Mice!

[Dingfelder]

So heavy too.

 

[Jacksonricher]

Next time your around a cat person, ask to borrow their cat for the night and let it scent up your truck. The mice may smell it and leave real fast .
Good luck.

 

[QinReno]

I see they also sell undiluted predator urine, can possibly be used to "mark" the area around the RV.
http://thepeemart.com/

 

[seak]

If you want to figure out where they are coming in, you might consider purchasing a cheap, handheld battery operated black light. The little buggers leave urine trails everywhere the go. The trails glow under UV light in an otherwise darkened area. This method is used by health inspectors in restaurants and food processing facilities. The glowing trails should lead you to their entrances.

 

[Putts]

Schipperke!  Wiki link

Youtube of Schipperke hunting for a mouse in snow: 

I have one. If he sees a squirrel or mouse, that's the last I see of it for the duration. He hasn't caught one (to my knowledge) because the little nature critters just don't stay around!

No mouse problems here.

 

[Moxadox]

There are also breeds called Rat Terriers, which I assume is an apropo name. My father had one of these, and it was the best little fun dog. His name was Jake, not Jack.

Oh, I love Rat Terriers! They are great little dogs. I used to train my stallion at a barn where an RT lived. He had an attitude and a half! He hung out under the steps of the trailer where the family lived and guarded them like a dragon. Ten pounds of holy hellfire! They had an indoor arena, and he would sack out right in the track where we'd be galloping our horses. They went right over him. He knew they wouldn't step on him. He just kept right on sleeping. There was never a rodent on that property.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Moxadox]

BTW, according to a Tucson area packrat exterminator, the biggest reason we have this problem is that our wire insulation is made from soy= food. There is nothing we can do about this. That is why they eat the wires, because they are literally coated in food. He recommends setting traps OUTSIDE, not inside, because you want the critters to be attracted by something that is not your rig. He uses live traps (like Hav-a-Hart) and then takes the lil buggers out into the desert and releases them far from human habitation.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[QinReno]

+1 for MX. That's the most interesting thing I've heard yet. Sheesh.
http://www.thedrive.com/news/20878/rodents-are-feasting-on-newer-cars-soy-based-wiring-insulation
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michae...-coated-wires-give-rodents-plenty-to-chew-on/
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/15/theyre-putting-soy-in-your-wires-man/

I'm definitely buying a bucket and a supply of walk-the-planks little ratty to put out when in the desert and forests. No damn catch and release for this little puppy. Ratlike buggers have been around for almost 200-million years and survived in parallel with dinosaurs for 100-million years, so I don't think a few are gonna be missed.

 

[Moxadox]

Be sure to post pictures....I'm envisioning tiny Jolly Roger flags......

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Dingfelder]

I'm definitely buying a bucket and a supply of walk-the-planks little ratty to put out when in the desert and forests. No damn catch and release for this little puppy. Ratlike buggers have been around for almost 200-million years and survived in parallel with dinosaurs for 100-million years, so I don't think a few are gonna be missed.

I couldn't agree more.  The worst are people who catch rats and then release them over by somebody else's house.  No punishment would be too severe.  At least if I can watch.

Seriously though, rats are so incredibly destructive in so many ways, are so durable and carry so many diseases, and multiply so quickly, that even though I used to have a pet rat myself and like them as individuals, I have no desire to have any live pretty much anywhere that isn't completely isolated and where they aren't already part of the natural ecosystem.  We just do NOT need to save the rats.  Indeed they have been massively destructive everywhere we have introduced them and remain a threat to man and animal alike.

 

[QinReno]

Be sure to post pictures....I'm envisioning tiny Jolly Roger flags......

I watched a few more youtubes of them sliding down the plank. You have to have water or else they'll jump right out. The one guy caught 4 rats and 4 mice in one night. They also sell capsaicin tape, but I think the spray mentioned earlier might be better, as you can spray it all over. The 2nd link has some good info.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/how-to-protect-your-car-from-rodents/
https://www.howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com/

1. apparently the little blighters pee all over everything all the time to mark territory, great. The various chemicals like peppermint and capsaicin apparently overwhelms the pee smell so their trails aren't so clear, besides irritating the sinuses.

2. it says rats and mice can have another litter of 6 or 8 babes about every 3-weeks; no wonder they survived the dinosaurs. 

3. apparently they like to run up the tread on tires, so that's a good place to put the traps; when I was in Oregon I found a little pile of twigs on top of one of my front tires in the morning, now I know why the twigs were there; distribution point in between ground and engine.

I had left the hood up like people say, but the packrat still came. I heard it in the night and turned the engine on, which automatically turns on the headlights. Then I could see it on top the engine and shined a bright light at it, but it didn't seem to care about light or engine running. Eventually disappeared down below, but was in no hurry to leave. Next time, it's peanut butter and drowning pool.

 

[QinReno]

Indeed they have been massively destructive everywhere we have introduced them and remain a threat to man and animal alike.

Plagues and all. Black Death. The one place I would NEVER stay is in the canvas tent city down in Yosemite. The tents are erected on wooden platforms and there are mice infestations underneath. Hantavirus. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Curry_Village_Yosemite.jpg

And now the auto companies are using rat-food wire insulation, that's about the last straw. I thought my packrat was kind of a 1-off thing, but having a late-model van and after reading about the soy wire insulation, I think it's best now to take precautions every time I go out on a trip.

 

[crofter]

This first link is easy to make cheaply, you don't have to buy the spinning cylinder.

This method is lethal.  We used a wire through an empty juice can for the cylinder, and put peanut butter on the can.  The water needs to be deep enough or they will jump back out. In winter use RV antifreeze instead of water.     ~crofter

 

[USExplorer]

Bam! Problem solved.

 

[AMGS3]

Nice. Was he half bald from the glue trap incident or is this a whole new mouse?

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[lenny flank]

Get a Corn Snake. They make great pets, and they'll take care of your mouse problem.

 

[bullfrog]

Then my wife wou;ld say "What are you going to do about the snake problem?"

 

[AMGS3]

For that matter you could just use the whole food chain to naturally rid your home of rodents. But then that'll lead to a whole other set of questions-

What are we going to do about this eagle/hawk/mongoose problem??

~angie

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[AMGS3]

In case anyone was considering buying this 'as seen on TV' mouse repellant spray, the mousetrap Monday YouTube guy has a new video review of 'Rodent Sheriff Mouse Repellant'.

Spoiler - it's not effective.



~angie

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[QinReno]

Very good, back to the Plank.