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Smawgunner
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2015 09:09pm
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Getting ready to finally put real beds in our cabin. But we still have the occasional mouse and assortment of bugs. So does everyone take home your sheets and bedding? I'm worried if I dont, they'll smell moldy or get soiled by mice. If you keep fresh at your cabin, how do you store them? Thanks!
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2015 09:45pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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We have our full size mattress and box spring on a homemade bed made from pipes (feet,with caps on the bottom and felt so the floor dosn't get scratched when we move the bed) and a sheet of plywood. They have breathable bed bug covers on them to keep them clean. Before we leave I put Bounce sheets on the mattress and cover the entire mattress and box spring with one thick sheet of visqueen cut to fit making sure there are no gaps for mice to get into.
It's a lot of work and takes two people to lift and tuck but in the eight years we've had our cabin there have been no mice in or on the bed. We also move our bed away from the window because flys and other bugs die and were getting on the bed.
All my bedding is in either a metal footlocker or aluminum garbage cans from HD. I also put Bounce sheets inside to keep things smelling fresh.
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Just
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2015 10:03pm
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Everything is well dried and stored in Rubbermade . I do make every effort to deny them entrance .
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Kennyquad
Member
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2015 10:07pm
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We use mattress covers made for bed wetter lol... All the bedding, pillows etc go into plastic storage bins.
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2015 11:24pm
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all i ever did all of this.
wow.i guess i am just lucky and didnt know it.
i would just made our bed when we left and it stayed this way.
once i got back here.i would shake out the covers checking for spiders...
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 12:51am
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Nothing special. Make the bed tidy and presentable. Make sure the windows are closed, let the shades down, turn off the power and lock the door. Lock the gate at the foot of the hill.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 01:49am
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Both of you are lucky. We caught nine mice. Six of them in the loft where we sleep. I don't want to think about what our bedding and clothing would look like if I didn't take precautions.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 04:11am
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silverwaterlady.my mice are in my kitchen.
i found a little nest .i think a mama mouse was getting ready to have some babies.got this caught in time.
i am sure glad caught yours in time...
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 04:51am
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Quoting: cabingal3 i found a little nest .i think a mama mouse was getting ready to have some babies.got this caught in time.
s-o-o-o-o, that wasn't unpolished rice on the counter??!!
thought it tasted a bit odd
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paqcrewmama
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 10:11am
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We have traps set everywhere and have yet to come back to mouse damage with sheets and towels and such. I think my mice are happy and content to generally stay in the walls (although got a mama which led to her four off spring running around the cabin until we caught them over two nights).
I'll be storing everything in totes for the winter though.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 10:13am
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We have never had any trace of mice in the cabin. [knock wood] I did take lots of care in looking at every perforation of the shell from a mouse eye view when building. Outside, that is another matter.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 11:48am - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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We are hoping getting spray foam insulation will help in sealing up some areas. We do the flashlight under the cabin test every season. We have found one area on our log cabin wall where they chewed to get in. 
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FishHog
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 11:55am
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I've had mice, but never an issue with mattresses (knock on wood). We put sheets and pillows in Rubbermaid containers just to be safe for the winter months.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 03:16pm
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I havent had mice in anything I've built so far (except when some sloppy plumbers made too large of holes for plumbing on one I built to sell). Getting the place sealed up would seem the first thing to do.
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 03:37pm
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Excellent point.
We found a hole.
We prolly won't have kitchen mice now...
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turkeyhunter
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 04:23pm
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I have a nice pillow top queen bed downstairs on my Amish built log bed. Upstairs 2 twin log beds....never saw or trace of said species. I make the beds before I leave that's it.
I think building it almost 4 foot off the ground helps a lot,,,closer to 3 foot on the low side. Block piers. And NO HOLES where they can get in.
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beachman
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 04:33pm
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New camp, beds with good mattresses - take off bedding and put in drawers. Old camp, lots of mice so blankets and pillows go into plastic garbage cans with tight lids, or in drawers that are mice-proof. We spread a pile of mothballs around to keep many things away, including two-legged beasts. There is a real vapour created. Only problem is airing the place out in the spring. We need a good breeze and often have to drag everything out to get a good airing.
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paqcrewmama
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2015 06:45pm
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Beachman, do you mothball INSIDE the cabin or would it be enough for me to spread the mothballs around under the cabin?
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beachman
Member
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# Posted: 25 Aug 2015 07:45am
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We spread mothballs all around INSIDE the cabin. It stinks to high heaven but it seems effective. You really have to air out the place in the spring and you have to pick up all the mothballs before you step on them and make a mess. They shrink naturally but can last a few seasons if kept in a sealed can. The mice still come in but not nearly as much as without them - they don't stay.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 25 Aug 2015 01:24pm
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I dont recall the source, but do recall reading that mothballs are pretty bad for your health. If you can smell them, you are breathing the vapors.
Googled this. The ingredients are a suspected human carcinogen and can cause liver failure and other problems in pets if eaten.
http://blogs.webmd.com/health-ehome/2011/02/are-mothballs-safe.html
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beachman
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# Posted: 25 Aug 2015 05:19pm
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Yes, the smell is probably harmful. Perhaps I will leave a note for any uninvited visitors warning of the dangers and a waiver if they choose to stay.
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bobrok
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# Posted: 25 Aug 2015 05:41pm
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I should post this on one of the mice threads rather than the bedding thread, but since this is the current topic...
Someone recently told me that peppermint oil deters mice; doesn't kill them, but they don't like the smell. This might be a good natural alternative to baiting.
We don't get mice inside but they're most definitely in the walls and attic crawl space. I think I know where they are entering and I'm thinking of using this to deter them from doing so.
From what I've read you soak cotton balls with pure peppermint oil. I guess the downside is that the peppermint oil evaporates rather quickly and you'd need to reapply very frequently.
So I don't know if this would be worth the effort, but for those who stay long-term it might be worth a try.
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Purplerules
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# Posted: 31 Aug 2015 09:16am
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In the cabin we just leave the beds made and all tidy when we leave, no mice in the 3 years we have had it. Extra sheets are stored in a Rubbermaid container. At the cottage it is not the case. This summer after being away from for over 4 weeks we came and there was a mice explosion. Mice poo everywhere.
So I cleaned up caught about 3 of them. I had read about peppermint essential oil. So I took a whole bottle and sprinkled it all over cabinets, counter tops, beds, & closets. Have done this each time we have left and we saw less and less poo each time. This past week there was none visible on the kitchen counter. So like bobrok said peppermint is a great deterrent .
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