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How to Keep Mice Out of RV During Winter Storage?

How to Keep Mice Out of RV During Winter Storage?

Here are 16 easy methods to keep mice out of your RV during winter storage. Mice can destroy the RV wires and damage the furniture.

How to Keep Mice Out of RV During Winter Storage? Mice are most likely to enter your RV during the winter storage season because of low activity inside it. Make sure to inspect all the holes and properly seal them. Use mouse repellents and deterrents for saving your camper. After storage season, use some traps to catch mice in your RV and adequately clean them. 

How to Keep Mice Out of RV During Winter Storage?

The first step in keeping the mice out of your RV is to check all the entry points from where these little creatures come.

These tiny creatures have cartilage base body frames. The body structure helps these animals squeeze down in small holes and enter through them without discomfort.

They like to enter your RV during storage months like winter and enter through a small opening of less than half an inch.

It is crucial to find all the interior and exterior points from where they enter your RV. Go under your RV and inspect all the small gaps and holes.

The plumbing pipes and the end of the electrical cable or hose are the best entry area for this little creature.

The vibration caused due to driving makes these tight junctions lose after some time; thus, they can pass through them.

Some other places where they can enter are tiny crack holes in the doors and window, worn-out sealing areas, the points from where the plumbing pipes and wires move inside the RV.

Once they enter their head inside this hole, the rest of the body can follow easily. 

The other places they can quickly enter are the basement storage area, the wall, and window junctions.

The panel used for plugging electrical cords inside them and the gaps present in the base all serve the same function. 

The mouse most likely enters during the winter season, when there is low activity inside your camper. 

It provides a cozy environment to this little creature during the cold season of the year. There is no food available for this little creature in the winter season.

The smell of left-out food gives an attraction point to this creature, and they crawl inside your RV to enjoy their holidays in a cozy environment.

 It is vital to block this little creature’s entry inside your camper. It is an essential step to protect it from future damages and save some of your expenses.

 Sealing of holes in the RV

 After inspecting all the mouse’s entry points, it is essential to block all the gaps and holes. It would be best to seal the holes present inside the door and window junction with spray foam.

Make sure not to use this spray too much because it can expand after some time. It would be best to use a sharp knife to remove the extra foam.

Make sure to use the same shade of paint on the sealed area to maintain your camper’s aesthetic appearance. 

Caulking can also fill up all the holes present in the base of the floor, wiring, and plumbing junctions.

You can use a color caulk to match it with your camper paint. It can also help prevent the smell of left-out food from moving outside of the camper.

You can also use a good sealer to fix all the cracks present in the wall and door. It will also help in blocking all the entry points of this creature.

It is essential to block entry inside the camper because they can transmit different infections like hantavirus. 

Deer mice are the number one cause of this fatal pulmonary disease. You can easily contract this viral disease by picking and cleaning all the mouse’s droppings.

After blocking all the holes and gaps from the exterior side with sealer and caulk, attach the foil tape.

Install lights

Another remedy for keeping the rodents out of your camper is installing some lighting in them.

Mice are active at night; they can start finding a good place and proper food in the nighttime.

They can less visible to large predators due to the low availability of light. Adding lighting around the RV exterior helps prevent these rodents from moving inside the camper. 

Mouse are sensitive to bright light and can treat them as a danger. As a result, lighting allows you to keep it safe from these little rodents.

Installing rope light screws or LED bulbs around helps protect your RV from them.

Cleaning of your RV

It is essential to clean out your camper thoroughly. 

They come inside the trailer to enjoy a warm, cozy environment with free food availability and nesting material for good living.

You need to cut down all these attractive points for this creature’s arrival. Start your task by cleaning your camper, remove all the left out and open package food commodity as fast as possible. 

The left-out crumbs, open trash can, available food commodity, all these features invite this little fellow inside the camper.

The food store in Tupperware, toilet papers, clothing, and any other clothing form can help them enjoy their living inside the travel trailer. Make sure to store your camper empty. 

Take out all the food products before storing it in winters and remove all forms of clothing and paper towels from your camper.

Inspect every minor thing of your trailer, if it’s possible, like your cabinets, drawers, trash bins, bathroom area, floors, kitchen, etc. 

You can use some good cleaners that clean everything possible for this purpose. Make sure to clean your RV sofas, pillows, bedsheets, stove area, etc.

Clean everything where small crumbs of food are available because they have strong smelling power. They can easily smell all their attractive things from a distance without any difficulty.

Install covers

 The RV covering also plays a vital role in protecting your camper from these little ones. After storing your RV in a hard place like pavement or concrete, keep it correctly covered. 

After following all the steps mentioned above, this step is like an extra shield.

After properly secure all the holes and gaps and cleaning your RV accurately, covering helps further protect them.

The proper covering can close all these different surfaces that help in their invading. Accurately cover the compartments, wheels, and axle after storing it on hard surfaces.

Store RV on hard surfaces

You should be more careful when parking your RV in winter. Try not to store your trailer on a soft grassy area or wooden platforms.

These are the places from where the little creature can mostly come inside your camper.

They like to roam in this kind of flooring, so it is necessary not to place your camper on hard surfaces. 

You need to park it on hard concrete surfaces or flat pavements present at a significant distance from the grassy or woody area. 

They are primarily visible running in a grassy area. Suppose you place your camper at these places and have some left-out food in there.

The rodents invade inside your travel trailer through little holes and eat all the left-out foods.

Hood opening of camper

The little creature most likely takes shelter in a dark and warm place during winter. The engine compartment is one of the favorite places.

This compartment is generous, and also wiring in it provides a good source of food for them.

The best method to prevent the invading animal entry into this compartment is to open up its hood.

You can also install some lighting in this region to make this area brighter. In this way, they are less likely to be attracted by them.

Use of Mousetrap

You need to add extra tools to protect it from this little creature. If the mouse invades your camper, you need to do additional measurements like putting a trap or catcher for them. 

There are different varieties of traps available in the market. If you do not want to kill this little creature, use no-kill traps.

It catches them but does not kill them; you can release this little creature far away from your RV. 

Other mice catching traps are dangerous for this creature. They are effective in killing them by breaking their neck.

They contain responsive metal springs once they provoke the spring. The trap releases the metal bar powerfully, which can break anything.

Add some attractive bait in these traps like vanilla-soaked cotton balls with latches inside, cheese, pieces of bread, sweets, etc.

Mice cannot resist these things and come close to the traps. These traps are the end stage of any battle against this creature.

For disposing of their dead bodies, be incredibly careful because they can spread fatal infections. Use gloves and mask, pack their body in plastic bags and seal it.

For cleaning the trap, use bleach water and completely dry them in sunlight. Never pick or clean mouse dropping by using hands or vacuum cleaner. Use bleach to clean the area of dropping.

Poison bait for mice

You can also use poisons to kill this little rodent. This method is less appreciated because after eating something poisonous.

The mice move towards their shelter in the motorhome, and you cannot find the place. After some time, the body of the rodent starts to decompose.

It will create a smelly environment inside your camper. The poison can be dangerous for everyone.

If some birds or other predator eats, the mouse’s decomposing body must like to die too.

Dryer sheets for RV

Mice do not like strong smell. Dryer sheets have a strong aroma that can help keep mice out of your camper.

You can easily install them in separate places. It is essential to replace them after some time because they lose their aroma.

You can spread these sheets on cabinets, countertops, bathroom floor, closets, etc.

Dryer sheets are not a permanent solution to repeal the mouse out. You need to install some other method to make them more functional.

Use of Mouse repellents

Some other scented home products available help prevent the entry of mice. They do not like the strong smell; this is the most preferred method to save your camper.

Some of them are mothballs, peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, ultrasonic mouse repellent, Irish soap, etc.

Mothballs can help keep this little creature away due to its strong smell. Try to be extremely cautious while putting these balls.

The mothballs are fatal to your pets and children and make the whole atmosphere smelly. You can use them in the storage area because of their strong smell. 

Peppermint oil is the preferable method of mouse repellents. Mice do not like peppermint oil’s fragrance and can not tolerate them.

You can take a cotton ball, soak them in peppermint oil and leave it in every entry place of mice.

Try to replace the cotton balls after some time. You can also add them to your cabinets, drawers, and closets. 

Cinnamon oils are also used synergistically with peppermint oil. Add about ten to twelve drops of these oils to a cotton ball.

The quantity of the oil drops depends on the size of your ball. Add these little balls in front of every entry point. 

You can also use clove and mint oil because mice hate their fragrance. Soak the cotton ball in both of this oil and place them in separate places. 

Irish spring soap help keep the rodent away from your camper. You can cut the Irish spring soap to the appropriate size and put the soap pieces in the mice’s entry route inside the camper.

Ultrasonic devices as mouse repellents

Ultrasonic devices help keep every kind of rodent away from your RV. Ultrasound devices are eco-friendly and do not hear them, but small rodents can feel them.

They do not penetrate compact objects or walls. They are economical and can install in every room.

They can also control all the pest infestation inside the RV, like cockroaches, spiders, etc. You can use this product by plugging their switch in the socket, and they start working.

Natural mouse repellent

There are different biodegradable products in the market formed of scented products like essential oils, absorbents, other chemicals, etc.

You can spread these scented products like mouse magic on all the mice’s entry points where all the attractive attributes of the mouse entry are available. 

Some of them are present in a spray form like a Grandpa Gus’s. They do not affect your interior compartments like wooden floors, furniture, etc. 

Sticky substances for catching mice

Some sticky mouse-killing products are available in the market. You can spread them on some trays and add some good bait on them and place them in dry and warm places.

After some time, check the tray and dispose of all the stuck-up substances.

This method of mouse catching is not ethically accepted. The little creature dies due to the unimaginable pain of starvation.

Repelling lubricants for rodents

There is some repelling lubricants available present in the market. The slippery nature of this product protects from a rodent invasion.

How to remove dead mice from your RV?

All these above mention steps can help in killing this little creature. Make sure that all compartments are safe from this little rodent. After that, you need to clean it thoroughly. 

For picking up all the dropping and waste material of the mouse, you need to wear rubber gloves.

Make a mixture of bleach and water to sterilize the area. You can also use some disinfectants for this purpose. Use paper towels for picking them up and dispose of this material. 

Wash away all the clothing that has evidence of dropping on them. Mop away all the area with disinfectants and clean the shelves and cabinets. For cleaning the carpets, make sure to dry clean them accurately. 

Dispose of the dead bodies of mice in seal-tight plastic bags. After that, open all the windows and doors of your RV. It helps in making the environment fresh and helps dry the area thoroughly. 

For cleaning the storage area, you need to wear protection caps and masks, glasses, and some gloves. Remove all the storage boxes and spray the whole compartment with disinfectant or bleach.

Remove all the lethal material and spray the whole unit with disinfectants. After that, dry them thoroughly.

Why is it essential to protect your RV from mice?

It is essential to take all the preventive measures inside your RV to protect them from mice. 

The mice perceive as troublemakers of the RV. They can create a lot of mess in the camper. Not only do they eat all the left-out and packed food commodities, but they also left their droppings behind.

They can cause considerable damage, they can chew everything like cushions, wood, wiring, sealing, rubber pipes, plumbing, plastic boards, etc.

They increase your camper’s expense because you need to fix everything for its proper functioning.

Otherwise, it will decrease its safety and aesthetic appearance and lower its resale value. The cleaning of all the mess this little creature cause is another challenging task.

While cleaning, you need to be overly cautious to save yourself from lethal diseases and infections.

No one wants to enter your camper and become sick. It will also make your holidays boring.

Inspecting your RV is another challenging task because you need to find every possible hole and gap in your RV’s interior and exterior surfaces.

The selection of a precise method to kill this little creature is another stressful task. Due to this reason, no one wants this little creature inside its camper.

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