not so nice mice

[yakmeat123]

I just got done dealing with what appears to be just a couple of mice in my RV. I'm pissed that they were able to get in since I went around and spray foamed any openings and spaces I could find underneath the trailer. I used an enclosed poison food and also put a couple snap traps in. It appears the poison is doing its job but I am asking for any additional advice you all might have. I also heard from one person that the mice will chew open your waterlines after being poisoned even if they have been drained and blown out with air.

I have also used some balsam fir oil but it doesn't last long.

[boondocking]

I would not use poison unless you can keep the mice contained where the poison is. I used poison once many years ago. The mouse died inside the furnace and rotted. I had to totally disassemble the furnace to get rid of the smell.

[heavynlori]

They can also die under kitchen base cabinets or waterbeds.....yep on both cases .....didnt tear out kitchen but did dismantle waterbed to remove

Takes awhile to get rid of/used to that smell 🤢

[007matman]

I hear ya.

Struggling with the same thing myself.

A little over a year ago I pulled down the underbelly and replaced all the ductwork, sealed every crack with pest block foam, steel wool, caulk and Gorilla Tape. I thought I had that thing tight as a drum.

On the inside of the camper we vacuumed after every trip, added 4 glue traps, 4 conventional traps w/ peanut butter, and used Spearmint or peppermint Oil on cotton balls (replenished them every 3-4 weeks). Pulled it out of storage last week to go through it quick and found a little evidence they had been in the living area.. just a few spots and no sprung traps until I got it home. That night I got one in the trap but that's it.

However, last weekend we had to use the heater and boy was that fun. Let's just say some of them are likely well done at this point. Opened up the underbelly yesterday and the duct work looks like swiss cheese. So, in the process of a complete replacement of all the ducts.

I've sealed just about everything I can think of but they still get in.

[tyler811]

We used peppermint oil on a cotton ball. Seems to have worked this year (knonk wood). In the pop up we used poison bags and one died the canvas. We kept it open and up for a week to get the smell.



I am fan of glue traps now. Sticks the little bass turds to the trap so ya do not have the hunt for them in the spring.

[CGK]

We have also had success using peppermint oil on cotton balls we put in small, cheap, plastic cups. The oil is quite expensive, and we use a lot of these cups as we winterize the camper. We put a cup in/near almost any area that has pipes, wires, etc. coming into the TT from the outside. Sometimes that requires removal of a few screws and a panel, sometimes we just put several in an area we want to protect. It should be noted that most everything coming up through the floor in our TT has foam applied already, but mice can chew right through that and can get into incredibly small spaces. I've heard that adding steel wool to a patch of newly-applied foam, and then adding more foam on top of that can work to dissuade these little buggers from making your camper their home; but I'm just getting ready to test that advice myself and so can't say for sure that it works. One other thing that should not be overlooked is keeping the area around your camper clear of debris, piles of wood, long grass, snow, and anything that might attract the rodents and get them closer to your camper (and hence make it easier for them to get IN your camper). Doesn't hurt to have hawks, cats, foxes, and other predators in the area, either, as they help to keep the rodent population under control. Good luck!

[Chazman]

I have been using cotton balls with peppermint oil for years, along with a Wave Pestrepeller in the TT. This Winter, with the new trailer having slides, (retracted of course) and being under a new cover, it's much more difficult to get into to put a few drops of oil on the cotton balls every month so I decided to do it a little differently this time. Instead of ten to twelve drops I put about a quarter inch of oil in each little cup along with three cotton balls. (I use Jello pudding cups - perfect size) I have seven or eight of them scattered around the trailer. Never had a problem. It works for ants and spiders too. I buy the peppermint oil in 16 oz. containers when it's on sale at PipingRock.com. Three or four times a year you can get a canister for under forty bucks, shipping included. I use it around our chicken run to keep the mice away as well.

[Flybob]

Been using essential oil of peppermint ( not food grade) for 15 years and no mice. You do have to refresh every 5-6 weeks. Put on cotton balls in a glass or ceramic mug as it will dissolve plastic. Please do not use poison ( even if contained) as the poisoned animals leave to find water and can be eaten by a Raptor. Dozens of Eagles are killed each year in Maryland alone by secondary poisoning.

[Chazman]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Been using essential oil of peppermint ( not food grade) for 15 years and no mice. You do have to refresh every 5-6 weeks. Put on cotton balls in a glass or ceramic mug as it will dissolve plastic. Please do not use poison ( even if contained) as the poisoned animals leave to find water and can be eaten by a Raptor. Dozens of Eagles are killed each year in Maryland alone by secondary poisoning.

I have never had a problem with peppermint oil dissolving the little plastic Jello cups...

[spock123]

I gave up on trying to keep mice out, I make sure I don’t leave any food around or water. We put out glue traps and when we find a stuck on mouse we drown it. Mouse traps work, bait the mouse traps with flour. I have brought have a heart mouse traps. Once you trap the mouse let it go in the woods. DW doesn’t like catch and release mouse traps

[CGK]

We have had no problems with the plastic cups dissolving either, and as noted earlier, we use small, cheap plastic cups for this purpose. Perhaps it's because we put the oil directly on the cotton ball and not in the cup. Our friends poured the oil directly into their plastic cups and dropped the cotton balls on top of that; and some of the cups did dissolve. They had no mouse problems, but they still had a bit of a mess on their hands. We also do not refresh the cotton balls through the winter - the cold weather seems to extend the effectiveness of the oil. The TT is kept covered, but with the roof vents opened slightly (MaxxAirs to prevent water getting in through those vents), but when we open things up in March or early April to get the TT ready for the camping season, it is still "minty fresh." Hope the mice don't develop an affinity for mint.

[donkro]

I have had success keeping mice out by ringing all tires with mothballs, most likely the way they'll climb up into your vehicle. They need to be replenished every month or so, depending on weather. They do smell but not obnoxiously, and our vehicle is far enough away from house so it's not a problem.

[kittlecat]

Get a cat. I've never had problems with mice or other rodents and I have always camped with a cat.

[007matman]

Originally Posted by kittlecat

Get a cat. I've never had problems with mice or other rodents and I have always camped with a cat.

Think I could enclose one in the ductwork of my RV?

:-) .. yes, for those of you without a sense of humour that was a joke. I'm not serious.

[spock123]

I don’t know which is worse a cat or a mouse.

[satdog01]

Got stainless steel wool from Amazon, applied it then slowly filled it with foam to hold it in place. Use fresh Cab around sewer lines as well. If this fails will borrow my neighbors cat and litter box. After a couple of days when cat smell gets established, should do trick.

[birderlarry]

We had quite the spring/early summer last year, with mice wreaking havoc on our dashboard ventilation system in our Class C Freelander. They blocked all the ductwork and got into the fan box. Previously, oil of peppermint worked well, but to no avail last season. Cab Fresh was moderately effective, but the best product was, and still is, Bobcat Urine, from the Pee Man. I spray around all the tires and spray under the hood and into the dashboard ducts once a month. So far so good! And contrary what one might think, the odor is not offensive.

[3Harts19]

I used dryer sheets in my popup. Got the advice from a fellow camper. Worked for the past 4 years. The popup was littered with dryer sheets-under the mattresses, cushions, shoved in all the holes, etc. It keeps the spiders away too! I hate spiders!! Not sure if it would work on a TT or not, but sure worked for popup. Plus smells better than moth balls