mice attack how do they get in? (1 Viewer)

JimboT

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I'm a newbie
Have seen a few posts about mice attacks just wondering how they get in is there anything that can be done to stop them.
Thanks
Jim
 

WynandJean

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Another 'gassing' thread? ::bigsmile:

Seriously though, I've luckily not been affected (yet) but understand that they can squeeze through seemingly impossible gaps.

Wyn
 
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Chris

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Not sure it's possible to stop them getting in if they want to.

I think it's just a case of trying to make it uninviting for them to come in so no food left in the van ( except tins and jars I suppose) and perhaps a sonic repeller. Not absolutely convinced the repellers worked but we did get mice about 2 years ago and we discovered that our two battery repellers had run out of batteries.We have a plug in 240v one now and the battery ones and none since, but we are still vigilant.

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Terry

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ANY hole big enough to poke a pencil through and mice will get through-plus they will chew rubber etc to make a bigger hole -secret is never leave UN-containered food in the van
Or leave plenty outside for the buggers to eat ::bigsmile:
terry
 
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Millibobs

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Rats

Have seen a few posts about mice attacks just wondering how they get in is there anything that can be done to stop them.
Thanks
Jim

Rats got into my Benimar via engine compartment. At some stage a rubber bung had not been put back when wires for alarm threaded through.they came in via dash and got into the heating tubes around the vehicle.
Hundreds of euros to repair, now have a cat and not had same problem since.
Caravanas Cruz, Elche,Spain found huge dead rat under shower base/wardrobe
Four years later still have slight rodent stink in wardrobe .
We do live in the campo and my next neighbour does have stable and two horses !:cry:
 
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2dogs

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get yourself a hungry cat and lock it in .....
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helmet on .... incoming from cat lovers:Eeek:


seriously, as previously said, hole the size of a pencil is plenty big enough and they do like chewing, especially if they can smell food.

hope you get them cleared.

Cheers
2dogs

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pappajohn

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believe me....they will get in any way they can.

We used to have a christmas beer/overflow fridge in the house utility room....only used at christmas.

Last time we went to use it there was a large hole in the bottom where the small defrost drainhole used to be.

Dont ask how but a block of cheese had been left in, or placed in by mistake, and the rat (size of turds and teethmarks in cheese confirmed a rat) had decided it wanted it and chewed the hole until big enough to crawl through.

The rat got into the house through the small hole where the oil boiler feed pipe enters under the base cupboards.
 
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JimboT

JimboT

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I'm a newbie
Just to clarify i have not got mice just looking to prevent the problem
Got a big dog so no cats!
Thanks
Jim
 
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pappajohn

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most effective mouse deterant is a rat....the mice wont occupy the same place.
Of course, the rat will do even more damage but you cant have it all ways :Doh::roflmto:

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Tootles

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most effective mouse deterant is a rat....the mice wont occupy the same place.
Of course, the rat will do even more damage but you cant have it all ways :Doh::roflmto:

'There was an old lady who swallowed a fly'..........:Doh:
 
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I had a mouse trapped in a wheelie bin, the little bugger almost ate the top off the lower half of the wheelie bin before it found a weakness in the hard plastic and chewed its final escape hole !!!!

How to deal with mice - I live amongst hundreds of them:

1. Leave no food or nesting material around your protected site whatsoever - nesting material includes clothes, foam, soft plastics - anything that can be chewed and made into a insulative nest.

2. (outside) cheap way -put outdoor mouse rat posion blocks in covered coffee jars around your property. If you have other annimals about use a rock or stones or a sandbag to secure the jars and ensure there is only a mouse sized hole for them to get in and out to eat it.

3. (inside) dry use grain type mouse poison for medium term eradication, and use mouse traps for short term eradication before too much damage is done!

4. Check and re-bait all traps on a daily and/or regular basis, especially the outdoor ones as they are your outer defence to stop the mice getting in, in the first place. And you will be suprised how quickly that bait gets eaten if there are a lot of mice about. :thumb: If you stick to this hopefully job done :thumb:
 
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pappajohn

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buy mouse bait at a farmers/country store if possible.
The stuff from B&Q is a really watered down version for safety reasons.

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scotjimland

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Have seen a few posts about mice attacks just wondering how they get in is there anything that can be done to stop them.
Thanks
Jim

Rodents can be a real problem, but they keep tens of thousands in employment.. every cloud etc..

They can get in through the smallest of holes, (as small as a pencil will fit through) ..
For example.. drop vents in cupboards/lockers ,cable/pipe transit holes, heater and fridge vents etc etc ..

Inspect every cupboard, if it has a vent, cover it with the smallest gauge metal screen you can find.. if there are any holes (with or without pipes or cables ) fill with sealant or if a big hole use expanding foam.. preferably fire proof..

They will climb up wheels and get in through spaces in wheel arch boxes... or into the wiring under the bonnet .. so leave no stone unturned .. think as a mouse..

If you suspect a mouse.. lay industrial bait .. as advised by pappajohn..
 
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SharonL

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Jim had a couple of mouse visitors over xmas, no doubt attracted in by his store of xmas food goodies and the fact he stayed away from his RV for a few days visiting family.

I got some great advice from the forum, simple traps and baits did the trick, but we may try the sonic doodahs as (hopefully) a humane preventative for the future. Lots of folk also mentioned putting dryer sheets around and some sort of nice scented oil, lemon?...can't quite recall but it'll be on an old mousey thread :thumb:
 
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Puddleduck

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On and off for many years.
Lots of folk also mentioned putting dryer sheets around and some sort of nice scented oil, lemon?...can't quite recall but it'll be on an old mousey thread :thumb:

Almost any very strong smell will deter them but not eradiate the problem. I'm told they don't like lavender and know that onion* is effective. I did wonder of garlic would work (including on the mice with pointy teeth and capes of course).

*We had a problem with mice in a larder and found that they avoided the shelves where there were onions. I used to put a raw onion every six inches along the shelf and then no more problems.
 
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g8ysn

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main thing is dont leave the door open, we leave a diced onion in the fridge [slightly open]
smells nice adn apparently various rodent,d dont like smell / moles mice cats dogs, up 2 now seems 2 work 4 me :cry:
 
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lee52

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metal scouring pads are very good for blocking holes and vents (still lets air throu)

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Stevewin999

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Mice

Saw a posting on you tube that said sheets of Bounce, the thing that goes in your tumble drier, not the scented one but plain deterred mice. Honest lol
Steve::bigsmile:
 
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Sorry but onions and herbs aint gonna work if you get a mouse infestation. They can start to shred your expensive belongings in a few hours, and destroy parts of your van in a matter of days to weeks when they start breeding.

Shredding is just the start, they constantly piss over your soft furnishings as well as the crap and many carry nasy disease prions :Eeek:

Take it from somebody who has lived in the country with mice for the last 8 years, you let them in and they will wreck everything from the wiring on your van to the soft funishings....now does leaving onions around sound like a good idea:Doh: or traps and strong posion :thumb: and you should leave these around on standby especially in the winter and late Autumn onwards when mice start looking for shelter.
 
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Chris

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Peppermint oil is apparently a deterrent.

Our van stinks of it.

As said above you need to eradicate the problem first though and then think about prevention.

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MikeD

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I can't comment on Rats and Mice specifically.

But my daughters furry rodent used to go where it damn pleased.

It might have took some time but it got there in the end.

I had hamster droppings all over my house to prove it. :thumb::thumb:
 
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Mick James

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I live on a farm and have a caravan on the land but no mice have got in......yet. That's in 10 years. I have traps all over and so far have caught over 750......yes, I count them :)

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pappajohn

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we just had another Squirrel in the RV.

how do i know it was a squirrel......because it left most of its fur/hair attached to the glue mat.

The hinged mat had folded over the little bastard in its struggle and trapped both sides of it but it must have had its front feet free and eventually dragged itself back through the hole it came in through....which was obviously far too small for the A4 sized glue mat.



It aint been back !!!!!
 
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we halva or have had a mouse in the van we have had all the cobords empty and under the bead cant find the basterd gone take the hating flue off and gas the basterd with o2
 
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Wildman

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Almost any very strong smell will deter them but not eradiate the problem. I'm told they don't like lavender and know that onion* is effective. I did wonder of garlic would work (including on the mice with pointy teeth and capes of course).

*We had a problem with mice in a larder and found that they avoided the shelves where there were onions. I used to put a raw onion every six inches along the shelf and then no more problems.
one year I stored the entire crop of onions in plastic mushroom trays, 10 of them stacked up. The mice ate the bloody lot same thing with apples wrapped and stored in our loft at home and green tomato's racked in the workshop. I have a sonic repellent in the motorhome connected to the leisure battery so always charged. just thrown away my travelling underwear as the little********** chewed them up to make a nest within a foot of the sonic device. Poison cleared them for now. I am parked on hardstanding not grass. Oh yes and the barstewards have chewed through the overflow pipe on my fuel tank so fuel spilt when I filled the tank, goodness knows what ended up in the fuel.

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MikeD

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we halva or have had a mouse in the van we have had all the cobords empty and under the bead cant find the basterd gone take the hating flue off and gas the basterd with o2

Have you tried the ferret as a deterent yet Bill? :thumb::thumb:
 
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Have you tried the ferret as a deterent yet Bill? :thumb::thumb:
we have had the ferret with us all week but I think the we bugers in the hating duct knasher is getting free run of the van tomorrow her sent should chase it away
:thumb:
 
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MHVirgins

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I can't comment on Rats and Mice specifically.

But my daughters furry rodent used to go where it damn pleased.

It might have took some time but it got there in the end.

I had hamster droppings all over my house to prove it. :thumb::thumb:


One of our hamsters managed to climb onto a large tin of paint that was left on the loo floor whilst we were decorating. My daughter shouted from the loo saying "there's something brown in the toilet"!!
It was our pet hamster who had escaped from his cage earlier:Doh: Fortunately his little nose was still above the water and I managed to save him by gently drying him in a warm towel and using the hair dryer at low until he was back to normal:thumb:
 
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