Mice!!!?

[Mark31415]

Nipped down to the storage site the other day to make sure everything is OK and collect a few bits I wanted to bring home. Everything looked OK until I went under one of the front seats and found a few acorns! Further investigation found a few more chewed acorns and associated bits of shell etc. Digging further I found a bit more in the bag which had the duvet in it. Took everything out gave it a good shake and check over.

Found more acorns hidden in the folds of the duvet. A small chewed area of duvet cover. No droppings. No smell. No signs of a chewed nest. No snail shells etc (common with rats).

Any idea what would have done this? Mouse activity is usually accompanied by droppings and smell. Rats usually bring snail shells. Not sure if the hole is big enough for a squirrel but given the acorns were hidden, maybe it's a squirrel.

Luckily seems to have been confined to the underside of one seat and no signs of other damage. It looks like the easiest point of entry will be the water heater drain surround as all other holes are protected by gauze. I've jammed a metal brillo pad into the hole to stop what-ever it is getting in again hopefully.

Any thoughts?

 

[benshepherd]

The mice will have no problem getting the brillo pad out. I usually put a couple of mouse traps in my caravan over winter.

 

[Brasso530]

We had rats getting under the floor of house,a plumber friend told me to plug any holes with wire wool,not seen one since.Aparently they and mice hate the stuff.

 

[Parksy]

Rodents including voles, mice and rats follow urine scent trails.
If you are unable to leave the corner steadies raised in storage try wiping them with Jeyes Fluid. Wipe the jockey wheel, A frame and any other climbing surface to help to eradicate the scent trail into the caravan.
Old style flammable naphthalene moth balls deter mice but are hard to find in high street stores now and care must be taken with their use.
They are harmful to pets and highly flammable, but online auction sites still sell them

 

[Rod_5079699]

After suffering £2,500. damage to my Mercedes car caused by mice, which is always garaged overnight I have always set traps in the garage and caravan and have had no more damage to car or caravan only dead mice, a small price to pay to solve a problem.

 

[otherclive]

After suffering £2,500. damage to my Mercedes car caused by mice, which is always garaged overnight I have always set traps in the garage and caravan and have had no more damage to car or caravan only dead mice, a small price to pay to solve a problem.

Pity that you didn’t have a “Coventry Cat “ in the garage alongside the Mercedes . The XK8 would give the mice short shrift.

 

[Raywood]

On the basis that the acorns appear to be being stored, it sounds like a squirrel. They can get through surprisingly small spaces. Blocking the access should cure the problem but not sure what the squirrel will do if it has no food.

 

[Mark31415]

There are about 9 billion trees nearby... don't think the 5 I took out of the bedding bag are going to cause him too much of a problem

I'll go back in a couple of weeks to see if the herculean mouse has managed to remove the very wedged brillo pad. The pads come pre-loaded with soap so hopefully will not taste too good anyway.

Hopefully caught the problem early but only time will tell. Will splash some jeyes about and maybe put a trap or two around the van just in case.