What is eating my motorhome cover?

Alan3Krystyna

I have a Maypole motorhome cover made from artificial fibres that appears to be the food source for some form of life! Or maybe winter bedding but why not take it from one place?

I took it from the garage about 5 weeks ago and put it on the van. It covers top, sides, front and back of the van. At that time there were no holes in it. Yesterday, I was checking that it was secure when I found numerous holes in one side and the rear of the cover. It certainly looks like some of my moth eaten clothing I have taken from wardrobes, small holes irregular edges and multiple locations. They can be found at any height on these two sides of the van. The photos show the damage on one side of the van.

I live in the country in a small village and so we have all manner of wildlife from rodents to grass snakes and badgers.

Has anyone had similar experience of such damage? Any ideas on what may have caused it?

Thanks

JillwithaJay

Probably field mice.  I found tiny holes in one or two items of fabric in our garage.

JVB66

It may just be a bird as it looks like claw marks near the holes where it was gripping

Rocky 2 buckets

I’m with JWJ I have a number of outbuildings I use for storage, most items within have rodent damage signs, they will seek any kind of fibre, they even chewed up an old pair of chainsaw safety trousers just to get the fibres. The fibres they use to make insulation for a nest. To us an inconvenience to them it’s survival. The outer edges(holes) will be ‘fluffed’ as they shred it for bedding. I leave I there as that is what they continue to use year on year. I think of it as a sacrificial offering😊

 

ABM

 A sacrificial offering from a Yorkshireman  , would that be some form of mini-Lancastrian,  perchance  ??

ABM

Seriously tho',  it does indeed seem like the work of some small vermin.

If it's not a major problem, I'd back the damaged area(s)  with a quality gaffer tape or similar, then dust the whole area with some gentle repellant, or get a couple of those grass snakes as tenants 

Rocky 2 buckets

They’d never get past the border force Muscles👍🏻😂

Tigi

I stored a cover in a garage some years ago for about six months (after finding van was damper inside with it on) and when it was opened there was a large hole almost certainly made by a rodent.

Navigateur

I noticed strange holes in the corner of the lid of a wheelie bin.  Solid stuff these bins but something very sharp had cut through the plastic and the removed material was lying on the ground and inside the bin, so it had not become food or bedding.

Carful observation showed grey squirrels to be the culprits. I suppose their intention is to eventually get inside the bin.

redface

One other ' terrorist' that I have witnessed is a domestic cat climbing up the sloping front of the cover so she could sunbathe on the roof. Being well out of reach of any dogs.

made quite a mess of my caravan cover with her repeated mountaineering expeditions.

Extugger

 

Aye! Yorkshire born, Yorkshire bred; strong in t'arm & thick in t'head!

We were always taught Yorkshire was full of Lancastrians, without brains. Nothing I see on here has changed my mind! 

 

Hedgehurst

We stored a repro medieval tent of good traditional cotton canvas, but with heavy gauge synthetic guy lines. The mice  who found it preferred to chew the guy lines and left the natural fibre alone!

Alan3Krystyna

Thanks for the observations.

We are going with the bird theory as both my wife and I have seen blue tits on the side of the cover. JVB66 noticed claw marks and thought of birds. I have looked for what they might be eating but found nothing. Maybe there is something on the inside of the cover that they can detect but I can't. Might get in the van and look through the windows.

I think mice would have made a big hole in one place but might be wrong.

Thanks for your help.

Hedgehurst

Mice can get through truly tiny spaces!