Let’s face it: one of the biggest enemies of your RV is mice. Sure, they might be cute, furry little guys, but they also spread disease and wreak havoc on your RVs interior. If you’re like most you want to kindly get rid of these pests, without having to clean up their carcasses, like you would with traditional mouse traps. If you’ve got children or pets you will also want to make sure you’re not using anything that could harm or poison them.
Peppermint oil is a great way to discourage mice from entering your RV. They dislike the scent and because oil sticks around for a long time you don’t have to worry about constantly reapplying it. To create this mixture simply fill a spray bottle with a 1:1 ratio mixture of peppermint oil and water and spray around entrances. As a bonus this mixture also helps keep creepy, crawly spiders away!
If spraying around your RV doesn’t appeal to you, try using dryer sheets. These inexpensive household staples can be used for more than just laundry. Try stuffing potential entrances with them. Mice dislike the scent and the blockade discourages them from entering.
Of course these methods are great for discouraging mice from entering your RV or getting them to leave, but what about complete prevention? How can you protect your RV in the long run? The most important part of prevention is to ensure your RV is sealed and any possible entrances are blocked. Steel wool works great for blocking entrances because mice don’t like chewing on it. Items like wood or cloth might work temporarily, but once a mouse figures out that it can chew through a material, it will do just that.
To check for open spaces that need sealing you’ll simply need an assistant and a flashlight. At night enter the RV and shine it around. Have your assistant look for spots where the flashlight shines through and make a note of it. Be sure to note every spot. While it might seem small to you, a mouse will likely be able to easily get into it. Check behind propane tanks and cabinets. Leave no place untouched!
Taking care of your RV is an important part of RV ownership and is a great way to save money on overall maintenance costs. If you have an RV service question contact us. We can help you get answers to any questions you have and make sure you’re well prepared to take care of your RV.
Photo Credit: By Tiia Monto (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
