GeoffL
Full Member
- Messages
- 839
With apologies to Ronnie Hilton, Max Bygraves et al. and credit to Campervanannie:
Yep, we have mice in the van
A few weeks ago I spotted a nest among the camping table and chairs in our nearside-rear locker. The blighters had chewed some hard foam and picked out the pile of a piece of carpet I used as a kneeling mat to make the nest. There were a few droppings about, but I couldn't find the varmints themselves. I wanted to visit the nearest hardware store and buy some traps; Jan overruled me. So we cleaned up the mess, got rid of the nest, and blocked up all the holes we could find. Nothing further was seen ...
... Until a few days ago, when we discovered droppings and urine in the rear locker on the other side of the van, together with obvious chewing of a padded fabric item. However, we couldn't find the nest or the varmints. So, Jan did some research and found claims that tumble dryer sheets are good at repelling mice. Most of those cited "Bounce", but we only found "Lenor" at our local supermarket. Day before yesterday, we removed all the stuff from all the lower lockers and confirmed that there was absolutely no food in the van. We swept up all the droppings and scattered strips of dryer sheet inside the lockers, on the seating and on the carpets. When we got back home, I ordered half a dozen traps and a bottle of peppermint oil (AIUI, the most effective repellent for mice). The traps arrived this morning, so we headed out for the van.
When we got there, we found that all the pieces of dryer sheet had gone from the rear-offside locker. Presumably, the meeces had either scoffed them or taken them as nesting material. So much for dryer sheets as mouse repellent. TBH, I'm surprised the meeces didn't leave a thank-you note! So we cleaned up everything again, baited the traps with peanut butter and left three in the locker and the other three in other locations on the van floor. As for the nest, there is a void between the rear-offside locker and the washroom. It's only about an inch and a half deep, but I reckon that's where those pesky varmints have set up home.
Hopefully, getting rid of the encumbent residents won't be too difficult. I can then block the access to the void space. I'll also leave cotton wool balls soaked in peppermint oil throughout the van and use battery-powered ultrasonic repellers when we need to leave the van for an extended period.
There once was a mouse lived in an Autotrail Scout
A Scout with a mouse in and he wasn't grouse-in
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am"
"Living right here in such a fine van"
A Scout with a mouse in and he wasn't grouse-in
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am"
"Living right here in such a fine van"
Yep, we have mice in the van
A few weeks ago I spotted a nest among the camping table and chairs in our nearside-rear locker. The blighters had chewed some hard foam and picked out the pile of a piece of carpet I used as a kneeling mat to make the nest. There were a few droppings about, but I couldn't find the varmints themselves. I wanted to visit the nearest hardware store and buy some traps; Jan overruled me. So we cleaned up the mess, got rid of the nest, and blocked up all the holes we could find. Nothing further was seen ...
... Until a few days ago, when we discovered droppings and urine in the rear locker on the other side of the van, together with obvious chewing of a padded fabric item. However, we couldn't find the nest or the varmints. So, Jan did some research and found claims that tumble dryer sheets are good at repelling mice. Most of those cited "Bounce", but we only found "Lenor" at our local supermarket. Day before yesterday, we removed all the stuff from all the lower lockers and confirmed that there was absolutely no food in the van. We swept up all the droppings and scattered strips of dryer sheet inside the lockers, on the seating and on the carpets. When we got back home, I ordered half a dozen traps and a bottle of peppermint oil (AIUI, the most effective repellent for mice). The traps arrived this morning, so we headed out for the van.
When we got there, we found that all the pieces of dryer sheet had gone from the rear-offside locker. Presumably, the meeces had either scoffed them or taken them as nesting material. So much for dryer sheets as mouse repellent. TBH, I'm surprised the meeces didn't leave a thank-you note! So we cleaned up everything again, baited the traps with peanut butter and left three in the locker and the other three in other locations on the van floor. As for the nest, there is a void between the rear-offside locker and the washroom. It's only about an inch and a half deep, but I reckon that's where those pesky varmints have set up home.
Hopefully, getting rid of the encumbent residents won't be too difficult. I can then block the access to the void space. I'll also leave cotton wool balls soaked in peppermint oil throughout the van and use battery-powered ultrasonic repellers when we need to leave the van for an extended period.
