November 4, 2020 - They're BACK!!!!

For the last several years we have been fighting beetles that look like lady bugs invading Marge. On our last winter trip to Florida. as we headed South and the RV warmed up inside, the beetles came out by the hundreds. Literally. We were in Florida for several weeks before we finally eliminated all of them. They are attracted to warmth and to the color white. Here is a picture of some of them I took on the ceiling yesterday.

We are not looking forward to residing with them until we can get rid of them. We can't just smash them for two reasons - they stink and they leave a stain on the area where they are smashed. We found the best way to "catch them" for annihilation is with a wad of Duck Tape. We gently press the sticky take against them until they are stuck. I used a loop of take yesterday to eliminate a couple of dozen inside. We can't reach the ceiling without a step stool, which makes catching them a pain. I need to work on a stick to reach them but I haven't figured out how to hold the Duck Tape on the stick until it is full of bugs then discarded. I need to work on that soon.

Here are a couple pictures of the beetles today on the outside on the rear cap. There are hundreds of them everywhere. 

The other day I tackled another outside project. Many of the screws holding a seam strip on under the fifth wheel had broken off over the years. Here is a picture of the area with the red arrow pointing to where the strip is bent and goes under the fifth wheel to seal off the front cap. The screws that broke off were between this corner and the hitch on each side.

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It is always hard to drill up because it is hard to apply pressure. I counted nine screws broken off that needed to be drilled out. I knew it would be a pain to drill new holes for new screws and I wasn't wrong.  I broke three drill bits but eventually got new stainless steel screws in place. Here is a picture of a section of the completed work.

The area needed to be cleaned and caulked. Of course I can't get the proper caulk in town so I had to order a tube online. The caulk arrived from Amazon yesterday so today I cleaned the seam area with alcohol and caulked. Here is a picture of the caulked strips. 

Another project completed thanks to nice weather. Now I need to get busy and invent a beetle killer stick.