Whether you store your RV in your back yard, in the forest, or at a nearby RV park, it’s critical to protect your investment against damage caused by rodents. It’s equally important to take heed when evidence of visitors is first noticed.
This past summer, our RV was stored through the week at a private RV park near the national forest. Upon arriving one weekend and setting up on a space, rodent droppings were found on the flaps inside the comfort station compartment. I hosed them out and sprayed the entire interior with bleach water. We saw no further evidence for the rest of the summer.
Mid-October, while camping locally after bringing the RV home for the winter, we lost power to a major circuit in the RV in the middle of the day for no known reason. We took the RV to our local repair shop where it spent the next 5 weeks. The repair shop was unsuccessful in fixing the problem. On the final troubleshooting attempt, the repair shop noticed evidence of rodents in the undercarriage of the RV near the holding tanks. Upon further inspection, it was determined that there was a rodent’s nest under the RV on top of the holding tanks. The repair shop determined that this was the cause of the inexplicable issues we were having with the electricity, eluding solution.
To make a long story short, the estimation of repairs was quite expensive (several thousand dollars) and our auto insurance company was called to file a claim under our comprehensive coverage. The RV is still waiting final repair and successful testing, but I want to take the opportunity to provide insight on what to look for and what steps can be taken to prevent an infestation.
- If you see evidence of rodents inside your RV or compartments, take it seriously. Investigate all possible hiding places to make sure you don’t become a rodent motel. My grandpa used to say that for every mouse that you see, there are 50 that you don’t.
- Seal up or create barriers at potential entry points in your compartments. The more difficult it is to get in, the less likely the rodents are to enter.
- Utilize glue-traps inside and outside of potential entry points or nesting spots. Glue traps are non-violent traps that will also ensure that you “catch” the rodents.
- If you choose to utilize bait or some other poison, be sure to keep track of the amount that is used so that you can determine if any of the substance has been taken. If it has been taken, you’ll want to inspect the innards of your RV to make sure your RV does not become a rodent morgue. And be sure to keep the substance safely way from pets.
- Rodents hate clean places. Keep your comfort station clean and sanitary so that rodents aren’t attracted to it. Keep a spray bottle of diluted bleach water in your comfort station and spray down the entire area after hosing out the compartment.
- If you store your RV off-site for longs periods of time, visit it regularly to make sure it continues to be free of rodents. Inspect areas surrounding your space to look for evidence of rodents and take appropriate steps to keep them away from your RV.
- Inspect inner areas of your RV regularly to check for evidence of rodents. They tend to leave gifts in hidden places. These are gifts that you want to find and eradicate as quickly as they are left behind.
I sincerely hope you never have to experience this type of damage and repair. By taking precautions and protecting your RV, you can dramatically reduce the chances of it happening to you.
If you have a question, you can e-mail Rodney@PhoenixRVLifestyle.com. Happy Trails!
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