- Oct 12, 2008
- 6,382
- 23,787
- Funster No
- 4,394
- MH
- HymerCamp 51Capucine
- Exp
- Since 2011/owner since 6/03/2014
I could have put this on Motorhome Storage Forum, but the thing is, it might happen any other cold period before storage!
Right, I think a few of you are aware I had a huge problem recently, both in house and motorhome.
During more than one month I have tried all the possible things I could find on the net to fight them.
Mine were rats, but some of the tips I will give you here work for quite a few different rodents, mainly mice and rats. I know some of you will have a smile on their face …. Fighting mice and rats … soooooo easy LOL ! Just pock them! Well …up to you! Obviously you know nothing about it! I have had a real bad time and so, have decided to take some time for those who want to be ready … just in case.
There are 2 different stages:
1) You are going to store your motorhome for winter or for a rather long period for whatever reason, and you don’t want any visitor while you are away!
2) You already found out you actually have a visitor(s) and you want to have it out as quick as possible.
By all means, the second point is much more difficult to face than the first one.
Let’s start with the first one then!
First of all , have a good check under your vehicle to see if you have any holes allowing any intruder to get in. 1 cm is enough for a mouse, 2 cms for a rat (adult). You might have holes under your truma heater for security. The easiest way is to nail a piece of plywood board on. Of course you won’t forget to remove it when about to use your van again.
Try to see if there is any way on the sides of the van to get to the double floor (check if you do have a double floor by measuring or asking your dealer). Make sure there is no way to get to your fridge or your air hoses from the outside. Check the roof too! All these hoses, and wires for antennas are a way to get in.
Then go the cabin, and with the help of a mirror, try to find if there is any mean to get in from the engine. You can as well use a thin but powerful torch, but you need to be 2!
Lift the bonnet and explore all the area, checking the smallest ways leading to the cabin while one of you is inside and try to see the light.
Do it the other way round too!
Once you have checked all the ways IN, from the outside, let’s get on board!
Remove all sorts of food which are not in proper tins or glass jars .
All soft papers like tissues, kitchen rolls, toilet rolls, cotton, must be taken away too.
If you going to leave your motorhome for winterising then take away the dinette seats and if you have a mattress you‘d better have it out of the way too! …. But this is up to you and as well to your physical capacities.
Leave a toilet roll in good sight (with flour around it) to see if anything happens to it!!!!!
If you think you are going to forget what you have removed from your van then just buy a big strong plastic box and store all your motorhome stuff in it. This way, you can’t miss what you have removed!
Now Protect Your Motorhome!
First of all whatever you are going to do, do it with gloves on and have a few pairs at your disposal. Make sure you have no perfume on and do it all the same day and everywhere in the motorhome.
You must have: Fresh mint (a lot) + sage + eucalyptus (you can always pick up some in Portugal, plenty of it, and bring it back to the UK before storage…. Or buy a few Fray Bentos pies without kidney…please!, and use it to buy some eucalyptus leaves to JJ …. It’s up to you!) + Oleander. Oh and camphor too!! You can also buy all these plants oil extracts . they are very good.
Find or buy women tights (if they are old ones, wash them first in some washing liquid smelling lavender)
You will make a lot of bags with the tights, and put in all the ingredients I gave you the list of, except the oleander which is too big. This one will just be put in branches wherever you can find some room. Under the bonnet, all around the engine for example. In fact where you find some room for those branches.
Home made repulsive to be sprayed, so you’ll have to buy a bottle with a spray on. No second hand one!
You need: a coffee spoon of Cayenne pepper; a coffee spoon of Tabasco; half a coffee spoon of washing up liquid , all mixed up in 2 cups of water (I would think it’s about 2 mugs) . Spray it on wheels and all around the motorhome! Under the bonnet where they can reach the wheels arches… one of their favourite places as it is full of nooks and crannies!
I have used on the wires a defensive spray made of pepper and cayenne pepper. It’s a bit hurting; you must have a protection on nose and be careful not to use it when it’s windy. It does stop them from chewing , but not for long so you have to do it many times and it is quite expensive! The good side is that there is no bad effect on wires.
You will also buy pepper and hot pepper both in powder, mix them together, and put this everywhere you can’t really go with anything else and where the rodents could go. Behind the fridge, behind the boiler where it’s warm, around the fresh water tank, to name but a few places.
They hate essence of turpentine too. So you can spread some around your motorhome. Of course be sensible with this sort of stuff…. We don’t want to set fire or do anything silly, so be safe!
Make sure the area hasn’t got dirty dustbins/rubbish containers, which could be spotted by the rodents. If living in town, don’t park your motorhome next to a manhole. I don’t know in England but in France the rain waters go in along the kerbs, and so if it’s a way in , it’s a way out just the same.
If you live next to a field, or in the country side, then keep the area tidy, grass cut short, and look for holes in the ground, especially if you live next to a river.
Second point: You have found out you actually have a visitors(s)
You will have to know which one. It can be just a dormouse… not dangerous as far as your health is concerned, still can damage a lot. All rodents need to keep their teeth short so they need to chew all the time. We have 2 here but Google doesn’t seem to make the difference so here are pictures of a dormouse (Loir) and what we call a Lérot (Google calls it a dormouse too, but it’s different). It has a black fur on the eyes making it look like a bandit!
Knowing what they look like helps you when you will look at the prints left in flour. When the tail is naked, the print is very clear, when there is fur on it , then you should see a brush print more like.
http://deratisation.info/rongeurs.htm
Then you might have mice. Mice go everywhere… high and low , mattress as well as lounge seats , high cupboards, curtains… If you are really invaded then best is to kill them: poison and glue and killing traps are best. I have little cages to trap them and release them FAR AWAY!!!!! But only use them if one or 2 or 3 around. More …… KILL! They reproduce far too quickly!
They are a bit easier to get rid off as they are not as clever as rats … mind you, you might have an Einstein mouse among them ….. It will take a little time as poison is meant to take some time to kill , so that they don’t get suspicious about this food! They must call their mates and let them eat all the poison. If you want to use glue and killing traps, get ready to get rid off them straight away so that the dead bodies don’t alarm the whole colony! ALWAYS use gloves and bags you can shut properly. Mice have very little drops . It is very easy to recognise them!
NOW …. RATS !
There are 3 different types of rats:
The ones that live in sewers called sewer rats or Norway rats .
These ones need water next to their home, they are not good climbers and stay in the lower places. Basements, cellars, seed sheds etc…. AND motorhomes double floors and hoses!
10% of their food are proteins. Why is it important to know this? Because when you will try to find out which sort of rodents you got in your van, you will have to look for clues around.
Empty nails shells, butterflies wings, lizards bits are the best clues along with the size and shape of the droppings to point out the Norway rat.
Also , they will urinate and defecate on their way to the place they found in your van to spend the winter. They will do the same on the food they didn’t eat. It is their mean to say to other colony …this place is ours , don’t come! This rat’s area extends to about 100 m2. Then it might be another colony’s area.
They usually mark their place by rubbing their body against the furniture lower corners, in order to leave a special grease. Look for these marks, they will be another clue for you to be sure what is in your place!
Then you have the black rats also called the Roof rats and so as the name says it, these ones love attics and high places. They are good climbers, and don’t really fancy water. You should not be bothered by these ones. But ….you never know! For more info just look on the internet for habits and shape of droppings.
And last ones are the Voles.
They live under the ground most of the time, they destroy cultures, and live on berries mostly, roots etc…
They could be a huge problem because they don’t really fancy the smell and taste of poison, they prefer to feed themselves outside and come back for the night where they found a good warmish place. And because of this they are very difficult to get rid off. Glue and repellents seem to be best way to get rid of them.
In any case, you have to know that they need to get warm for the winter in a secure and peaceful place! Make a lot of noise! If you have a sound system making the walls vibrate, put it on! No rat mummy will have babies in such a noisy place! And of course don’t put the heater on.
Now the point is, how do you know which ones you’ve got IN?
I gave you already a few clues but you have to start with paws prints.
Whatever you will do from now on, put gloves on !
Use flour along all the walls and corners, and along the frontier between cabin and habitation. You must find out where they get in. If it’s from the engine…. Well, I’m afraid you’ll have a long fight. It is sooooooo difficult to shut all the ways in. Cables need space and rodents don’t need much to get in.
Then, once you see prints, you will know what is your problem.
Except for 2 of them : The Loir (dormouse) and the Norway rat have similar prints BUT opposite side. So the rat has small prints (5) in front and larger/longer ones behind (4), while the Loir has the bigger ones in front and the smallest are the rear ones.
So you must find out which way they are walking to know which is which!
Quite a difficult job. But the Loir should be on his own while rats will leave so many prints you won’t need to work this out! Many prints ; Rats, only a few SHOULD be a Loir!
Once you know , Fight time !!!
Put all the means of getting rid of them at the same time. Don’t try them one after the other . This is what I have done, I used things one after the other, and unfortunately once the rat knows he has a predator, then “he” will fight you back in a very clever way. It is endless, I’m telling you!!!
So you must surprise them and surround them. So glue all along the walls (they never walk in the middle !) all the walls!!, in between , put poison to attract them, or nutella or peanut butter , the point being to get them glued. Careful they will whine a lot, and might even cut their leg to run away. You should be ready to give the killing knock. Killing traps along the habitation access from the engine. Poison in the engine. Chlore every place you found poos and pees or steam them if you can’t clean them or put mint or pepper.
Always leave the way to the traps and glued cardboards/plastic free of any repellent. You have to make them avoid the places like wires but not the ones that lead to traps and poison. You have to make their way to where you want them to go. Don’t forget USE gloves and change them regularly.
And then , check everyday, what’s going on.
I really wish that none of you will ever have to face this.
Not pleasant at all, but I guess it doesn’t happen that often. Most of the time, it gets cleared quickly.
Another point you should know: Renault has now wires protections made with potatoe and corn base, being very attractive for mice!
I have been very lucky that they didn’t destroy everything. Max got back from mechanic with nothing (errrr…. We’ll see this in a few days!) chewed … to be SEEN !
And came back yesterday from habitation check. Truman and boiler and hoses put back in and checked . Fridge checked with gas and electricity and UP TO NOW nothing to be declared damaged.
Now….. I was supposed to go away yesterday , and power steering power oil just fell on the ground! I don’t know if it’s a rat jobby. And to make it complete Max didn’t want to start. Probably battery … Will know more in a few days I guess.
Very depressing to see my motorhome going away on a trailer… it seems to never end.
Now let’s cross once more my fingers and hope I won’t have to change the whole power steering system, costing me another arm.
Here is Max going away … again! BooHoo!
I do hope this will help lots of you to prevent the problem. I have read lots about the problem on internet. I think I made the best possible summary of all the info I have collected, but of course feel free to add anything that should be good for funsters to know!
Amicalement à tous!
Frankie
Right, I think a few of you are aware I had a huge problem recently, both in house and motorhome.
During more than one month I have tried all the possible things I could find on the net to fight them.
Mine were rats, but some of the tips I will give you here work for quite a few different rodents, mainly mice and rats. I know some of you will have a smile on their face …. Fighting mice and rats … soooooo easy LOL ! Just pock them! Well …up to you! Obviously you know nothing about it! I have had a real bad time and so, have decided to take some time for those who want to be ready … just in case.
There are 2 different stages:
1) You are going to store your motorhome for winter or for a rather long period for whatever reason, and you don’t want any visitor while you are away!
2) You already found out you actually have a visitor(s) and you want to have it out as quick as possible.
By all means, the second point is much more difficult to face than the first one.
Let’s start with the first one then!
First of all , have a good check under your vehicle to see if you have any holes allowing any intruder to get in. 1 cm is enough for a mouse, 2 cms for a rat (adult). You might have holes under your truma heater for security. The easiest way is to nail a piece of plywood board on. Of course you won’t forget to remove it when about to use your van again.
Try to see if there is any way on the sides of the van to get to the double floor (check if you do have a double floor by measuring or asking your dealer). Make sure there is no way to get to your fridge or your air hoses from the outside. Check the roof too! All these hoses, and wires for antennas are a way to get in.
Then go the cabin, and with the help of a mirror, try to find if there is any mean to get in from the engine. You can as well use a thin but powerful torch, but you need to be 2!
Lift the bonnet and explore all the area, checking the smallest ways leading to the cabin while one of you is inside and try to see the light.
Do it the other way round too!
Once you have checked all the ways IN, from the outside, let’s get on board!
Remove all sorts of food which are not in proper tins or glass jars .
All soft papers like tissues, kitchen rolls, toilet rolls, cotton, must be taken away too.
If you going to leave your motorhome for winterising then take away the dinette seats and if you have a mattress you‘d better have it out of the way too! …. But this is up to you and as well to your physical capacities.
Leave a toilet roll in good sight (with flour around it) to see if anything happens to it!!!!!
If you think you are going to forget what you have removed from your van then just buy a big strong plastic box and store all your motorhome stuff in it. This way, you can’t miss what you have removed!
Now Protect Your Motorhome!
First of all whatever you are going to do, do it with gloves on and have a few pairs at your disposal. Make sure you have no perfume on and do it all the same day and everywhere in the motorhome.
You must have: Fresh mint (a lot) + sage + eucalyptus (you can always pick up some in Portugal, plenty of it, and bring it back to the UK before storage…. Or buy a few Fray Bentos pies without kidney…please!, and use it to buy some eucalyptus leaves to JJ …. It’s up to you!) + Oleander. Oh and camphor too!! You can also buy all these plants oil extracts . they are very good.
Find or buy women tights (if they are old ones, wash them first in some washing liquid smelling lavender)
You will make a lot of bags with the tights, and put in all the ingredients I gave you the list of, except the oleander which is too big. This one will just be put in branches wherever you can find some room. Under the bonnet, all around the engine for example. In fact where you find some room for those branches.
Home made repulsive to be sprayed, so you’ll have to buy a bottle with a spray on. No second hand one!
You need: a coffee spoon of Cayenne pepper; a coffee spoon of Tabasco; half a coffee spoon of washing up liquid , all mixed up in 2 cups of water (I would think it’s about 2 mugs) . Spray it on wheels and all around the motorhome! Under the bonnet where they can reach the wheels arches… one of their favourite places as it is full of nooks and crannies!
I have used on the wires a defensive spray made of pepper and cayenne pepper. It’s a bit hurting; you must have a protection on nose and be careful not to use it when it’s windy. It does stop them from chewing , but not for long so you have to do it many times and it is quite expensive! The good side is that there is no bad effect on wires.
You will also buy pepper and hot pepper both in powder, mix them together, and put this everywhere you can’t really go with anything else and where the rodents could go. Behind the fridge, behind the boiler where it’s warm, around the fresh water tank, to name but a few places.
They hate essence of turpentine too. So you can spread some around your motorhome. Of course be sensible with this sort of stuff…. We don’t want to set fire or do anything silly, so be safe!
Make sure the area hasn’t got dirty dustbins/rubbish containers, which could be spotted by the rodents. If living in town, don’t park your motorhome next to a manhole. I don’t know in England but in France the rain waters go in along the kerbs, and so if it’s a way in , it’s a way out just the same.
If you live next to a field, or in the country side, then keep the area tidy, grass cut short, and look for holes in the ground, especially if you live next to a river.
Second point: You have found out you actually have a visitors(s)
You will have to know which one. It can be just a dormouse… not dangerous as far as your health is concerned, still can damage a lot. All rodents need to keep their teeth short so they need to chew all the time. We have 2 here but Google doesn’t seem to make the difference so here are pictures of a dormouse (Loir) and what we call a Lérot (Google calls it a dormouse too, but it’s different). It has a black fur on the eyes making it look like a bandit!
Knowing what they look like helps you when you will look at the prints left in flour. When the tail is naked, the print is very clear, when there is fur on it , then you should see a brush print more like.
http://deratisation.info/rongeurs.htm
Then you might have mice. Mice go everywhere… high and low , mattress as well as lounge seats , high cupboards, curtains… If you are really invaded then best is to kill them: poison and glue and killing traps are best. I have little cages to trap them and release them FAR AWAY!!!!! But only use them if one or 2 or 3 around. More …… KILL! They reproduce far too quickly!
They are a bit easier to get rid off as they are not as clever as rats … mind you, you might have an Einstein mouse among them ….. It will take a little time as poison is meant to take some time to kill , so that they don’t get suspicious about this food! They must call their mates and let them eat all the poison. If you want to use glue and killing traps, get ready to get rid off them straight away so that the dead bodies don’t alarm the whole colony! ALWAYS use gloves and bags you can shut properly. Mice have very little drops . It is very easy to recognise them!
NOW …. RATS !
There are 3 different types of rats:
The ones that live in sewers called sewer rats or Norway rats .
These ones need water next to their home, they are not good climbers and stay in the lower places. Basements, cellars, seed sheds etc…. AND motorhomes double floors and hoses!
10% of their food are proteins. Why is it important to know this? Because when you will try to find out which sort of rodents you got in your van, you will have to look for clues around.
Empty nails shells, butterflies wings, lizards bits are the best clues along with the size and shape of the droppings to point out the Norway rat.
Also , they will urinate and defecate on their way to the place they found in your van to spend the winter. They will do the same on the food they didn’t eat. It is their mean to say to other colony …this place is ours , don’t come! This rat’s area extends to about 100 m2. Then it might be another colony’s area.
They usually mark their place by rubbing their body against the furniture lower corners, in order to leave a special grease. Look for these marks, they will be another clue for you to be sure what is in your place!
Then you have the black rats also called the Roof rats and so as the name says it, these ones love attics and high places. They are good climbers, and don’t really fancy water. You should not be bothered by these ones. But ….you never know! For more info just look on the internet for habits and shape of droppings.
And last ones are the Voles.
They live under the ground most of the time, they destroy cultures, and live on berries mostly, roots etc…
They could be a huge problem because they don’t really fancy the smell and taste of poison, they prefer to feed themselves outside and come back for the night where they found a good warmish place. And because of this they are very difficult to get rid off. Glue and repellents seem to be best way to get rid of them.
In any case, you have to know that they need to get warm for the winter in a secure and peaceful place! Make a lot of noise! If you have a sound system making the walls vibrate, put it on! No rat mummy will have babies in such a noisy place! And of course don’t put the heater on.
Now the point is, how do you know which ones you’ve got IN?
I gave you already a few clues but you have to start with paws prints.
Whatever you will do from now on, put gloves on !
Use flour along all the walls and corners, and along the frontier between cabin and habitation. You must find out where they get in. If it’s from the engine…. Well, I’m afraid you’ll have a long fight. It is sooooooo difficult to shut all the ways in. Cables need space and rodents don’t need much to get in.
Then, once you see prints, you will know what is your problem.
Except for 2 of them : The Loir (dormouse) and the Norway rat have similar prints BUT opposite side. So the rat has small prints (5) in front and larger/longer ones behind (4), while the Loir has the bigger ones in front and the smallest are the rear ones.
So you must find out which way they are walking to know which is which!
Quite a difficult job. But the Loir should be on his own while rats will leave so many prints you won’t need to work this out! Many prints ; Rats, only a few SHOULD be a Loir!
Once you know , Fight time !!!
Put all the means of getting rid of them at the same time. Don’t try them one after the other . This is what I have done, I used things one after the other, and unfortunately once the rat knows he has a predator, then “he” will fight you back in a very clever way. It is endless, I’m telling you!!!
So you must surprise them and surround them. So glue all along the walls (they never walk in the middle !) all the walls!!, in between , put poison to attract them, or nutella or peanut butter , the point being to get them glued. Careful they will whine a lot, and might even cut their leg to run away. You should be ready to give the killing knock. Killing traps along the habitation access from the engine. Poison in the engine. Chlore every place you found poos and pees or steam them if you can’t clean them or put mint or pepper.
Always leave the way to the traps and glued cardboards/plastic free of any repellent. You have to make them avoid the places like wires but not the ones that lead to traps and poison. You have to make their way to where you want them to go. Don’t forget USE gloves and change them regularly.
And then , check everyday, what’s going on.
I really wish that none of you will ever have to face this.
Not pleasant at all, but I guess it doesn’t happen that often. Most of the time, it gets cleared quickly.
Another point you should know: Renault has now wires protections made with potatoe and corn base, being very attractive for mice!
I have been very lucky that they didn’t destroy everything. Max got back from mechanic with nothing (errrr…. We’ll see this in a few days!) chewed … to be SEEN !
And came back yesterday from habitation check. Truman and boiler and hoses put back in and checked . Fridge checked with gas and electricity and UP TO NOW nothing to be declared damaged.
Now….. I was supposed to go away yesterday , and power steering power oil just fell on the ground! I don’t know if it’s a rat jobby. And to make it complete Max didn’t want to start. Probably battery … Will know more in a few days I guess.
Very depressing to see my motorhome going away on a trailer… it seems to never end.
Now let’s cross once more my fingers and hope I won’t have to change the whole power steering system, costing me another arm.
Here is Max going away … again! BooHoo!
I do hope this will help lots of you to prevent the problem. I have read lots about the problem on internet. I think I made the best possible summary of all the info I have collected, but of course feel free to add anything that should be good for funsters to know!
Amicalement à tous!
Frankie
Last edited:
the poo's had a little white bit on the end, and it turned out to be gecko's poo, and they had been in and eaten the ants from the ants nest we had parked on. 
