Post by lankidden on Mar 26, 2015 21:15:32 GMT
As last year's Running Total of Nights Away stats revealed, we didn't actually manage to spend too many nights on board in 2014, this being down to health problems, mine, and also our son in law's treatment for a brain tumour. So this year, although not making a particularly early start we are hoping to be away for a week or two over Easter. So on Tuesday off to collect the 'van from storage, secure, but outdoor unfortunately, and back to check it all out, clean, service, and make sure everything is still working as it should. I have checked the 'van out every couple of months or so, topped up the anti damp crystals, and all seemed to be well. Certainly it was very dirty after around eight months of abandonment, but this was only to be expected, but what was not expected was the devastation caused by an infestation of bliddy MICE.
No obvious evidence of rats, but for mice, the amount of devastation needed to be seen to be believed. Barely one item of upholstery remains undamaged, a few packets of rice and jellies etc had been well enjoyed, as had both of our outdoor reclining chairs, although fortunately they appear to have had little appetite for our neoprene wet suits. Fortunately, although the Memory Foam mattress topper suffered some limited depredation, the actual mattress escaped unscathed. As far as I can ascertain, no damage seems to have been caused to any of the wiring circuits. At least three nesting sites had been prepared with luxury upholstery, and as much of our store of toilet paper and kitchen rolls as the little buggers could chew through and transport. The internal clear up took best part of two days, and I dread to think of the cost of the damage. At least two of the aforementioned little buggers have now gone to meet their maker, I just hope the rest have hightailed it by now, although the trap is reset as soon as I remove the corpse.
Having had two different vans in various farm storage sites for getting on for fifteen years we have never been invaded like this before, but how you can keep vermin like this out, when they're determined to effect an entry, I'm not too sure, so I reckon that anytime we leave the 'van in future we'll now need to leave copious amounts of blue wheat grains in all and every floor level locker and hope to wreak havoc that way. Hopefully, one of the caravan breakers might have a stock of suitable Bailey upholstery material, with or without foam stuffing, as we sure can't afford a full OEM replacement - no, we weren't insured, but whether normal cover includes rodent destruction of upholstery I don't know.
Still looking forward to getting away over Easter, but a painful and expensive lesson has been learned.
Neil C
aka Lankidden
No obvious evidence of rats, but for mice, the amount of devastation needed to be seen to be believed. Barely one item of upholstery remains undamaged, a few packets of rice and jellies etc had been well enjoyed, as had both of our outdoor reclining chairs, although fortunately they appear to have had little appetite for our neoprene wet suits. Fortunately, although the Memory Foam mattress topper suffered some limited depredation, the actual mattress escaped unscathed. As far as I can ascertain, no damage seems to have been caused to any of the wiring circuits. At least three nesting sites had been prepared with luxury upholstery, and as much of our store of toilet paper and kitchen rolls as the little buggers could chew through and transport. The internal clear up took best part of two days, and I dread to think of the cost of the damage. At least two of the aforementioned little buggers have now gone to meet their maker, I just hope the rest have hightailed it by now, although the trap is reset as soon as I remove the corpse.
Having had two different vans in various farm storage sites for getting on for fifteen years we have never been invaded like this before, but how you can keep vermin like this out, when they're determined to effect an entry, I'm not too sure, so I reckon that anytime we leave the 'van in future we'll now need to leave copious amounts of blue wheat grains in all and every floor level locker and hope to wreak havoc that way. Hopefully, one of the caravan breakers might have a stock of suitable Bailey upholstery material, with or without foam stuffing, as we sure can't afford a full OEM replacement - no, we weren't insured, but whether normal cover includes rodent destruction of upholstery I don't know.
Still looking forward to getting away over Easter, but a painful and expensive lesson has been learned.
Neil C
aka Lankidden
