Pesty Buggers: How to Keep Mice, Bugs & Critters Out of Your RV the Non-Toxic Way

SPEAKER_00 0:04

I have to tell you the story that happened to me. We pulled into this park, okay? The most beautiful part. And we pull into our spot. And let me describe the spot for you. It is gorgeous. Wildflowers all around. Like we are nestled in this like little cove of rocks in the wall around us and wildflowers. And up on the hill, there's like this old barn and this old barnhouse. And there's a like a vegetable garden growing. And the week before, I think it was the week before, maybe a couple weeks before, Edward, our cat, had passed. So we we were really just needing like some respite. And so we pulled into the spot and I was like, this feels like healing. Like this feels like a place where my soul can rest for just a little bit of time, you know? So one night, a couple nights in, I go and I'm thinking, I just want like a couple of thin lemon Oreos. Just a couple, just a nice little evening time treat. And so I open the pantry door and on the bottom shelf where I have them sitting, I think, huh, that's odd. The package is a little disheveled. And so I pull out the package of Oreos. No, when I opened the package of Oreos all the way down the line of Oreos, there were clear nibble marks going all the way down the top of my thin lemon Oreos. Every row of them. Because amidst this beautiful farmhouse, we got a farm mouse that found our trailer, found our pantry, and found my thin lemon Oreos. And I have to tell you, that really wrecked my healing soul. Like, really, really disturbed the healing process, especially because it reminded me that I no longer had a cat to take out any little pests that got into our rig. We had never messed, people were like, people would tell me about how they would get mice in their rigs. And I was like, no, I we've never had that. It must be because our cat Edward is fierce and manly. He just scares all the mice away. They will not come near our rig. And as soon as he was gone, the mouse he did dare enter our rig. Yeah. And so I took everything out of the pantry. I sanitized everything. I had to throw away so much because that little booger had eaten through like everything.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

It by the time he was a really fat mouse by the time he left your house.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Let me tell you, the park cat, who is the park manager P.S. He's brilliant. His name is Ralph. I'm a big fan. He caught said mouse outside of my camper and he left the mouse as a prize for us on our rug. That was a very fat mouse. He had he had eaten very well, but that's okay because so did Ralph, the park manager. So I think what lesson I learned is we really need to talk about pests on this show. We really need to make sure that people know how to get rid of them.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Well, and you know, it's summer. You know, there's summer pests, there's winter pests. Mice are typically more of a winter pest in the RB space for people that like stay up north. And we've heard of people that like use straw bales under their units. And so that makes sense to me. But when you're only at a park for a couple of weeks, it's so much harder to say, oh, well, I've got a mouse in my house and expect it to be part of the norm. In fact, we just got done cleaning our camper here in Texas and our old camper, not this camper, but that old camper sat in Illinois for a whole winter. And there's evidence of a mouse residing in that camper. Now, we didn't leave food for him to eat, so he didn't stay warm. I remember that, but he probably stayed warm for the winter. And then by the time he got traveled to Texas, he moved out. And so there are no mice, there are no evidence of mice anytime recently. But you know, we wanted to be diligent because mice droppings can be serious, you know. So and a lot of people don't think it's a big deal. So, but it's not just mice, right? It's it's all the mice that are out there. Yeah. So, and there's a lot of them actually in the RV world.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

There are, and some that surprised me, but we're not here to scare you. We're here to make sure it doesn't happen to you, or if it does, help you know what you do. And yes, and the things that we're going to try and offer you today. I have tried to come in with some family safe alternatives for how to maybe fight some of those things without introducing some new chemicals to your house, which is especially important whenever you're living in a tight, confined space with kids and pets. So, welcome to Learn to RV, the podcast. I am Tasha. This is Jennifer, and today we are talking about pests, which is a really weird word to say. Not pets. That is friendly, and we like them, but pests don't like them.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

So I'm not gonna try to say that word because I will say it's not gonna say it anymore.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

It's a it's it's a hard one. My mouth is really struggling with it. It's a pesty word. Maybe that's what I need to say. We're gonna talk about pesty little guys. Yeah, that's what we're gonna do. So, so some of the things that we're talking about, obviously, we you know, we've mentioned mice and rodents. We've talked about, you know, we loosely talked about cockroaches or spiders, wasps and hornets or something. They love to get into like vents. We've had some of that, some compartments and the awning roller tubes. That's been a big one. Like if your rigs sit still or your uh awning doesn't actually like come in and out a lot. They the they like to take advantage of those little holes. Ants.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Or your air conditioning unit is another one. Yes, you know, you don't even think about it. But like the other day, yeah, we got the camper moved, and guess what? So I just pop on the air conditioning, and Micah goes, Don't! And I was like, Why? And he's like, Because we should have probably checked to make sure there wasn't a wasp nest. So, like things that just sit over the winter, you know, you don't think about those things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

And so Yeah. Well, what's what what is the worst pesty little bugger that you've ever had to deal with?

SPEAKER_01 6:47

So in 2020, we sat still for the summer because the world had gone mad. And uh we stayed somewhere where it hadn't gone quite as crazy, which was Florida. Made sense. So we found this work camping job close to the beach. It was four miles from the beach, and we got Jeremies. You got what? And I know your next question is what's a Jeremy? So my kids over the years have decided that each type of pest gets its own nickname, its own name. I always forget that. Yeah, so for example, if you have leaf cutters and I I'll be in your house and go, oh, there's a Ralph, and we'll pick up the Ralph and send him outside. Jeremies are cockroaches, and they're the German cockroaches, the kind that are so hard to get rid of. But we sat in Florida in an RV park that was a pretty well-established RV park, and everybody, they're like, Oh, it's just part of being in Florida. I'm like, it is not just part of being in Florida. And so then it would take us several weeks to get rid of them after just being there for a whole summer. And so German cockroaches were the worst infestation we've had. We've never had them again, but we don't try to sit still for five months at a time in Florida in the summer. Yeah, usually.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah. So we we've had a few different infestations. The I've got three that I would like to talk about because they are three that took me by surprise. I'm gonna hit them fast. The first was we were at the border of Arizona and Mexico, and we experienced scorpions, lots and lots of scorpions. But when we first experienced the scorpions, three of us in the house did not believe that we were experiencing scorpions. And one of us in the house was like, I am not going outside because there are scorpions everywhere. So they didn't actually get into the rig, but they were like hiding all over the outside of the rig and all over our stuff. So it was like anytime the dog needed to go for a walk, they were everywhere. So that was very interesting. And it was the first time that we had experienced that as a family. So that that was a treat.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Well, and that's scary too, right? Because you've got your dog there or your cat, and you know, now you've got this animal that can hurt them. And like in my case, Millie's allergic to everything. So that means there's an emergency vet visit in my very near future. Yeah. But yesterday we went to Walmart to go get some diametaceous earth to pour in all the cracks of the old cardinal because the boys are going to be using it for a little bit, and uh vinegaroon crawled out. And if you've never experienced a vinegaroon, that was a whole thing. So a vinegaroon is like it looks like a scorpion. It's okay. It's yellowish color, and it's usually about that big. And so, you know, three inches long, and it's clear, and you can see all the insides of it. And the old wives' tale, I've never been bit, I've never been bit by a vinegaroon. Frank hates them because in Afghanistan and Iraq they'll chase you. They're not called vinegarons, they're called sunspiders over there, but they'll chase you because they're looking for the shade. Well, here in the United States, in the desert, there are vinegarons. And the old wives' tale is that if you get bit by one, you'll taste vinegar for like a month. But there was one in the old camper, and we don't know how long it lived there, but you know, it's not there anymore. It it crawled out after we poured the diamondatious earth all in the cracks and crevices of the unit.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

My life was so much better before I knew that existed. Oh, I'm gonna have the weirdest dreams tonight.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Don't go Google for the grooms now.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

No, okay, so here's my pesty bugger number two. You ready? Sort of. Not really, but yours, no. Okay, Florida. Florida is very interesting to me because every person I talk to has a different pest debugger story with a different, like not just uh a different experience with the same type of pest debugger. It's a different pest debugger in their pest debugger story. So ours happened in Ocala. We were staying at this beautiful park, very clean, just pristine, very well-kept park. And we got these little bugs, and they came in crawling up our hose, came in through the little crawl space, and then came into our bedroom through my closet, which sat directly over the wet bay. We thought they were termites because they were teeny tiny and kind of translucent looking, and they just kind of looked like termites. And so we immediately started freaking out because when your home is a matchbox, you know, getting termites is not a great thing. But turns out they were ants and they were called ghost dance, and those suckers are horrible, and I do not like them, and they were were dumb. And so um, Florida has ghost dance, they look like termites, they are frightening, they're somewhat translucent, and part of their bodies you can kind of see through. And I don't like them. I just don't like them, and they're very hard to get rid of. And then you get the tarot and you stick it in there, and then you move and you forget to take the tarot traps down, and then you get tarot spread all over the thing above your pet. So, you know, that's exciting too. My last and final unsuspecting pest debugger that I'm gonna throw out there because this is something that is not in our list of pest debuggers that you need to be prepared for, but there is a group of people who know what I'm talking about, are the not really ladybugs, ladybugs. They are I thought you might go there, the devils in disguise. You think, look at those. It's a little ladybug. It is not, it is a beetle, it is called an Asian beetle, and it is the devil. It loves RVs, and they come and they bring all their friends and they spread their pheromones all over everything and call their friends from everywhere with their pheromones, and they do not leave. And so then you're just walking around vacuuming up, you know, 75 Asian beetles at a time that look like ladybugs. And then people are like, hey, don't you love ladybugs? Aren't they the cutest? And you're like, No, they're the no, I have PTSD. I will never love a ladybug again. So they're very hard to get rid of, and you essentially just have to wait them out.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

To a different transport of you know, you you became you became a transporter of beetles.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

I became a a beetle trafficker, you know. Does that have the same like will I get the same fine if if I have been trafficking a harder substance? I don't know. I hope not. It was horrible. They used to, they essentially they came over on a ship to Florida and they started in that part of the country, and they have slowly just been taken further up the eastern coast as people have traveled. So there's actually a very large population of them that uh have infested, you know, about the mid-east coast area. So they hit about late fall, early winter, they start coming in because they're looking for warmth.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Well, you know, another one that hits late fall, early winter is the one we saw in Hershey last year, which I thought they were beautiful. The lantern beetles, they look they're called lantern flies. Do you remember those? And then I was devastated. Like this one lady comes up with her kids and they're like jumping all over these rugs. And I'm like, they're so pretty. And they're like, it's an invasive species. And I'm like, oh, I had no idea. So because they're eating the crops in the United States. So while they may not infest your RVE, you know, being mindful about invasive species is very important as an RVer. Yeah. So yep, I learned about a new one last year.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

The the Asian beetles, the not ladybug, ladybug, Matt and I were on a rock climbing expedition thing. And we're we're at this location and we're like all zipped in, and you know, we've got all of the harnesses and everything on. And this guy, one of the trainers, had gone to help get these other this other party set up to start climbing. And he came back, and that's where we had been, where we had been introduced to them. And the infestation on the the wall on the rock in the on the mountain was so bad that when he was there helping them, he came back and he was like, I've I've got to go inside and change because they had all gotten inside his clothes. Like his shirt had lifted up, and he was like, This is my fault. I didn't wear a long enough shirt. And so he like he had him down his pants, he had him up his shirt. He, it was like they were everywhere on him. I was like, This is insane. So I said we were gonna start you guys at this point in the story. I know. I was I'm already like I'm scratching my head right now as we talk. I said, We're not gonna scare you guys. We just want to prepare you guys. And now I'm like, we're 20 minutes in. We're still telling horror stories. So, how what is the most impactful thing that you can do? The most impactful thing that you can do is seal up your rig. Like, number one, inspect all of the penetration points, your utility hookups. What is your face? Don't don't kill my thing. Listen, you let me talk, and then you can come in. Find all of your penetration points, your utility hookups, your water lines, your slide seals, your underbelly vents, your roof seals or seams, all of that. Seal up what needs sealed up. That's that's a very easy prevention that you can do that doesn't include any chemicals, bringing anything inside. It's just a way to try and help keep the pest debuggers out.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Unless I've heard unless.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Unless what?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Unless the animals like eating the items that you're sealing it with. And so, you know, we talk about RV roughing solutions on a regular basis because I own it.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Uh-huh. But we see our sponsor.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Well, that there's that. But I have seen holes in roof from birds eating sealant. Last year we had a raccoon that ate part of a roof from eating sealant. And so there are sealants that you can actually attract the pesky buggers, and they're bigger in those situations. So, you know, be mindful of those sealants. And I, you know, I can't tell you which ones they eat and which ones they don't. It might be regional, which ones they like and which ones they don't. I don't know. Maybe, you know, the one in the one in Maine, you know, that raccoon ate a whole section of the roof, but only where the sealant was. So it literally ate the sealant off like frosting. And so pesky buggers don't have to be insects, they can be other things too. So make sure you're checking those seals on a regular basis, looking for bite marks. Crows notoriously like pecking sealant on roofs. And so check for bird holes on your roof from peck marks. And so it's kind of crazy, but those are just one of the areas that a lot of people wouldn't even stop to consider. And I don't know that I would have believed it. You know, I mean, I mean, squirrels in your RV, I can see that as it sits over the the winter and you find it. But you know, a raccoon just eating the sealant off like frosting was not something that was ever something I thought I'd ever discuss anywhere around a campfire on a podcast, whatever. So, you know, it does happen, it's it's unique, but you know, it could happen to you.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Well, and to that point, you need to check your awning roller tubes and your vent covers outside, because even if an animal like a squirrel or a raccoon has not gotten in there and caused some damage, or just, you know, flat out removed them, those small holes are really great places for wasps and bees and, you know, all sorts of carpenter interbug here, carpenter ants, carpenter bees, carpenter put the bug to take up real estate, you know? So those are really good things to check. Another really good thing to do while we're talking about sealing things is what I did after we found our pest debugger in the cupboard and had to get rid of anything that was not already in one, get hard-sided airtight containers to put your food in, not the original packaging. We already had quite a few in our pantry for things. So the things that were in our hard-sided airtight storage containers, I was able to save those. But anything else that was in the original packaging had basically been chewed through and all had to be thrown away. And then what really got my goat was that the few things it hadn't gotten to the first night, after I sanitized everything and put everything back in, I moved those things to the highest shelf. And that little bugger came in and climbed all the way up to the highest shelf the next night and went through the few things that were left. So the very next day, I had to take everything out and sanitize again and throw what was left away. So, you know, I went, I went to the store and I bought some containers. So those are very, very helpful. I've heard people use like steel wool and copper mesh to fill gaps to like combat mice coming through, like they can't, rodents can't chew through those. Have you ever used those before?

SPEAKER_01 20:21

So we have not, but we have used essential oils, so peppermint essential oils, that sort of thing. Um, we've done that as wipe downs across uh areas. I don't know if it's an old wives' tale or not. We've had a couple infestations where like ants came off of trees in Florida our first year and uh they came down through the roof, and we couldn't figure out where they were coming from because we'd check all the feet and there was nothing going up in it. And then finally, this was long before we owned carve-roofing solutions, but Frank finally went up and checked the roof, and there was like a whole wagon train of ants up there coming down through the seals. And so, like, you know, they're oftentimes pastored places that you don't even think of. So, you know, do all of the products work? Absolutely not. So, right now we're in Texas and we are fighting fleas, even though our dog is on flea prevention. You walk outside and your whole grass is hopping. So, like, literally, you have fleas everywhere. And so, just in the south, you know, being on flea prevention isn't enough. You have to be baiting your dog and and those pests are still pests. So, you know, you have to be mindful of all of those.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's funny that you say peppermint oil because that's actually the next thing on my list that you can saturate cotton balls with peppermint oil and put that in your cabinets under your bed and storage compartments and switch it out just every two to three weeks. And that will just even if it doesn't work rodents.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Even if it doesn't work, your house is gonna smell amazing.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah, it is. But if they are already in, that is not proven to get them out, which I find very interesting, but it will deter them from entering if they have not come in yet. So that's good. Know. I found some information about a couple of um bio-based botanical options for rodents that I have never used before, so I cannot speak to them myself. But I did find some good reviews for them in RV full-timing communities. So the first one is called Fresh Cab, but I also saw people call it Grandpa Gus's. It's a USDA certified bio-based rodent repellent pouch, and it's made with botanical oils. Um, it includes balsam fur and peppermint. And it's so it's safe to use around kids and your pets. And then Victor Sent Away. Um, Victor, like the man's name, Victor, is another botanical option that that gets really good reviews from RVers. Something that people don't think about is dryer sheets and Irish Springs soap has been used a lot. It's like an old folk remedy for fighting them. I don't know. There's there's not a lot of evidence out there, but dang it, I would try anything. And if I've already got dryer sheets with me, it's not gonna hurt my feelings to, you know, sacrifice a few of them for the for the good of a good scientific study. And then I have found mixed reviews. I have not tried them. Maybe trying it in a storage bay might be worth it, but like the ultrasonic repellers, some people swear by it. Some people are like, it's a gimmick, don't try it. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

So you have to be careful with those though, because if you have pets, those ultrasonic things can hurt your pets. So there's that side of it. So especially if you have small dogs or small cats. Uh, we had birds for a long time and ferrets that we traveled with. So we actually never tried any of those because we were afraid of eating them. Yeah. With uh with the cockroaches, the thing that we used, and it's not like a homeopathic remedy at all. The only one that worked for us, and they're not paying me to say this, is Advion cockroach gel was the only one. It comes in like a tube, like almost like a almost like a syringe, and you put it all along every edge. And so you want to make sure that it's just mashed up in there, kind of like caulk. And so, but it was the only thing that actually worked to get rid of all of them. And so it's expensive, it's not on the cheaper side, but it works. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Well, you mentioned this earlier for ants, the diatomaceous earth. We always, always, always, always after those stupid ghost ants, we always have that with us. And the second that I see an ant, I'm like, y'all didn't put it down, did you? I know it the first time I see an ant, I'm like, I know that it did not get put down like it was supposed to be put down when we first got here. Diatomaceous. It's useful for fleas, too. That's good to know. It is food grade. Yeah. And so you just want to sprinkle it around entry points, um, like your slide rail channels is a good place to put it, your hitch areas, anything that physically touches the ground is a great place to put that. It damages the exoskelon of the insects, which sounds really mean. I'm really sorry for those guys. But it's safe for your kids and your pets when it's dry. So that is really nice. The second that it gets wet, it basically washes away. So if you put it down whenever you get there and then there's a rain that comes through, once the ground dries, you will need to go back out and reapply it. But it's great to have and it will deter the ants because, you know, once one dissolves in front of them, the other guys they they get well. I'm saying, like, you know, the hunter ant goes in. He's a hunter. He's he's not he's the hunter. He goes in.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

And he's now screaming in front of all the other guys. Hey, I'm melting.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

And so the other guys are like, get back, get back, and they spread the word. And then none of the other ants come. That's my experience with the diatomaceous earth. I'm a big believer in it. Cinnamon, cayenne or clove oil, that can be applied like along entry points, around window seals. I have tried that before, even in our house before we got in the RV, I did that, and the cinnamon worked really, really nicely. Cedar oil spray has also been found to be really effective on a large range of insects, and it's safe around kids. So, those wasps and those hornets, if you're looking for non-chemical sprays, clove, lemongrass, and geranium essential oil sprays are all effective. You want to use it around the nesting spots before they establish them. So, again, if it gets wet, you're gonna need to re-apply that. So after you've cleaned your RV, apply some clove lemongrass and geranium essential spray. Fake wasp.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Speaking of nesting, yes. Have you ever had a bird make a nest in your RV?

SPEAKER_00 26:55

Don't get me sad. Uh, we did, but it was the saddest story, Jennifer.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

So I have a sad story. I have several of those, you know.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

But you know, normally it happens to us when we're stories are the worst.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

So we had one that actually made it a nest in our hitch. We were here in Texas, and the mom decided she was gonna build the bird nest in the front hitch of the camper, and we moved, and we moved from one campground to like half a mile down the road to another campground for a week before we went back to the Thousand Trails Lake Conroe location that year. And the bird chased us all the way to the next spot and then came back with us. And so, yeah, we didn't move that nest and the baby was born, and the next time we moved, it was big enough that it flew away. So, like, that wasn't a sad story. But at the same time, because we moved so often, it could have been a very sad story.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

Yeah, we had a not successful story like that, and we took a robin's nest unknowingly to another campground. And we found the robin's nest after we moved and were setting up, and we have no idea how long it had been with us because of where the bird had built the nest. It was like very well hidden, and it was just not a place that we went very often, or it was like tucked underneath a spot where we stored our generator, and we hadn't had to use the generator, so we hadn't taken the generator out, and it was just very, very sad. Yeah. So have you ever heard of it?

SPEAKER_01 28:28

But the reality is it's all sorts of yeah. And the other side of that fake wasp nests and any type of like bug like that, they do make screen covers for a lot of things, like your exhaust stuff going outside. Um, if you have a refrigerator vent, if you have one of the older ones, you want to make sure that those are covered as well. And that helps alleviate some of that. The other side of it is like all those types of bugs can create nests in your AC units. So if you're not using them for any length of time in between, you want to clean those out in between. You just take the the AC cover off the top and clean the clean the unit before you actually turn it on. So that's a you know, preventative maintenance is kind of the key to helping to maintain it's not just about keeping the bugs away, right? It's like making sure the rig is like regularly checked. And so that's so important too.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

So this is kind of a weird one for me because it's not anything I would ever think to use this for.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

I I love when you say this is a weird one. I never know what's coming next.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

It is. Well, the fake wasp nest was weird to me because I I didn't know that they made fake wasp nests, but you know, I know there's fake owls, and you know, I get that for your garden, but fake wasp nest is odd. Like, but I guess, you know, it tells the the wasps, hey, there's already like we we got this dude, like move on to the next neighborhood. Like, I get it. But WD40. So it's like it's not organic, but it's low toxicity, and apparently you can spray it lightly into the tube of your awning, and that slickness will discourage wasps and bees from building their nests inside the awning, and it doesn't off-gas, it doesn't produce anything like that. So it's safe for your family, it's safe for your kids, it's safe to put in there, and it doesn't, you know, off-gas into your living space. So I just never thought, let me I where's the guy who said, I know what I'm gonna do. Get me that WD 40 out from underneath there. Surely that'll keep the wasps away. Like maybe that should be one of the hints.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Maybe that should be one of the hints in the scavenger hunt, you know, finding bugs with WD-40.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Or did well, it would be deterring bugs with W D40, you know? My ear itches. So a couple of other things for general insects, cedar blocks, lavender sachets, essential oil diffusers, neem oil spray. We use that in our garden whenever we were in a sticks and bricks. Have you I mean, we've talked about some of these, but is there an organic one that has like just really, really worked well for you?

SPEAKER_01 31:06

I mean, I would say we probably use Diametaceous Earth over everything else for the most part on a regular basis. So we just try to make sure, like if we were we try to pick it up at like tractor supply all over the country and then just have a bottle of it around just in case. Absolutely, and it's like you said earlier, it's safe. So, like, even with the fleas that we've been dealing with here in Texas, we've put it like kind of between the couch cushions because it's safe and it's yeah, that way if they do come in on the dogs, you know, they're dying pretty quickly shortly after that. So because I don't like all the heavy sprays and I don't like the toxicity, and so I also don't like that most of them have like some kind of disclaimer on them, please don't use her on kids' pets, or if your dog starts asking like they, you know, are having a neurological issue, you know, this could be neurological side effects. Yes. And so anything that reads that I'm super careful about.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

So yeah, and that that does remind me. So when we were uh dealing with the not ladybug, ladybug infestation, we one of the things that you can do is create a spray with certain essential oils. And that led me down the path of what essential oils are actually safe to use around your pets. So that is something to consider before you use an essential oil to fight off a pest debugger in your RV. Make sure that it is an essential oil that is safe to use around your dog or cat or bird or hamster or gecko. I don't know. But double check because there are a few essential oils that are toxic to animals that are not toxic to humans. So that is just something that you want to be mindful of. So let's talk about when you didn't know to take those precautions and the pest debuggers get in anyway. You know, there are definitely signs that like the mice have gotten in, you know, you're gonna find droppings. My phone is ringing in my ear. It is my child who is mouse in my phone, which is funny. Did did you hear me talk about a mouse and you thought I was calling for you? Okay. I am no, I'm recording an episode about pest debuggers, and I was talking about a mouse and you called. So can I can I call you back in just a little bit? Okay, I will call you back in a little while. All right, love you. Okay, bye. So sorry about that. So my mouse called, but I was not talking about my mouse leaving any droppings for me. But you might find mouse droppings if it's a different kind of mouse or gnaw marks, nesting materials like shredded paper and a smell. There's a very distinct smell. The first step is to get them the heck out if you can do that. And traps are are gonna be what you do. There, there, I there's just no way around it. I wish there was a trap or a way to get a mouse out that didn't involve a mouse, a mouse trap of some kind, but I have never experienced anything for we tried lots of things, none of them worked. Ralph, the manager, worked. That was what got the mouse. So yeah, but there are more humane traps that you can use than others, so you just gotta kind of check the market. Deep clean everything because as Jen was saying earlier, they do contaminate surfaces with their urine. You need an enzyme cleaner rather than bleach, which can damage RV surfaces. So that's important to know. For ants, how would you treat an ant infestation, Jennifer? What did you do when it was coming in through your roof? And not just the ones that you can see, but like what about when you can't.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

So we sprayed the roof with an ant cleaner, like like an ortho ant cleaner, and I don't recommend those anymore. And you know, and it it's not good for your membrane. Um, but at the same time, at that point, you know, they were dropping out of the trees, and we just had to find a way to get them to stop. And so we couldn't move the RV at that point because we were parked there. You can't move the tree, so it can't move the tree, and so you know, you just kind of got to deal with it in some ways. And so you need to realize that you're in their territory too. And so a lot of these animals are just coming in to get out of the cold or to find food. And so, you know, our walls are thinner than most. And, you know, it's an easy we're an easy target, really, in a lot of ways. And so, you know, making sure the dishes are done before bed every night and not leaving them in the sink all day, and you know, staying on top of your chores and not letting, you know, things pile up and you know, all of those things are things that we can do as just people to keep pests from being as big of a nuisance too. The other side of it is like cats. Have you ever had a cat in your underbelly? Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:46

There was a year we were Ralph tried to go with us. I think he thought that like we would continue to provide him with big fat mice. And Matt had to tell him, Ralph, that's not that's not our usual offering, you know. So Matt had a conversation with Ralph, got him out of the underbelly.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Well, yeah, when we were in Florida this past winter, we had a mama cat climb up in there that was very pregnant into our underbelly. And so we had to make sure she didn't stay before we left Florida this year. But you know, any campground that has loose cats, you have that risk. And so be mindful of all of that too, and make sure that, you know, you don't have any of those openings for kittens to get born. Because that, you know, I don't want to roll down the road and have kittens at my next stop. That's just not my jam. So yeah, could be fun, but I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

No, no, I don't think so either.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

You know, if you have pests can come in all shapes and sizes, they really can.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

They were and and litters, even apparently. They don't have to come in a nest, they can come in a litter. But if you are looking to remove a nest, a couple of tips. If you run into like a wasp nest that has been built on your rig somewhere, early morning or late evening is best and safest for removal. And I'm going to try and say this word, and everyone at home can laugh at me. A botanical pyrethrin, pyrethrin, pyrethrin spray derived from chrysanthemums, uh, is the least toxic effective option for an established nest. So, you know, we have dealt with many a wasp nest on the road. So I just thought I would share that with everybody because I think that that is like the fastest thing to get established on an RV. You can be in a spot for like one day and wake up the next day and there's wasp nests. Those suckers are fast. So when to call a professional, listen, I'm just gonna be really honest with you. A lot of times, the only way that you're going to get rid of cockroaches is with a systematic treatment that is probably not available to you off the shelf. And you will probably need to call for a professional to help you because you do live in a contained environment and they will find places to hide from you. They're just that good. There is a reason why that cliche about like cockroaches being the last thing to survive in an apocalypse is a cliche because they they will outsurvive us all. Okay. So don't be afraid to ask for help, is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

Fall winter is one thing though.

SPEAKER_00 38:24

You go for it.

SPEAKER_01 38:25

Know what works with your rig. A lot of people I've known use foggers and make sure it's not gonna interact with the propane.

SPEAKER_02 38:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

So I my cautionary tale on this one is you know, consider the fact that you're living in an RV. And, you know, in a house, I would have just set off six foggers in the house for fleas. I don't do that here. And so, you know, you have to, if you're gonna do that, make sure to disconnect your propane and know what's gonna react to your propane tanks and shut everything off and keep that in mind. And so it's a much smaller space, too. So if you decide to use something more strong like a fogger or you have, you know, a company come in and spray that way, keep in mind that the time that they tell you to stay out of the house in a house with much more square footage is gonna be very different than how long you have to spend away from your rig in those situations if you use something strong.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Yeah, absolutely. And in closing, I think what I just want to remind everybody is that the same pest debuggers that you had to deal with in a sticks and bricks are the same pest debuggers that you will have to deal with in your RV. And so what that means is that the ones that come out in the fall and winter, they still come out at that time. The ones that come out in the summer and spring, that's still their time of year. Grassy areas, the ones that like rocks, just be mindful of where you're parking, what time of year it is, and know that, like Jennifer said, our walls are thinner. We are, as I mentioned, a matchbox. We are a little box. So it's easier with our slides and our seals and everything to get in than it is in a brick house, for example. Be mindful, take precautions. And whenever you're looking for solutions, know that there are things out there that are safe for you to try, safe for your kids to be around, and safe for your pets too. You don't have to go grab the things off the shelf that are chemical-based. There are organic, natural things out there that you can feel comfortable using in that tight contained space. So we just want you guys to know that there are ways to be prepared and ways to fight back if you have to. So, Jen, do you have any last thoughts on pest debuggers?

SPEAKER_01 40:41

I was thinking of one other pest debugger that, you know, we've talked about before, but that changed your world dramatically. You know, if you're out hiking in tick country, make sure you're checking your pets and your kids for ticks. We have a whole episode on Alpha Gal that we'll link to the show notes on this one. You know, keep in mind that ticks are everywhere in this country, and so there's no way to really prevent it except to keep an eye out and have like some kind of tick extraction tool on you at all times. So, and then save it, you know, especially with ticks because it does carry some extra diseases. Ticks are one of those things that you're gonna encounter across the country. And so they are a pest debugger, they're not gonna infest your rig, but they could impact your life. So I think it's worth mentioning.

SPEAKER_00 41:25

Yeah, thank you so much. I I do agree with that. The road is full of surprises, and Jennifer will tell you that a lot of those surprises happen to your roof. So if you ever run into a situation where one of those surprises, like ants or birds pecking into your roof, happens, RV Roofing Solutions is available. Jen, as our sponsor for this episode, can you tell our lovely listeners where or how they can get a hold of RV Roofing Solutions if a crabby little bird gets to peck in at their sealant?

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Sure. So RV Roofing Solutions is a nationwide mobile roofing company that comes to you. And so, you know, if you have a situation that has some kind of pest control, I can't tell you that it won't stop the wood from being bad once we get there. But what I can tell you is if you're checking it on a regular basis, you know, catching it before it gets any worse is always a good equation. So rvroofing solutions.com just fill out the form. You can do it before you have a leak. You can do it when you need the sealant fixed, whenever you need it, it's there for you. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

And we also, before we go, I want to remind everybody that July is the celebration of America's 250th birthday. And we at Learn to RV are celebrating with our annual scavenger hunt. And I'm so excited. It is the great American R V scavenger hunt. Jennifer, can you please give our listeners all the juicy details?

SPEAKER_01 42:53

So by now, I don't remember what date this airs, but registration is open. And so uh June 15th, registration opens in R V. So we're partnering up with a company called R V, A-R-V-E-E, and you can register at R V to get signed up for the Great American Scavenger Hunt. Every week the points reset. So every week you have new chances to win. And so there's gonna be challenges and they get harder by the week. And then the last week, there's five grand prize winners. And so it's gonna be a great bunch of fun. Uh it's all online, so there's no reason not to get involved. You can pop in for a week here or there, or you can go for the grand prize winners. The points are being set up so that even if you haven't played for the first four weeks that fifth week, there's some wonky points in there. So you could still win if you only play for that one week. There's some wonky hard games here.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

That is so exciting. So, you know, there are lots of pest debuggers out there. There are not a lot of Ralph, the managers out there to take care of the pest debuggers. So I can't send you a Ralph, but I hope that we have sent you enough good information that you can, I don't know, be your own Ralph. We hope that this has given you some good information, some good tools. If it has, please like, share, subscribe, pass the word around, pass the word back to us. If something hit home or if you've got a good idea that maybe we missed, please, please, please comment and let us know. We are always looking to learn ourselves because we never know everything. We know that we are always open to learning. So until next time, we will just patiently wait around the campfire for you guys to return. See you next time. Bye.