How To Keep Mice Out Of A Camper

Let’s face it, no one really wants to stumble across mouse droppings in their camper – that is pretty gross and is not so fun to have to deal with. When it comes to really embracing and enjoying that RV life, mice can sometimes try to get in on the fun too. And, that’s not so fun for us – it’s probably a great time for them, though.

But this is about us having a good time, and not about the mice having a good time. So, there are undoubtedly a whole host of different methods out there that you can try as a means of keeping mice out of a camper.

This is a trial sort of process, and you might come across some errors along the way – but there will definitely be a method that works for you.

Here, we are going to talk through some of our favorite methods on how to keep your camper mouse free – just know that you will not be the only person with the same mouse problem. Don’t worry, this is something that a lot of camper owners will have encountered from time to time.

And, if you haven’t encountered mice yet, then, first of all, you are very lucky, but second of all, it does not mean that this won’t happen in the future.

So, let’s get into exactly how you can mouse proof your camper…

Let’s Talk About The Three-Pronged Method

Here we have a well-relied upon and a well-tested method that a lot of camper owners will try as a means of eradicating mice from their camper. This method, as you would expect, consists of three elements.

First of all, you need to work on deterring the mouse from your camper. After all, if we are deterred from doing something then usually we either don’t want to do it or we just want to avoid it completely.

Second of all, you need to work on discouraging the mice so that they don’t even think about entering the holes.

Third of all, you need to try and repel mice from your camper van. This is in case you have an especially adventurous mouse who is not deterred or discouraged by your previous attempts.

So, let’s get into how exactly you can do this.

How Do You Deter A Mouse From Entering Your Camper?

So, how do you deter a mouse from a camper? Well, you need to block the entry points – any nook or crevice that a mouse might find its way into needs to be blocked up. And, by blocked up, we do not mean just putting something in front of it – a mouse could end up pushing this and then squeezing past the obstacle.

After all, who doesn’t love a challenge – mice and competitive humans included?! Your best bets for blocking up entry points are spray foam, steel wool and maybe even a mesh screen.

Spray foam is a really useful and amazing way of quickly blocking up any gaps and crevices, this is especially true when you are tackling larger openings. For instance, this could be underneath the rig, or it could be in some kind of storage compartment.

Anywhere that pipes or wires can be fed through, a mouse can definitely get through. However, spray foam is not the nicest to look at – so you should really only use this in hidden places.

You could use steel wool because mice ultimately hate to chew on this, and if they have to fight their way through and chew on it, then they will most certainly be deterred.

If you are unsure how exactly you should fill a gap with steel wool, then you can actually just use a butter knife or you can even use a flat-head screwdriver. This will enable you to push the steel wool into the gaps tightly.

You can use wire mesh in the places that you can’t fully block up – because you have to have air flowing. Some gaps will be there for a reason, and some gaps will be pretty essential – so you won’t want to totally block this up.

However, it is important that you buy wire mesh screening that has holes that are tight enough so that even baby mice can’t fit through.

How Do You Discourage A Mouse From Your Camper?

Well, the best way to discourage a mouse is to make sure that you don’t give them any kind of temptation to come into the camper van. What would a mouse be tempted by? Food – that’s for sure.

So, the best way to discourage them from coming into your camper van is by not leaving any opened food out on the side and not leaving any fresh food on the side – mice will enjoy munching on more than just cubes of cheese.

You just want to try and eradicate anything that could resemble something that a mouse would want to eat or something that a mouse would want to make a nest in. Hard plastic storage containers will be your best friend here!

How Do You Repel A Mouse From Your Camper?

There are a whole host of things that can end up repelling mice from your campervan – there are some things that mice are not a huge fan of. You will find that some of these things are commercially available, or you can even try some home remedies if you are feeling adventurous.

It is true that peppermint oil is one of the biggest deterrents when it comes to mice. This is something that is renowned for repelling rodents – and this is something that you should find to work especially well.

However, if you have pets peppermint oil could actually be harmful to them – so you want to do your research and make sure that you get a peppermint oil that your pet will not be irritated by.

In Conclusion

Overall, the tried and tested methods of ensuring that mice do not remain in a camper are slightly tedious, and they definitely are a trial and error process, but these methods will eventually prove successful in keeping mice out of your camper.

These methods should be used as preventative methods. You should not wait to spot mice in your camper before you give them a go. The repel method would be more suited for actually spotting mice in your camper, whereas discouraging and deterring would be the most effective as preventative measures.

It’s better to be safe than to have mice running around your camper, right?!