How to keep mice out of trailer?

[Jeff from Burlington Ont]

Looking for advice how to keep mice out of trailer when in storage.. Buddy of mine parked his new trailer on his friends rear lawn for the winter and within 2 months mice moved in, ate the mattresses, ate the wiring and made a real mess. I have been parking my trailer in a trailer storage lot covered in asphalt grindings covering about an acre with no troubles. But this lot is really expensive per month. Is there a better way to store on grass? Putting down tarps to kill grass to keep mice out? Any ideas?

[Kels4g]

All holes/openings in the trailer need to be light tight. Remove all food and clean all surfaces. Use a mice deterrent.

[Platokidd]

Had mice problems and tried everthing. Then I tried these and they work great
http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Rodent-R...dent+repellent




Victor Mini PestChaser Ultrasonic Rodent Repeller, 3-Pack - Walmart.com

[B and B]

I use the ultrasonic in our park model. In both we use Essential Oil of Peppermint, irish spring and Bounce sheets. Seems the triple threat is working this year.

[Harkerr]

D-Con in storage areas works for me.

[lunar50]

We've used peppermint essence for years and have had no problems, but we are parked on a cement pad as well so that probably helps as well

[hondo]

We store ours in a pole barn with dirt floor. As mentioned above make sure all openings are sealed and remove all food. We put bounce dryer sheets all around in side and we have never had a mouse in 6 years now.

[GreenImp]

Our trailer seems to be a mice magnet these days. I have had no luck with deterrents and removing food.

I have had nothing but mixed results with traps too, with one exception. The one thing that continues to be successful for me is the homemade "bucket trap". I have only been setting it out once I know there is a new resident in the trailer, but am now planning to leave it in there long term. The thought that I may be drawing more mice into the trailer than would otherwise venture in does concern me, but at least they will be caught and not be roaming the trailer for weeks or months before I discover their presence. The beauty of the bucket trap is it can catch and hold dozens (or even hundreds?) of mice without needing any attention.

Wish there was a sure fire way to put an end to the mice problem once and for all.

[VAlover]

We have used Irish Spring soap and dryer sheets at all possible openings and corners for the last 7 years and, so far, have never had a mouse issue. Our TT is in a field type storage area.

[Josey]

Mothballs have worked for us. Put them in the outside compartments and under the trailer. Get a little of the mothball smell when you reopen for spring but it doesn't last long.

[billcoll]

We use cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil and keep an old radio in the RV playing 24/7. The noise and oil have worked perfectly for 3 yrs. (I ran an extension cord from house to RV for the radio.)

[hikerjohn7]

We have a fairly new Georgetown and it must be tight since I have not had a rat or squirrel problem inside. However, we had something, I think squirrels in cold weather, build a nest in the V of the engine and chew on the wires. I keep open containers of D-Con on the engine and in the frame and seemed to have stopped the problem although they sometimes empty the containers.

[Flybob]

PLEASE do not use Rat Poison. It works by causing the rodents to bleed to death internally. It is not immediate and in the process of dying they become very thirsty and go out in search of water. While outside and dying they are easy prey for hawks and owls. If eaten by a bird of prey, they will also poison them. Keep rodents out with peppermint or cab fresh or trap those that get in with snap traps.

[Justice12t]

Originally Posted by Josey

Mothballs have worked for us. Put them in the outside compartments and under the trailer. Get a little of the mothball smell when you reopen for spring but it doesn't last long.

Purchased a pop up when I first started camping for cheap. Was told that it had been sitting for awhile and just need a good cleaning and the fabrics washed. Come to find out the previous owner loaded it with mothballs and left them in there for I am guessing years...needless to say I never got the smell out...No mice though! but make sure they are used outside only...

We currently use Irish Spring and dryer sheets...we are parked on a gravel pad next to the garage.

[hikerjohn7]

I had lots of trepidation about using rat poisoning but I was getting desperate since the varmints chewed wires on top of the engine costing over $700 to replace a damaged wire harness. They also chewed holes in my $350 Adco RV cover. I tried everything else I could find but it did not work. My wife was panicking and I was facing having to sell the RV. The D-Con seems to be working however. That said, I never place it outside on the ground. I place it only on the top of the engine and at a point in the frame near my propane tank. The only animals affected are ones which invade my RV. Until someone comes up with a better deterrent for rats and squirrels, I will have to stay with the D-Con.

[hankpac]

Mothballs, but frankly, Decon is the way to go. I put it near each contact point on the ground: Tires, jacks, and power/water lines.
I don't want mice in the cabin, they carry fleas, which carry plague (it is endemic in the south west) and Hanta Virus in their urine. Since they pee everywhere they go, so they can mark their trails, that is a lot of exposure to very serious disease.
I don't use traps, since I don't want to be handling them.

[shughey00]

no matter what we used as a deterrent mice loved our 5ver, Dryer sheets...Fresh cab...Irish Spring...they did not care.
Put mouse traps in to catch them I put one trap on top of a dryer sheet and one next to a fresh cab pack...caught mice in both. The mouse had to crawl across the dryer sheet to get to the trap on top...and the fresh cab pack was right next to the other trap.
Mice could care less...caught em in both. As well as a 3 other mice in other areas.
So I don't care what people say about the deterrents...my mice don't care what you use. Accept if its a trap or poison. SO no more moth balls...dryer sheets...fresh cab...I call BS.
If you dont want them then you have to find every stinking little access point...plug those up.... and still use some sort of trap or poison....cause around here...they just laugh at the home brew crap. Even the famed Fresh Cab didnt work...they even built a nest in a cabinet with a new fresh cab packet....no food in there...just a few pots and a roll of paper towels which they tore up for a nest,

[OscarsMom2]

As stated previously be sure to plug all of the holes you can find. We use steel wool in places where electric lines enter the RV. We usually use a product called Shake Away for years and it really worked. Mouse Repellent - Rodent Repellent Granules I always ordered from the company, but I see that you can order from Amazon. Our local Ace Hardware has it, too. This year, I used Cab Fresh. It has quite a potent smell and gave me a headache whenever I went it the RV, so I took it out and have gone back to Shake Away. We put trays of it in the RV and sprinkle it on the ground around the wheels, etc. No mice this year.

[AquaMan]

I don't worry about mice or rodents. I have a couple of rogue cats that roam my business property and they are killing machines! I put out food for them occasionally just to keep them coming back. In the last 5 yrs, I haven't had the single trace of a mouse anywhere. I keep my GTown there in my back parking lot.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

I don't worry about mice or rodents. I have a couple of rogue cats that roam my business property and they are killing machines! I put out food for them occasionally just to keep them coming back. In the last 5 yrs, I haven't had the single trace of a mouse anywhere. I keep my GTown there in my back parking lot.

x2 for that, although I don't have rogue cats. I live on 17 acres with about half of it dense woods and the rest pasture land. When I built my barn back in '96, and filled it with horse feed and hay, every darn mouse within 10 miles seemed to show up. Went down to the local animal shelter and got three tomcat kittens (along with certificates for free neutering) and locked them in the barn for three days (to acclimate them to and convince them they had a new home). Unlocked the "cat door" and they roam freely on the property and never seem to leave.

The mice (and rats) just plain disappeared. Each cat lasts about 10 years or so and very easy to replace. One of them likes to hang out in the stalls when the horses were there and the big animals had no problem with that. If one is keeping their RV on private property I highly recommend getting some cats. They do a good job and are maintenance free.