How To Prevent Mice In Your RV
Rodents carry diseases and can cause expensive damage to your vehicles. They love to chew through wires and that can cause dangerous situations in your tow vehicle as well as your rig. So, learning how to prevent mice in your RV is an important part of enjoying your adventures in a fun, safe and healthy kind of way.
VIDEO: Stop inviting mice into your RV!
Watch my YouTube video to learn how we kept mice out of our RV during the summer when we stayed in one location for four months straight. VIDEO: Stop inviting mice into your RV! 4 months, 1 Location: Mouse-Free!
Evidence Of A Problem
You should keep an eye out for any evidence that mice are in the area. Look for things like:
- Mouse poop in your cabinets, drawers and any small, dark places (they are tiny black poops that can look like a small insect)
- Torn and shredded materials that are destroyed (like ripped paper towels, carpet and rugs, clothing and bath towels, insulation around vehicle batteries)
- Piles of things that don’t belong somewhere (like dry cat or dog food piled in hidden areas)
- Small mounds of materials (that are used to build nests)
How To Deter Mice
Mice want food, water and shelter so don’t give them what they are looking for!
Do
- Keep the inside and outside of your rig and campsite clean
- Remove trash to dumpster or burn your burnable items in your campfire
- Use a trash can with a lid
- Keep food in containers that mice can’t chew through
- Spray peppermint rodent deterrent around your rig
- Sprinkle repellent granules on the ground around RV and tow vehicles
- Place ultrasonic transmitters in and around your RV
- Use motion-activated animal repellent
- Place peppermint scented sachet packs and/or dryer sheets in cabinets, storage compartment and vehicles
- Seal all entry points with wool and foam, especially focus in areas where wiring and tubing run to the exterior of your rig
- Leave vehicle hoods open during the day (unless the weather is bad)
- Check baited traps frequently (we found creamy peanut butter and cheddar cheese work best)
- Reapply preventive measures as often as necessary
Don’t
- Leave food out (for humans or animals), especially bird food on the ground
- Let your guard down, do stay vigilent and constantly look for evidence of mice
- Let a problem go unaddressed, do tend to issues immediately
Gadgets We Use
We have tried so many different gadgets and methods to prevent mice from moving in with us. I suggest that you try every method possible because the type of mice, their habitation preferences and your geographic location can all play a part in which gadgets work and which are not successful.
You can find all of our favorite products in one place.
From our personal experience, we recommend the following products.
Boondocking Challenges
A remote camping experience has unique issues compared to camping in an RV park with full hookups and ammenities. Personally, we prefer dispersed camping, not because it is cheap or free but because we like the privacy of large spaces rather than being packed-in with tons of other rigs in an RV resort or campground setting.
Watch my YouTube video: The Perfect RV Boondocking Campsite Setup for more tips.
You can check out my entire blog post to learn more about how we camp off-the-grid and why we love it: Boondocking: How And Where To Go Dispersed Camping.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment, question or suggestion below. I’d love to hear from you so let’s chat.