How to stop the mice?

[Ozzie D Odyssey]

I used to get mice in my 2022 Jayco then I crawled under it and found large openings around penetrations so I stuff holes with steel wool and then sprayed flex seal over it. then I put a life size plastic owl under behind the wheels and the seems to work. don't use any type of foam the mice love to chew it and make nest in the foam

A couple of the companies that make cans of expanding foam have some that include an irritant, like pepper spray, that mice won’t chew. I’ve used the Great Stuff brand and so far it works. https://www.lowes.com/pd/GREAT-STUFF-SMART-DISPENSER-Pestblock-12-oz-Spray-Foam-Insulation/1000683229

 

[soonergypsy]

Tried a lot of what has been recommended here

I tried most if not all that is listed here. I had Mouse and chipmunk issues with a large stash of nuts the first year. The most effective was the use of an electronic plug in device that deters rodent and bugs. I park mine outside in a wooden area. I do have electric to my parking area so I purchased the AC plug in device which I also have in my house and shop. If you don't have ac they are available in 12 volt DC. Note all of mine a different brands and all of them work.

 

[Roadwarrior-JAY]

I've heard you can string LED lights around the trailer on the ground kind of like the old cowboy rattlesnake trick with a rope.

 

[Johnynorthland]

I’ve done everything and anything you can think of. The last thing I did was to add bars of Irish sping. That seem to stop them.

But if all else fails buy a hungry cat!

 

[joe w-JAY]

Use bronze wool, doesn't rust if it gets wet.

 

[Tess40]

X2 regarding the peppermint oil and it smells like Christmas all year round
I also spray this stuff called "Mouse Off" or "Proof". It came in a kit with 2 jugs and a sprayer...you need a compressor. You spray the entire bottom of the RV...it's a thick oily liquid that lubricates/protects everything...mice don't like the smell and because it's slippery. I bought it probably 6-7 years ago and used it up this Oct. Not sure it's still available but it worked great! There's also the sonic devices that give off a signal mice don't like and we can't hear...you can but a six pack and place them in and outside around the RV.

I Have Used This. Its Great Spray every year.

 

[Ozzie D Odyssey]

Don't bother with Irish Spring soap...I did that in my last Class C and the little b*&st@rds ATE the soap and came back for more!

 

[Gilcou21]

Try Bounce

Never had to deal with that.

But a friend of mine use some sheet of Bounce and no more little visitors.
Put it everywhere.
And as a bonus your TT smell good

Happy New Year folks !


QUOTE=Wirenut;1187813]Our last camping trip ended on November 17. We cleaned out the camper (including all food and drink) and put some mouse traps in just in case some got in.

In the next 2 weeks I trapped nearly 20 mice. I put the camper in my shop and started looking for holes. Jayco should be ashamed of themselves. When I dropped the bottom plastic covering there were so many huge holes between the inside and outside of the camper a wonder we didn't have larger animals in there. After a week of spray foam, screen wire, caulk, wood, and sheet metal I finally thought I had everything closed up.
I put the camper back outside less than 48 hours ago. I just checked my traps and had 3 more mice. It's parked on a gravel pad near the house but we live in the woods so the gravel pad is surrounded by leaves, grass, trees, etc.
Any good ideas short of having a cat or snake live in the camper? I would have thought with no food in there and it's not heated they wouldn't even be that bothered about getting in.[/QUOTE]

 

[stever71]

The tank heaters in my 19 whitehawk were just loose foil ducts x2 that connected to the furnace under the coroplaslt.
These were open on each end and basically provided a tunnel access to the rest of the trailer via the inside heating ducts.
I ended up sealing them off with aluminum window screen and foil tape.
Also plugged multiple holes that were drilled 100x the size of the wire or pex that ran through them.
So far so good

 

[Lake Cruiser]

I've heard you can string LED lights around the trailer on the ground kind of like the old cowboy rattlesnake trick with a rope.

No scientific proof but I have flashing LED under my Jayco and have not had a mouse problem since. I read that they dont like the flashing light. Mine go 24/7.

 

[TowPro]

No scientific proof but I have flashing LED under my Jayco and have not had a mouse problem since. I read that they dont like the flashing light. Mine go 24/7.

I have these ultra sonic flashing light things I bought off amazon some years ago. I had a mouse in my last Motor home,I put this device on the floor in the center and never had them again. now its in my jayco and the other is under the cover on my Pontoon boat. I do know the one on the boat don't stop lizards though. The ones I bought come in a pair and I think are made for under the hood of your car.

 

[Zenar]

Never use baited traps or attractants. They draw mice into your RV

 

[tnka trk]

Here is our process:
Seal any gaps to prevent entry
Wash outside
Remove all food and odours as well as ant potential bedding material.
Clean inside, then wipe all surfaces with bleach wipes
Hang dryer sheets throughout
Place bowls of baking soda throughout rv
Place fresh cab around inside rv
Spray underside of trailer with mouse free
Come back in spring and remove mouse poop, sanitized inside trailer and start again.

 

[Johnynorthland]

Never use baited traps or attractants. They draw mice into your RV

Yes and no. I had a mouse in my attic of my house so cold an exterminator, and he tells me, (and also proved to me), that once a mouse eats poison. He gets sick and never come back to the same place, so after I started getting mice around the outside of my RV, and in my engine and generator compartment of the RV, I put the little mouse boxes with the poison in these placed and they ate it and never came back, so who the heck knows anymore! Right now we’re mouse free, but I have everything under the sun mentioned above in my engine compartment, generator compartment, outdoor kitchen, etc. thank God I never had them inside the RV only the around the outside!

 

[gypsmjim]

Mice love peppermint. It will attract them inside.

They love dryer sheets because they chew it up and make their nests out of it.

Poison will kill them but now you got the stink of dead critters. Same for traps - dead bodies. Their brothers and sisters will just come in behind them.

If you got mice, you got a hole. Fix the hole. Sure, all the snake oil recommendations are out there, and they are easy peasy, but if you want to get rid of the mice you have to work hard at it. The problem is everyone wants an easy peasy utube solution.

Crawl underneath. Look at EVERY SQUARE inch. Seal the holes.

Mice are looking for a nice warm place to live. If they can't get in, they won't.

In 40 years of RVing we had mice one single day. My investigation proved they were coming down the chimney. I piece of SS screen, fitted to the chimney, and problem solved.

Sometimes crawling on the ground requires even more work.

 

[TowPro]

Crawl underneath. Look at EVERY SQUARE inch. Seal the holes.

100%. you have to stop them at the OUTSIDE. sealing holes in the floor into the underbelly will not help at all, you need to keep them out. It takes time, but I have been successful sealing them out, even in the PA woods where we used to live and store the RV. The hardest one I had to find was a 5th wheel where if you looked into the outside steps, they could get onto the I frame and the lower part of the I they had a walkway direct into the basement. sealed that up and the problem ended. Calk gun size tubes of black silicone works great.

 

[Skyline]

I keep my trailer connected to power all winter. I have 11 electric outlets in the trailer. Every outlet has an ultrasonic pest repeller they use .2 watts each that’s 2.2 total watts. They are silent and stay in unless I need to use the outlet. I have 2 peppermint plugin air fresheners one in the underside storage. I have one pest repeller that emits a piercing sound under the sink inside the cabinet it stays on 24/7. No dead batteries or mice in four years.

 

[Johnynorthland]

Interesting gadget, I’m sure it helps, but mice can jump! So far a combo of Irish spring, moth balls, dryer sheets and mouse alarms seem to be working for us! But who the heck knows, could be just luck or the “luck of the Irish” get it!,

 

[piperinv]

I store my fifth wheel outside for the winter and ALWAYS put a rat bait station full of poison by the tires. I check it regularly during the winter. The idea is that any mouse or rat who finds the trailer will be lazy and go for the poison first, instead of going through all the work of trying to find a hole and search for food in the cleaned-out trailer. I also use several bags of cab fresh in the RV also. This works for us. Sealing up the unit helps, but making something else more attractive seems to work well.

 

[Johnynorthland]

I store my fifth wheel outside for the winter and ALWAYS put a rat bait station full of poison by the tires. I check it regularly during the winter. The idea is that any mouse or rat who finds the trailer will be lazy and go for the poison first, instead of going through all the work of trying to find a hole and search for food in the cleaned-out trailer. I also use several bags of cab fresh in the RV also. This works for us. Sealing up the unit helps, but making something else more attractive seems to work well.

I forgot, I use the poison boxes too. An exterminator once told me when they eat it, they get sick and associate the area they got sick in and don’t come back, don’t know how true that is!

I use fresh cab also, however one time I went to an Agway and used whatever brand they had. Same smell as fresh cab, anyway, a mouse eat through that pack!