Rodents and Casitas

[TBrown]

This is specific to Casitas. Wondering if any Casita owners out there have had experience with mice or rats getting in the camper, or better yet found a way to exclude the stinkers. I am replacing a Aspen Trail wood and tin trailer that has too many entry points to keep up with and as a result propane lines are destroyed. My hope is there will be less material a rodent can chew through on a Casita and only having to screen off exhaust vents and where power enters the camper. I would welcome any product suggestions or homemade hacks.

[Casita Greg]

Besides vent screens, which are great, the single biggest "entry point" for ants, mice, and other small critters is the well-known "mouse door" in the shore power electrical cord hatch. When you are on shore power, your cord is an excellent entrance ramp for critters. I got rid of the small hatch, which was always a pain to try and work with to pull or push the shore power cord in and out from, so I upgraded it to a larger hatch, (not wider, just taller.) It doesn't have the rodent access door, and also locks. It also allowed me access to the space behind the converter, and is also where I mounted my hardwired EMS (electrical management system.) And an external Marine-style twist-lock 30 amp shore power cord plug-in conversion kit, so I can just unplug the cord, coil it up, and stow it. No more trying to put the spring snake back in the can!

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[TBrown]

Thank you Casita Greg! That is exactly where they entered the current camper. Casita now offers detachable power as an option which I added. All my propane lines on current rv are rubber, and mostly exposed, all destroyed. But really the worst thing is the smell of their waste and the sleepless nights hearing them moving around, That and hearing the one caught in the trap at 6AM.

[Jon in AZ]

We have lots of field mice, but they never went for the rubber propane line on the tongue nor ever got inside our Scamp. We do not leave the power cord connected, and all food and paper goods are removed over the winter. The propane line is a new one to me. I wonder if they make braided steel flexible propane lines?

We’ve actually had more problems with our vehicles. Under the hood and occasionally inside the cabin, they make nests and chew insulation for nesting material. We have to be very careful about food left in the vehicles. All it takes is a stray french fry. I cleaned out a nest under the hood of my wife’s car last winter, which appeared to be made with fiberglass insulation from under our house. It didn’t come back. I am especially careful with her car because it has the newer bio-plastic wire insulation.

As part of our regular pest control service, we have bait stations around the house and parking area.

It’s a multi-pronged approach. Close up as many entry points as possible, don’t give them a reason to get in, lure them away with bait stations, park on a hard surface and clear nearby grass or weeds, and check often to catch problems early.

Some people swear by dryer sheets- supposedly mice don’t like the smell. I put one on top of the cabin air filter in all our vehicles. It’s not proven, but I decided it’s easy, and that’s definitely their entry route. You could scatter some in the lower cabinets of your Casita..

[TBrown]

We have many hawks and owls in our neighborhood as well as plenty of critters they prey on. My guess is the mice and rats are looking for shelter because we are pretty careful about cleaning food out after any trip.Not sure why they go for the rubber hoses, taste or nesting material, I know squirrels ( aka rats with better public relations) have a taste for the plastic insulation on wires, found them in my attic in the past. Anyway thanks for the suggestions, hoping the Casita with copper propane lines and some vent screens and a quick release power cord will be the solution for the camper anyway. Looking forward to being a part of the fiberglass rv community.

[jerrybob]

I don't have a mice problem but always hated stuffing a wet electrical cord back into that small compartment when camping. My solution was not as sophisticated or as pretty as Greg's....but it works well for us. I never open that electrical door hatch. The trailer cord remains inside at all times. I plugged in a heavy duty extention cord to the trailer cord.....ran the cord out through the small door opening....made a rubber casket to fit around cord and seal up the opening....the cord runs down under trailer....through the rear bumper.....through the trailer frame to the front and reattached the electric plug. I carry an extention cord in a plastic bin in my truck along with all other trailer supplies needed. When hooking up....I simply plug the ext. cord into the plug and into campground electrical. I always use a surge protector. This process is very easy to hook up and break down. We also park our trailer here on the property.....this solution works well here too.....my trailer is plugged in all winter. I should add....our trailer is parked next to my shop.....we have two shop kitties who both are great little hunters.....mice here don't stand a chance. Good luck.

[Escape 15A]

Casita now offers a detachable power cord from the factory. There are not any issues with mice on a Casita

[mary and bob]

We have a '96 SD17 Casita. There is a rubber seal available to seal the electric cord to the hatch when the cord is pulled out. AP Products 008-644 Bug Shield Hatch Door Seal. Apparently it doesn't work on newer Casitas as the opening is larger, but fits perfectly on our '96. Don't know when the hatch opening was changed. Something similar wouldn't be too hard to make.

[Paul O.]

My experience is that the old fashioned Naphthalene Moth balls are a good mouse, chipmunk, kangaroo and other rat, or other critter repellent. I keep a plastic bag of these in my Scamp outside storage (a 5 inch square fence post sleeve mounted on the underside). I also have a cloth bag in the engine compartment of both of our vehicles. They may last half to one year in the car and the truck, because of the temperature. Also I have a double plastic bag of these in our attached garage. I doubled up the bag to keep the smell to the minimum.



My wife likes to trow a number of dryer sheets in the Scamp when we winterize it. Their aroma is not as obnoxious as the moth balls.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Escape 15A

Casita now offers a detachable power cord from the factory. There are not any issues with mice on a Casita

Gee, I wonder where they got that idea from?...

[computerspook]

Keep a trap in my scamp. Once in a while I catch one. But yeah don't normally store food in a manner they are attracted to. Clean up regularly.

[jgilliam1955]

Good subject. We have never had a problem. Our Casita is parked in our backyard.

[jgilliam1955]

After reading this I put some glue traps in my Casita just in case.

[TBrown]

Originally Posted by jgilliam1955

After reading this I put some glue traps in my Casita just in case.

Just to be clear, and not cause fear, my mouse problem was my current Aspen Trail stick and tin trailer. My guess is that I will have less of a problem in the Casita, maybe no problem at all, fiberglass RVs will be a new world to me come March of this year. My current camper is parked in my yard and I am pretty certain the mice got in through the shore power cable entry.

[Paul O.]

It is all nice about the modern biodegradable poisons, but still the best is to keep pests away by meticulously cleaning up any food spills or crumbs, especially before winterizing. While camping, never let any mouse food collect in the nooks and crannies or get rubbed into the carpet. And keep them away by using something that repels them, like those mothballs. The critters have really good sense of smell, much better than ours.
The same goes for the house or apartment. I once bought a bag of grass seed, left it in the garage and the mice got in it in no time. Storing it in a tight metal can was the solution - no aroma, no food.

[Dudley]

Not going to say its impossible to get in on a Casita but it would be very tough. The fiberglass shell wraps the entire trailer including the floor. The only access points would be the fridge grills, furnace intake/exhaust and the electrical cable door and all these would be a 2' jump. The door on some of the older 16' models could pull away from the body over time but the 17' use a regular rv door and they seal pretty well. If the rodent got up on top, they could chew through the caps on the 2 grey and black tank vents but it would not get them into the cabin, just the tanks. I have never seen any sign of rodents in ours and we have had it for 12 years and its 27 years old. I have added steel screen on the back of the fridge vent but mostly for bugs.

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by Paul O.

It is all nice about the modern biodegradable poisons, but still the best is to keep pests away by meticulously cleaning up any food spills or crumbs, especially before winterizing. While camping, never let any mouse food collect in the nooks and crannies or get rubbed into the carpet. And keep them away by using something that repels them, like those mothballs. The critters have really good sense of smell, much better than ours.
The same goes for the house or apartment. I once bought a bag of grass seed, left it in the garage and the mice got in it in no time. Storing it in a tight metal can was the solution - no aroma, no food.

One of my challenges with keeping my scamp "clean" is that it is my "got bag" for an incident. So I need to have food for at least 3 days, I generally have food for a week for myself and someone else. I have clothing and etc and ready to hook up and go. Don't have the time to fill it up when I get a call. But I do try and make it less attractive. Not sure how things get into anything, but they do. I have seen a lot of stuff that was supposed to be rodent proof with rodents in them.

[Dudley]

I think any mouse that tried to get in would smell our mouse trap, our 23lb Maine Coon cat that thinks that the trailer is his! Best damn mouser as he has catchers mitts for paws

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by Dudley

I think any mouse that tried to get in would smell our mouse trap, our 23lb Maine Coon cat that thinks that the trailer is his! Best damn mouser as he has catchers mitts for paws

This is one of the best solutions to rodents.

[wwig]

I apologize if this has already been mentioned. Oil of peppermint has worked for me. I apply a couple of drops to a cotton ball and distribute several throughout the trailer. I reapply every six weeks or so. I have tried dryer sheets and mothballs and the oil seems to work best.
Peace