Camping in an RV is a fun experience for most, and exploring some wildlife can make for an enjoyable time. However, no one likes mice as their furry friend in their camper.
Mice can carry many diseases, and most importantly, each mouse leaves up to 0.03 ounces of droppings a day on average!
How disgusting is that?
To ensure you do not have to go through the dreadful experience of having a mouse running around and causing havoc in your camper, we will give you a thorough guide on keeping mice out of a camper.
So, let’s get started.
How to Keep Mice Out of a Camper
Here, we’ll detail some easy, effective ways to keep mice out of your camper.
Clean up Your Camper!
On camping trips, it is expected that you will leave some crumbs of food, but you also must know that these crumbs will be an invitation for mice.
So, one of the first things you must do to keep mice away from your camper is clean every corner of the vehicle.
NEVER keep any food items open; this will guarantee mice get in.
If you plan on storing your camper, only leave canned foods in it if you must. Also, remember to clean your trailer regularly to be safe.
Your trash in the camper must be empty before you store it, or else the hungry mice will come for the crumbs stuck to the packets.
Mop the floor properly to ensure no sticky spots, wipe the countertops, and brush the cushion to get rid of any crumbs.
Find the Entry Points and Close Them
Before starting with any repellents or traps, you should closely examine your camper for any holes or entry points.
You might feel lazy to do this but try to crawl under your trailer and look for these holes that could let these mice in.
You want to look closely at areas where the pipes go into the camper.
Sometimes campers have enough gaps between windows and doors, so you also have to keep an eye out for that.
Lastly, check all your cabinets and storage spaces for gaps; remember, these little creatures don’t need a lot of space to enter your camper.
After identifying all the possible entry points, you need to close them. One of the best ways to do this would be to use expanding spray foam (where possible), which easily seals off the gaps and cracks. Although mice can chew through it, foam is a good barrier.
However, if you do not have one, you could use wire mesh or caulk. You could also use steel wool to close the gaps; it does the job.
Packing Food and Paper Away
Besides cleaning up the crumbs of food and leaving only canned foods when storing your camper, you also have to keep a few things in mind about handling your food while using the trailer.
The first thing you must do is always keep your food in tightly sealed boxes, and if you have a refrigerator in your camper, keep your food there.
Be careful when you are eating your food. It is very easy to leave crumbs that are gold for mice. So that cleaning up is easy for you, make sure not to leave crumbs in the first place.
If you didn’t know, mice also love to eat paper, so you should keep any newspapers or unnecessary books away. It would be best to be careful with tissues and toilet paper since these are a few of the many things mice chew on.
Use Metal Sheet Tubes
A very clever hack that prevents mice from entering your camper is using tubes made of thin metal sheets.
All you have to do is cut thin metal sheets about a foot in length, then roll them up to cylindrical tubes. Stick these tubes around the tires, jack, and even levelers, and then the mice shouldn’t be able to climb into your camper.
Mouse Repellents (Like Peppermint Oil)
You may use many products to keep mice away from your RV, but not all of them work with much certainty.
Many say peppermint oil is an option that works best amongst the other repellents out there in the market.
Soak cotton balls with peppermint oil and leave them around your camper, especially where there are any cracks or gaps.
The smell of peppermint oil might bother you a bit, but it is much better than a mouse running around your camper!
You may also use sprays that often do a great job of keeping mice away. You can use some sprays under your camper so the mice do not get too close.
Whatever you do to repel mice, please try to avoid using poison because it does a lot of harm to wildlife.
Using Mouse Traps
If you already have a mouse inside your camper, you will need to use a mouse trap to get rid of it. We will present you with a few options; the rest is up to you to decide.
Classic Mouse Straps
Lure in the mouse with mouse bait, and as soon as the mouse crawls on top of the trap, it should close and kill the mouse, or at least break its arm. This trap has been used for a long time and has proven effective.
No-Kill Traps
If you are opposed to killing a mouse, you might want to use a no-kill trap which works in the same way as a classic trap, but here the mouse just gets trapped and not killed.
Sticky Traps
You have to slather this sticky substance onto a thick paper or board and leave it on the ground. Then you must wait for the mouse to get stuck in it while running around. This method of getting rid of the mouse seems gross and cruel since it will just be stuck there for hours and suffer.
I recommend that you do not use sticky traps to catch mice.
Conclusion
Although mice are tiny creatures, they can bring up massive chaos if they enter your camper.
After reading through all the details on keeping mice out of a camper, we hope you do not make any silly mistakes that could let a mouse in!
Good luck!
