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RayZen's avatar
RayZen
Explorer
Jul 20, 2015

Keeping Out Rats and Mice

Recently, I read one suggestion about how to keep mice & rats from entering an RV; it consisted of placing metal ducting around each tire. The idea is that the ducting is too slick for them to climb and too high for them to jump onto. Being placed around each tire, it prevents them from climbing up the tire treads, then into the RV via whatever entrance they can find.

However, the person who posted this excellent-sounding idea didn't really give any details about just what kind of ducting he was talking about, other than saying that he got it at Lowe's.

Does anyone on this forum have any experience with this method? If so, I would appreciate hearing from you as to just what kind of ducting is being used, here, and exactly how it is done.

Any help would be much appreciated.
  • Wow, glad I only have mice to worry about, not rats!!! I would concentrate my efforts on plugging the holes the vermin are getting into your RV before worrying about them climbing the tires
  • I would in a heart beat burn my trailer to the ground if rats ever got into it. Grew up with those disgusting vermin on the farm.
    I would think that he probably used sheet ducting and formed it around the tires. It would have to be notched to fit around the axles and be fairly high as rats can jump.
  • When I discovered I had mice, I crawled around under the RV with a can of spray foam and sealed every hole I could find. Then I sealed the hole where the power cord enters the RV with a piece of sheet metal cut to fit.

    I haven't had any mice since, about 3 years.
  • Spray foam. There are often large gaps around the drain pipes and vents. It will keep the spiders and other stuff out too. I had large gaps around drain pull rods, sliding electric conduit to the slide. I greased the rod surface and foamed around them and the foam doesn't stick. It allows the rods and tubes to slide in the foam after it dries.

    Check for gaps underneath and in the basement and closets and cupboards. Vent pipes will run from the tanks up and often have large gaps. After looking at mine the first time it wasn't a matter of mice, squirrels could easily have gotten in.
  • Our solution has been simple. Barn-cats. We have a nesting box right in the RV port for them to sleep in.
    In 20 years we have never had mice, let alone rats, in any of our RVs
  • musicman54 wrote:
    we use our rv a lot it dont give them a chance to move in


    Good luck with that, some friends had mice move in on an overnight stop.
  • n7bsn wrote:
    musicman54 wrote:
    we use our rv a lot it dont give them a chance to move in


    Good luck with that, some friends had mice move in on an overnight stop.


    Same thing here. Several times. The one thing I did to stop the invasion was I cut off the "pull out" power cord, installed a twist/lock connector on the side of my TC and sealed the door that the cord was pulled out of. That stopped the critters from crawling up the cord and through the "mouse hole".
  • What??? No dryer sheets, peppermint oil or electronic pest control devices? Next you'll try to convince people to quit using deer whistles...

    B.O.
  • Same thing here. Several times. The one thing I did to stop the invasion was I cut off the "pull out" power cord, installed a twist/lock connector on the side of my TC and sealed the door that the cord was pulled out of. That stopped the critters from crawling up the cord and through the "mouse hole".


    Ditto. My full write up with photos: http://www.restcure.ca/mods_marinco.html

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