I lifted my queen sized bed & there looks to be good access to the engine, but I look down & see the grass underneath. How do I keep the bugs & critters out? I didn't buy this vehicle to provide a home for them!!

A couple of frabric softner sheets every couple of months will keep out the rodents but i don't know what will work for bugs...mabye something like roach motels?

Having provided accommodations for a tribe of mice in a trailer for one winter, I would fasten hardware cloth to block entrance or line the interior of the bed with it to prevent chewing through the wood. Staple gun.

Boy, can they wreck things!

Thank God it wasn't a civet cat. Happened to a neighbor. Got in there and strangled itself on fishline.

As for bugs, I had a spider infestation one winter (same trailer, different winter, I think). Had to do a Douglas Fairbanks jr swash and buckle with a stick just to get in through the webs. Used a Shell No Pest strip after that. Worked really well.

It is a good idea to set off a flea bomb and let it sit for a day after winter storage. Black widows and brown recluses are no fun.

Mice....Never had in home, but shop yes, and I have learned a couple things. Never put out a full tray or box of d-con. What happens is that mice will carry off and hide the contents of a box or tray. They can do such in a day or two. You won't find it for some time, and it often will spoil from air moisture. I have found a teaspoon or two at the most, in fact make alittle patten that will show you that they have been there. I am a firm believer that one should set a couple traps too, and I would put the trap on top of something that is water proof. Sometimes the mouse caught does not die at once, and can flop around a bit and blood can stain your flooring. I have even tied the trap or glued it to a bigger board so as to prevent it from being dragged off. Mice can crawl thru a very small opening so look around. They don't like open areas to nest so leave drawers open and even the glove box. Check often, and the fact that you check often also lets them know they don't own the place. They love paper, so remove from Barth if possible. They are great at detecting that you have not been around for awhile. As I understand d-con they eat it and then go for a drink, and the drink starts the dying process, so alittle water outside the Barth might not be a bad idea. Check often. Dale

I don't like those D-con pellets. Sure it kills the mice, but where do they die? I found one behind my refridgerator that was rotting. The problem is you can't get to where they die. I like traps because you catch them, you dispose them.

I agree but, most of the time they die outside as that is where they find the water. Some people can't bear handling traps, so d-con is a choice.

That fabric softerner is a new one on me!! I will certainly try it! Boric acid did it for me on the boat as far as insects. Ants can be a problem.

We have had good results with the little green bars from home depot. Sorry, can't remember the name. The rats die near water, as previously mentioned.

But the best approach is to keep them out in the first place. Look underneath for any possible opening. A mouse can get through any hole that its head will fit. Cover large gaps with hardware cloth. Plug small gaps with coarse stainless steel scrubbing pads. Do not use steel wool, as they can chew right through it and digest it.

Boric acid works great on roaches,silverfish, etc. For some types of ants some stuff called terro will work...all it is is boric acid dissolved in sugar water with red food coloring. I have used the fabric sheets in cars in storage and household goods in storeage units with great sucess ever since someone told me about them years ago after i found mice in an old truck that i had stored for a while. They don't like the smell, just replace them every now and then.

I hate to say it and even more hate to think about it but in 2000 our house was inundated with mice. Not like two mice, but like 20 plus. We freaked needless to say. I opened the kitchen cupboard and one popped out at me. I though I was back in Korea where we had rats the size of cats.

We called Orkin. Is Orkin national or is that just in Minnesota? Well first of all they admonished me for my new hobby of feeding the birds in the winter and having a 50 lb sack of seed in the garage.

Orkin was good, they first looked in every corner of the house and where a pipe went from the outside to the inside and stuffed steel wool in all of the little corners. They told me that little mice noses and steel wool are not compatible. They used the green stuff from Home Depot Bill talks about. After we got rid of the seeds, plugged up the holes, all we had to do was sweep up dried up dead mice in the garage for about 6 months. That was three years ago and haven't had one since. I don't feed the birds anymore. But I still throw a few of those green things around by the basement drain, there is always a little water there.

In the motorhome, I have tried to plug all of the suspect places. The previous owner did a good job by the generator with window screen and sheet metal screws. He had put some of that expanding spray foam where the power cord comes in but it had deteriorated so I cleaned it out and put in some steel wool. Boy that was a double dose of Ibuprofen job, I have short arms. And then I always throw some of those green things under the coach before it snows.

And by the way, no one has to worry about dropping by we don't have a trash house, the mice just love bird feed that much and you are supposed to put your bird feeders 50 feet or more from the house and of course I like to watch the birdies from the picture window. The thing that bothered me the most, (well not near as much as the mice) was the deer which are like rodents around here when they would eat all of the seed and crap all over my sidewalk. This wild life, can't live with them, can't kill them. At least, not im my neighborhood.

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Ships are safe in the harbor.....But that's not what ships are for

1985 28 foot Regal
Dave and Deb Bowers

[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited October 31, 2003).]