OREGON '23...............Postcards from the Road

[user 22017]

I have used the sticky traps. After a mouse is caught I go get my hammer, quickly kill it and throw it in the outside trash. I have only used in a house so far.

A hammer? Jeebus. It must splatter.

My former sister-in-law used a sticky trap and when I arrived at her house she said she had a pot of water boiling on the stove.

I asked, "For what?"

Yup. The mouse

Crazy. I told her to toss it in the trash can outside, since it was below freezing. Seemed more humane that the trash can inside... or boiling water.

 

[bullfrog !]

There again out west many serious diseases are carried by fleas living on the mouse as soon as the mouses heart stops the fleas start moving looking for another warm body. We usually have a 5 gallon bucket about half full of bleach water and use live traps and submerge the trap, mouse and fleas all at once by dropping it in while wearing rubber gloves. You will see the fleas floating around the sides so we simply put the lid back on for a few hours before emptying the trap. I have turned a gallon freezer bag inside out and inserted a dead mouse caught in a spring trap to clear the trap without putting human sent on it, then simply wear rubber gloves to reset the trap after dropping the dead mouse in the freezer bag and sealing it.

 

[abnorm]

Thanx.........no victims yet...............

 

[user 22017]

There again out west many serious diseases are carried by fleas living on the mouse ...

What diseases? I am having a heck of a time getting rid of fleas on my 20 pound shih tzu/poodle mix. In 5 years she never had fleas, but I took in a stray tomcat and now she has them. I've given her several flea baths and last week wasted $80 on Frontline for her and the cat. It did nothing.

I'll take her to the vet next.

Really strange that I can't get rid of them. I grew up with a St. Bernard, a German Shepherd and cats. They had fleas fairly often. I doused them with flea power. Rubbed it all over them with my bare hands. No idea what was in that stuff back in the 70's. It worked, but it was probably bad for the animals and for me.

I had a pit bull that got fleas and I got a pill from a vet. It worked immediately. I'll ask for that on Monday. So what diseases? Guess I got lucky, because I've been around a lot of fleas. Then again, they don't seem to like me.

 

[bullfrog !]

Bubonic plague is the main concern where I am but there are several others. The National Park Service a few years ago had to close certain types of housing because of it. It has been around for years on the reservations, when we moved there to teach years ago we had to leave our pets behind as there were a few deaths there every year. Sad national news only picked up the story when it started affecting people outside the reservation. It has now spread pretty much throughout the west, but I believe less than 20 deaths a year.

 

[maki2]

The mice in the Southwest are associated with an often fatal disease known as Hanta Virus but it is not fleas who are the carriers, the transmission is via their feces particles that get get inhaled when disturbing the dust on floors, in cabinets or shelving that contains bits of the dried rodent feces . It is indeed on the reservations. It is also found elsewhere in places such as old vacant buildings and in sheds where mice live. That is likely the situation related to the closing of housing on the reservations mentioned in the posting above. It was from the Hanta Virus, not the bubonic plague. Hanta Virus is wide spread, the plague is not. Read the next paragraph for information where the plague is being found in the Southwest.

The bubonic plague is in a different rodent population in the Southwest. It has been found in some but not all of the Prairie Dog Village populations. That situation is under constant surveillance and testing and known populations have warning signs posted. But as a precaution just stay away from Prairie Dog Village areas instead of treating them like a tourist attraction.

As to sticky traps, while out camping I would find a sizeable rock to use instead of my hammer.

The plastic traps are easy to set and release. Snap traps are my preference as they generally kill the rodents and it is easy to empty and reuse them. Plus my fingers are not going to get caught when setting them. Of course I do travel with disposable gloves as they are handy for lots of household, build and vehicle maintenance task including handling rodent traps when traveling with a limited supply of water. But I am not so obsessed with thrift that I would not put a wooden trap including the dead rodent into a grave I dug for it if there was not a dumpster around.

 

[abnorm]

"I woke up Sunday morning.........no way to hold my head that didn't HURT..................."



That's a full paper towel for size...........Peanut Butter Bait...........



He was well fed.........and BIG .............



Here's the third try at building a nest.............................

 

[RvNaut]

no way to hold my head that didn't HURT

"...and we both started jumping up and down, yelling,, "Kill Kill Kill!"
Brought to you by the Group W bench.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Wow!

 

[user 22017]

That's a full paper towel for size...........Peanut Butter Bait...........

View attachment 34331

He was well fed.........and BIG .............

Dang. He looks huge. I'm scared of mice, so a rat would be terrifying. Maki's advice makes sense to keep rodents away from the camper, but what can be done to prevent them from nesting/chewing wires in a vehicle? I believe she said we need to know which breed we are dealing with first.

 

[bullfrog !]

“Just looking for a home!” Lol!!! The CDC has lots of good information on bubonic plague and hantavirus. It’s dangerous only for those that don’t know before they come visit. Adnorn thanks for bring back memories of my youth shooting rats at the dump at night which was one of my favorite things to do!

 

[wayne49]

There again out west many serious diseases are carried by fleas living on the mouse as soon as the mouses heart stops the fleas start moving looking for another warm body.

That there's a good reason for using non lethal sticky traps. Death occurs at a throwing distance and at a later time.

Do wild vermin deserve humane treatment? They are neither pets nor service animals. Lab rats serve a purpose.

Side note: California asks about firewood, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Nothing about insect/vermin infestations.

 

[RonDean]

That there's a good reason for using non lethal sticky traps. Death occurs at a throwing distance and at a later time.

Do wild vermin deserve humane treatment? They are neither pets nor service animals. Lab rats serve a purpose.

Side note: California asks about firewood, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Nothing about insect/vermin infestations.

Side Side Note: They don't ask about kidnap victims in the trunk either. But I bet they would frown on that.

 

[maki2]

Side note: California asks about firewood, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Nothing about insect/vermin infestations.

If California would provide vermin sniffing dogs at the agricultural inspection stations border crossing it would actually be useful to those of us with the real desert rats and mice living in our vehicles.

Maybe Van Aid can offer that service because there are bound to be some dogs there with that ability. If not many dogs could be trained to do that. I have met a few Snauzers and terriers sho come by it naturally.

 

[NctryBen]

Dang. He looks huge. I'm scared of mice, so a rat would be terrifying. Maki's advice makes sense to keep rodents away from the camper, but what can be done to prevent them from nesting/chewing wires in a vehicle? I believe she said we need to know which breed we are dealing with first.

Don’t cook in your engine compartment…
Maki’s recommendations about cooking is valid. But a person has to cook/ live… basically your not going to be 100% effective keeping rodents at bay. But she had a very valid point about food and smells and such. We took a lot of precautions in the back country to not attract those biggest of all rodents… the bear… haha! But those little “bears” could be just as destructive to a food supply.
The whole engine compartment thing is about comfort… heat usually. But park any vehicle anywhere there are even a small population of mice and it’ll be their new apartment complex in time… this time of year is the worst. Every rodent out there is gathering and making winter homes. They are opportunists as much as anyone.
There was no better way to practice shooting moving targets then the rats at the dump.
Here, they say there’s a direct correlation to mice populations and Lymes . Not sure how that works but that is a thing. As far as humane… we’ll, in my book the main purpose of most rodents are to be food to other animals. Their fate you might say is never humane. Best thing is to control what you can and accept some shortfalls.
So Doug… snap away… I’d toss it where it might feed something besides worms…

 

[user 22017]

The whole engine compartment thing is about comfort… heat usually. But park any vehicle anywhere there are even a small population of mice and it’ll be their new apartment complex in time… this time of year is the worst. Every rodent out there is gathering and making winter homes. They are opportunists as much as anyone.

I thought we were supposed to leave the hood up on our vehicles when camping. That doesn't work?
Chipmunks chewed through a bundle of wires on my truck. I can't afford an expense like that again. Now I have a cat and a couple neighbors do, too. No more cute little chipmunks to worry about.

Should we keep our hood up or not?

 

[bullfrog !]

It is a toss up to me. I have had the wind damage a hood by leaving it opened, I have had wires under the hood chewed. I think opening the hood allows the engine compartment to cool down quicker and not be so attractive to rodents looking for warmth or a place out of the wind to make a nest. Different types of rodents like different types of environments. I keep solar lights in my engine compartment as well and that seems to help with the ones around my place. Driving the truck around a little every day and parking before dark with the hood open to allow it to cool down then I drape the solar lights around the outside of the truck and in the engine compartment. Once you have a rodent problem you need to interrupt the scent trails they have made by spraying Lysol or cleaning with a potent smelling cleaner with ammonia so others don’t follow in my experience. Stay away from camps with bird feeders or pets as their food or feces attract many pests. Just my opinions and experiences.

 

[wayne49]

Maybe some modern vehicles with extensive underside body work to make them more aerodynamic and fuel efficient, might prevent rodents from easy access, but vermin can squeeze through some very tight places.

If the vehicle was running very hot right before parking, opening the hood would be a good idea, but close it before retiring for the night.

And it's not just heat that they seek. My van was sitting for awhile in southern Nevada "winter" and was attacked for a "tasty" plastic vent door control vacuum tube.

 

[user 22017]

If the vehicle was running very hot right before parking, opening the hood would be a good idea, but close it before retiring for the night.

I thought the hood was supposed to be open because rodents don't like being exposed. They prefer an enclosed dark space. So we SHOULD leave it open at night. With a light on the engine bay, if possible.

 

[maki2]

I am parked in some prairie grass at the moment. Looks like there might be rodents around. Now and again when camping I sure have wished I had a battery charged weed whacker to do some mowing. Of course I would also need a rake and to cart the cut grass a long ways away from my campsite. The mice and rats do love grabbing loose vegetation for nest building.

Of course I have already started putting out some traps as there are bound to be rodents here. I will go into town tomorrow and get a few new rat and mouse size plastic snap traps. Some to put on the ground under my vehicle and in the engine compartment. My trailer itself is pretty much rodent proof as there are no openings on the underside and my screen door window slides down from the top with several feet of glass in the lower half, plus I have that popup roof for ventilation and sliding windows.

Those magnetic types of screen might keep out flies but they provide very easy access for rodents as they can climb right in under that loose screen at the lower edge. I doubt that most people even consider that they are providing easy rodent access when using that type of screen which they leave accessible for rodent entry points to the van interior for many hours of the day and on hot nights too.