It took a while but sifting thru all his videos I did find one where he finds that an Evictor strobe light actually does work to keep rodents away.
It works on AC and is meant more for use in an attic or shed,etc. and is $150.
Mice!!!!!! - By the time you notice, you have an infestation!
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It works on AC and is meant more for use in an attic or shed,etc. and is $150.
Nocturnal doesn't mean they are never active during the day. It means they are mostly active at night when they aren't as easily seen by predators. When I had mice in my van a few years ago, they made no sound or were invisible during the day or at night with the lights on. Shortly after the lights went off and I was in bed, you could then hear them nibbling on something.
Was the hood of your car closed when the rat was building the nest? That's probably close enough to 'night time' for a pregnant female in a hurry. Some people claim that leaving the hood open is the best way to keep them out of the engine bay.
There is disagreement online whether strobe lights work or not but some testers on YT have found them to be effective. I've been using one for 3 years now and haven't had any chewed wires. That doesn't prove for sure that it works but since it does no harm, I'll continue to use it.
I would agree that light strings placed on the ground probably wouldn't be that effective because the mice would get used to the steady light. However,there are folks on RV forums that swear by them and haven't had rodent problems in years...YMMV
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GotSmart
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3 cats, no problems. (Right).
The cats bring in lizards, birds, mice, and kittens.
I personally don’t understand why anyone would have a strobe light running all night when people are trying to sleep. Disco for the night critters and unhappy neighbors. Don’t try the peanut butter traps in bear country.
What I found that works great, is to smear bacon grease under the trigger on the mousetrap. 5 in one night. I didn’t even have to replace the bait.
The cats bring in lizards, birds, mice, and kittens.
I personally don’t understand why anyone would have a strobe light running all night when people are trying to sleep. Disco for the night critters and unhappy neighbors. Don’t try the peanut butter traps in bear country.
What I found that works great, is to smear bacon grease under the trigger on the mousetrap. 5 in one night. I didn’t even have to replace the bait.
Perridox
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Yikes! We are brand new to van life and one of my biggest worries is exactly this-- mice! I'm not squeamish about much, but mice in a confined space with me? Ugh!
We have a spray bottle of peppermint oil that we spray on the tires before going to bed (Truthfully, have only done this in spots that seem well used or have obvious mouse holes around the camp) We do almost all of our cooking outside the van and try to keep all our food sealed up in plastic bins. I am HOPING that works.
Maybe we will try the strobe lights in the engine compartment too!
We have a spray bottle of peppermint oil that we spray on the tires before going to bed (Truthfully, have only done this in spots that seem well used or have obvious mouse holes around the camp) We do almost all of our cooking outside the van and try to keep all our food sealed up in plastic bins. I am HOPING that works.
Maybe we will try the strobe lights in the engine compartment too!
Well, back when my wife and I lived in a schoolie on the Colorado planes just northeast of Boulder, there was ONE mouse. We never could catch him and he did no harm, so we finally gave up.
He didn't have to hunt for a nest come the cold of winter; he used ours! Our bed was warm from our bodies -- the only warm spot -- so many nights, I slept curled against my wife, who slept curled against our dog, who slept curled against our cat, who slept curled against the mouse. It may sound strange, but everyone got along just fine, all five of us cozy warm under the same goose-down-filled comforter each of those cold nights.
He didn't have to hunt for a nest come the cold of winter; he used ours! Our bed was warm from our bodies -- the only warm spot -- so many nights, I slept curled against my wife, who slept curled against our dog, who slept curled against our cat, who slept curled against the mouse. It may sound strange, but everyone got along just fine, all five of us cozy warm under the same goose-down-filled comforter each of those cold nights.
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The curled up family group under a feather blanket on cold nights including the mouse who chose to live with them in a schoolie sounds like a perfect inspiration for a children's bedtime, picture, storybook. Perhaps a slight spin wth the addition of a child to the group, include some travel adventures and you have a very charming tale!
I deleted a series of posts due to bickering.
Spaceman Spiff
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My rule is to not use attractants to catch pests. They usually attract more than you catch (the second mouse gets the cheese).
My best solution is to have a good mouser: cat, dog . . . Previous beagle was excellent, current one is ok. As mentioned, I do use drier sheets in drawers and cabinets. And I use mothballs under the hood. Do they work? I haven't had a mouse problem. I have had a problem with ground squirrels crawling around up under my truck; drives da beagle nuts.
If you do get a mouse in your van, move. Doesn't have to be far, but mice will follow the scent trail of other mice so you soon will have company.
I would be worried about using peppermint or other food scents in bear country.
Strobe lights would bother me and other nearby campers.
Ultrasonic repellants would drive mine and other nearby dog nuts.
One can find opinions on the internet of people who swear by a solution and those who claim it doesn't work; very hard to prove a negative. I use drier sheets; equally effective for mice, heffalumps, and woozles in my experience ;-)
My best solution is to have a good mouser: cat, dog . . . Previous beagle was excellent, current one is ok. As mentioned, I do use drier sheets in drawers and cabinets. And I use mothballs under the hood. Do they work? I haven't had a mouse problem. I have had a problem with ground squirrels crawling around up under my truck; drives da beagle nuts.
If you do get a mouse in your van, move. Doesn't have to be far, but mice will follow the scent trail of other mice so you soon will have company.
My strobe is pointed mostly toward the engine and the hood is closed so there is only a faint light that shines on the ground. I'm usually boondocking quite a ways from other campers and I've never had complaints. In fact, I've asked some of the other campers who were closer if the light bothered them at all and they've said no. If someone did say it was a bother, I would turn it off but maybe give a fresh shot of Tomcat spray to the wires.
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Hello and welcome to the forum. I have a much older Ford van but your dash vents are probably similar. Remember to keep those vents closed all the way when camped! I'm not positive that they've gotten in that way in the past but I believe they can can make their way from the cowl air intake to the HVAC ducting. So keeping the vents closed should keep them out of the interior.
That's a really good thought! I hope someone takes you up on it.
I'm gonna try this!
Perridox
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Time to fix that broken right vent so that it closes....
Debrajoy54
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One year I opened my glove compartment for a tissue, when I looked in, all my tissues were torn apart and all fluffy! I cleaned it all out and put in a new container of tissues. The same thing happened! Then my dad told me where they were coming in!
Right where all those wires come inside!Maybe I can get the cook in a cafe to put a small spoonful into a to go container if I order a breakfast? I do not cook bacon in my little travel trailer, not even close to being worth the extra clean up time.
But this morning while sitting outside I heard a metallic knocking noise coming out of my engine compartment. Sure enough it was a rat trying to build a nest. There is now a full regiment of armed traps ready to capture the enemy. But no bacon grease, had to make do with a variety of other temptations ranging from peanut butter to bits of meatballs and such in baited snap traps. Plus some rat sized sticky traps on surfaces it was crawling over or putting nesting materials on. Plus spring traps on the ground by the tires. If I do not get it tonight I will get bacon grease tomorrow. Of course I will also move to a new NFS Dispersed area on Labor Day afternoon when the locals go back to work and school. Way too many rodent issues in this location. All my friends camped nearby are also getting them. September is the rats prime time mating and litter bearing season as their is an abundance of seeds and nuts to eat.
But this morning while sitting outside I heard a metallic knocking noise coming out of my engine compartment. Sure enough it was a rat trying to build a nest. There is now a full regiment of armed traps ready to capture the enemy. But no bacon grease, had to make do with a variety of other temptations ranging from peanut butter to bits of meatballs and such in baited snap traps. Plus some rat sized sticky traps on surfaces it was crawling over or putting nesting materials on. Plus spring traps on the ground by the tires. If I do not get it tonight I will get bacon grease tomorrow. Of course I will also move to a new NFS Dispersed area on Labor Day afternoon when the locals go back to work and school. Way too many rodent issues in this location. All my friends camped nearby are also getting them. September is the rats prime time mating and litter bearing season as their is an abundance of seeds and nuts to eat.
I’m not sure the bacon grease is the brilliance of the success as much as the putting the bait under the paddle. I hope not, because here I’d have to now wonder what flavor. Haha. But putting bait where the rodent has to work to get at it is a great idea.
I just checked on my aresenal of traps. I am laughing about the result. All I caught was 2 mouse droppings on top of a glue trap. Guess that version of glue trap will not be getting a rave review from me if it can't even grab mouse foot.
I do have to go to town today, so as an experiment I will buy a couple of slices of bacon at the meat counter and try bacon grease bait in the spring traps tonight. Bacon and fried egg sandwich for my dinner tonight! I will save the extra grease in a little jar in my fridge, no doubt there will be more need of it at this camp site.
I do have to go to town today, so as an experiment I will buy a couple of slices of bacon at the meat counter and try bacon grease bait in the spring traps tonight. Bacon and fried egg sandwich for my dinner tonight! I will save the extra grease in a little jar in my fridge, no doubt there will be more need of it at this camp site.
StacyK
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My experience is that rodents are only repelled by the usual tricks if they are not particularly interested in the first place. If they are interested, they will just endure the discomfort until they get whatever they’re after. This summer near Cotopaxi, CO, I had chipmunks determinedly remove every peppermint oil soaked cotton ball from my engine compartment and haul them away. After that, they left my van alone. :
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:Chipmunks are rodents so create much the same issues as mice and rats. But they are even better at climbing and jumping. Cotton balls make great nesting material for rodents so not a great choice to put in the engine compartment.
