartment a couple more somewhere else for a total of six...put one wood spring trap outside in sewer/water comparment, I had thrown out towels so don't know if they were back in that compartment but assujmed they were..... bought some cotton balls also so put out more laced with peppermint oil.......

I will return tomorrow after work and do the peanut butter thing....hope this works and I can get these critters, because Wednesday flying down to Orlando to meet a friend for a few days ...had to use or lose some air miles so no driving.....

Are they using the pipes to get under the bathroom sink cabinet and outside water/sewer compartment? I noticed what looks like a black hole in the upper corner of the outside water/sewer compartment is that a heat vent?

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