Up for an amazing adventure? Awesome! But what if there is a little creepy uninvited creature suddenly show up and ruin your day? Pretty much annoying, isn’t it?Mice are small pests that create a big impact for RV owners. They can cause serious damage and annoyance to your home that is expensive to repair. It can also be a big mess to clean up. Avoid suffering from the terrible effect mice might provide by learning how to keep mice out of RV.
Contents
Getting To Know The Enemy
To win in the battle of RV versus mice, first thing first – know the enemy. You can plan a smart attack when you know who you are fighting for.
What Is A Mouse?
A mouse is the most common rodent with a pointed snout, long and hairy tail and rounded ears. Mice commonly have a brown and grayish color. Their droppings are rod-shaped. Female mice can give birth up to a half dozen babies. This means a single pregnant mouse in your RV can dominate rapidly in just three weeks.
Preferred Food
- Cheese
- Cereal grains
- Fruits
- Seeds
Note: Most mice eat anything they can find. They eat about 15 to 20 times a day.
Preferred Location
Outdoor Mice
- Storage sheds
- Weeds
- Shrubbery
- Crawl spaces
- Foundations
- Garages
Indoor Mice
- Ceiling voids
- Walls
- Cabinet voids
- Under large appliances/furniture
- Storage boxes
- Drawers
Mice are born with a good sense of smell. Even a small food stored in your RV can attract mice around. They are small enough to squeeze into an open dime or crack and destroy everything you have inside. It is important to clean your vehicle every time you in and out of the home.
Step By Step Guide To Preventing Mice
With Irish Spring Soap
Irish spring soap is believed to be great for mice, not to bath them but to keep them away from the RV for good. The soap produces a strong smell of mouse hate. However, it is important to remember that a bar of soap may fizzle out quickly. Try to check and replace the bar of soap regularly.
What You Will Need:
- Irish Spring soap bar
- Knife or cutter
- A small basin
- Hand gloves
Procedures:
Step 1: Wear hand gloves and gather the rest of the materials together.
Step 2: Unwrap the Irish Spring soap and set aside. This kind of soap can easily be found in grocery stores.
Step 3: Get your knife or cutter and tear the soap in half. This helps you spread more soap in every corner of the vehicle.
Step 4: Put the cut parts into the basin for cleaner and easier use.
Step 5: Eight pieces of Irish Spring soaps can make 16 halves enough to scatter around the vehicle. You can place one in closets, under the couches, end tables, beneath the sinks, inside the cabinets, below the bed, bookcases and any other area in your recreation car.
Step 6: Check the soap regularly. If the smell is gone, replace the soap. You can now enjoy your scented and mice free RV.
With Peppermint Essential Oil
Mice will get overwhelmed and confused with peppermint essential oil. The scent makes them crazy that they want to stay away. For best results, use 100% peppermint oil, for a stronger smell, and stop the mice at the source.
What You Will Need:
- Cotton balls
- 100% Peppermint Oil
- A cup of water
- Sprayer
Procedures:
Step 1: Have your peppermint oil ready and dab it on cotton balls. The oil can be bought easily on supermarket stores or you can get online at Amazon.
Step 2: Once you get the balls wet, go to the place where you can see the mice. See if there are any holes or open walls that unwanted creatures commonly pass through. Don’t forget to check the kitchen of your RV mice might be hiding somewhere while eating.
Step 3: Place cotton balls in every area where you think there are mice. One or two balls are enough to scatter the smell of peppermint oil. Make sure the balls won’t roll out easily.
Step 4: For you to learn HOW TO KEEP MICE OUT OF RV, play on many possible ways that can draw mice away. One is to spray a peppermint entirely on the surface where mice are spotted.
Step 5: Combine a cup of water to every 2 teaspoons of peppermint oil. Mix them thoroughly. You can do the mixing directly into the empty canister sprayer.
Step 6: Spray around your home on the wheels especially on those holes where mice come in and out. Sometimes, you need to move out of your appliances or bed and cabinets as mice tend to hide in the back or below in these areas.
Step 7: Do this at least once a month or every time you see these ugly little visitors coming.
With Mothballs
Mothballs contain chemical pesticide and deodorant. These small balls are usually used when storing clothing to prevent damage due to mold or moth larvae. Its strong odor can also be used to deter mice and other pests.
The naphthalene contain in the mothball is considered to make mice lose their ability to carry oxygen and that they will have difficulty breathing. Learning how to keep mice out of RV should not be hazardous on your end.
What You Will Need:
- Hand gloves
- Mouth mask
- Mothballs
- Scissor
Procedures:
Step 1: For safety, wear hand gloves to avoid touching the mothball as it is very much health risky. Also, don’t forget to wear a mask to cover your mouth. If the balls can affect the breathing of mice and so you will.
Step 2: Get the scissors and cut the mothball packs. If you have one in a bottle then you may skip this step. Mothballs can cause nasal cancer and other diseases. Please warn kids not to touch the balls.
Step 3: Find the area in your RV where you can find mice or their droppings. They might be hiding somewhere in dark and secure areas such as the back of an oven. Check your cabinets too. Don’t forget to hit on every corner of your kitchen.
Step 4: Bring the balls in places where you can see mice or their droppings. Make sure to insert one or two into the holes where they can enter into the RV with ease.
Step 5: Make sure to put balls only in the area where you can hide them. It should be far from the sight of kids. The smell should also be a bit far from your nose. Others cover the mothballs with fabric to minimize the smell.
Step 6: See if you can still find creepy mice around.
With Steel Wool
One other best method you can do to keep the mouse out of RV is to create physical barriers. Preventing them to enter beforehand will save your time and effort buying and planning for something you can drive them away. People used spray foam to plug up holes. While foam is a great way for open cracks, it is simply not a match for strong teeth of mice.
So, let’s try another option – steel wool, something mice might not consider chewing.
What You Will Need:
- Steel wool
- Hand gloves
- Sealer (small nails)
- Cutter (to cut excess wools)
Procedures:
Step 1: Before plugging up mouse holes, see to it you wear gloves for safety purposes.
Step 2: Get your steel wool ready. Hardware stores and paint departments sell it but make sure to purchase one that is not used for cleaning pans but for stripping wood. This type is much slick and stronger than those used for pans.
Step 3: Take a wad of steel wool. Use this to stuff the holes where mice have entered. Cut the steel wool if necessary, to fit into the holes.
Step 4: Seal up the hole by using small nails for wooden fixtures and small bolts for cracked metal parts.
Step 5: Go down and check the outside part of your RV. Check for any possible holes to know what path a mouse might take to enter the vehicle. If there are holes, nooks, and crannies, stick some wool. Then seal them completely.
Step 6: Mice can climb through the tires. To prevent this, place tall metals around tires and jack stands so mice cannot go up.
Step 7: Once you closed all the holes and put slick barriers in your tires, you can store your RV wherever you want.
Conclusion
RVs, give you home when you are far from home. Once you get your RV clean, you can invite family and friends to take adventures with you. But great scavenger mice? It’s big no way!
Learning HOW TO KEEP MICE OUT OF RV can help you prevent any damage done by the mice while letting you enjoy every moment on your wheels. So, I hope this article will bring out the finest in your RV, and on your day.
Have you won the battle against mice? Please share your secret!
Read more: How To Reduce Condensation In Your RV