Mice are small rodents that can squeeze through very small openings and invade your living space.

Since they move around camping grounds where people often leave food scraps behind, campers left in open areas for longer periods during winter are particularly at risk.

If you don’t do anything about it, soon you will have an entire mouse family chewing through your entire camper, you’ll find mouse droppings everywhere, and it can cause you substantial damage. While it isn’t easy to have a mouse-free space, it isn’t impossible either.

Here is how to keep mice and other pests out of your camper.

Why It’s So Important to Keep Mice Out of a Camper?

If you are a nature lover, you may be wondering why you should deter mice from your camper in the first place.

Why could you just share your living space with them and provide them with shelter and food during the winter months?

Well, with mice, it’s not that simple. These are some house guests you definitely don’t want to invite into your camper.

With a mouse invasion, they will find all the food tucked away in your cabinets, eat it, and leave their mouse droppings behind in the same place. And this isn’t important because of the mess they create either.

Like many rodents, mice can carry a handful of harmful diseases and they are spreading these through their mouse droppings that come in contact with our food.

To get to your food, they will chew their way through wires, wood, plastic and rubber lines, seat cushions, and anything else that stands in their way. Not only can these critters cause enormous material damage while nibbling on the materials, but they can also get your energy bills to rise.

As they make every opening they worked themselves through bigger, your camper will become less energy-efficient and even downright dangerous due to the faulty wiring caused by the electrical wires being chewed.

And if all the reasons from above weren’t enough to think about keeping mice away, you also must think about their numbers. Remember, they are incredibly prolific breeders, and in just three weeks, their number can get from 2 to 15, and you can end up with many baby mice.

What Smells Does Mice Hate?

The first step in keeping rodents at bay camper owners typically think of is using repellents.

Mice typically hate strong odors, which is what you can use against them. There is a broad range of ready-made mouse repellents available on the market – including plug-in versions.

However, many swore by the traditional methods described below.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon has a strong and spicy aroma, and chances are you already have it in some form in your pantry. Fortunately, mice are opposed to its smell, which means you also have a tool to keep them at bay.

There are many ways to use cinnamon for this purpose. Whether you choose to grab the powder from your spice rack and sprinkle it around or place some sticks in your cabinets and drawers, underneath your furniture will be up to you. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For example, apart from repelling mice, the latter method will give everything a pleasant aroma.

If you are into this spicy smell, it will save you a lot of money on candles and other air fresheners. On the other hand, if you only aim to keep the critters away from your food, sprinkling the powder you use on your oatmeal around the area where you keep your product will do the trick, and it won’t leave your entire space smelling like cinnamon rolls either.

Vinegar

Undiluted vinegar is probably one of the most potent smells most people can think of, so it’s not surprising that mice are easily repelled by it.

However, it’s neither possible to cover all the surfaces of your camper with this scent, nor would you have a pleasant time staying in a place that smells like vinegar. As an alternative, you can mix vinegar with water in a spray bottle and apply it to any areas where you expect mice to appear.

On the outside, focus on the cracks and openings. On the inside, spray the diluted vinegar on the counter tops, floorboards, and inside the cupboards.

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil spray is widely known as a natural alternative to pesticides. For humans, it has a very soothing scent. Not so much for mice and other rodents. Soak small towels and rags with peppermint oil and place them around the camper from the outside at potential entryways.

You can do the same with small cotton balls on the inside of your cupboards or wherever you want to repel mice from.

If you find this method too time-consuming, mix 10-15 drops of peppermint oil with water, and spray this around your home. Not only will this save you all the hassle, but will also allow the oil to permeate the surface and the scent to remain longer.

Teabags

Teabags are another household item that can help keep mice out of a camper. The most popular option is peppermint tea – for all the same reasons peppermint oil is. It can be applied the same way as the dryer sheets, cinnamon sticks, or essential oils.

Boil water for your tea, let the bag sit in it, drain it then spread it in the corners of the camper. If you are a regular tea drinker, this won’t take you more time than any other disposal method for the teabags.

The fresh scent of the tea will instantly turn the little critters away, and they won’t come back until the smell fades – and by that time, you will make another batch of tea.

Mint Toothpaste

If you aren’t a fan of peppermint oils or tea, you may still have a common household with a similar scent mice cant stand. Mint toothpaste is also a very inexpensive yet effective repellent that can help you avoid a major rodent infestation and all the headache that comes with it.

Take a little squirt and rub it along the cracks, doorways, baseboards, or any other crack through which mice can enter, just as you did with the oils.

And just those methods, this one also works both outdoors and indoors. It may sound like a tedious task, but many RV owners swear it’s one of the best ways to keep away mice and other pests.

Ammonia

For mice, ammonia mirrors the scent of predators’ urine, so they will definitely avoid it, even if you sprinkle it around your camper in a diluted form. However, the scent should be reapplied regularly because when it fades, the mice will no longer sense the presence of potential predators and come back again.

If you have cats, you can spread their litter around the potential entry points for your uninvited guests. It’s not recommended to use it on inside surfaces, as it has a rather pungent odor, and prolonged exposure to it may cause headaches and other health issues.

Cloves and Clove Oil

While they make for a wonderful addition to spicy food, cloves also have a strong scent that mice tend to stay away from. Whole cloves don’t have a strong enough odor to repel these rodents, but cutting them will do the trick.

Or better yet, use clove oil to keep them at bay. Clove essential oil is also beneficial for your health. Plus, it doesn’t contain any substances that could harm your pets if you have any.

You can even combine it with other oils from this article to get a different scent. As with any oils, dilute clove oil with water or other carrier oils and spray it around the potential entry points or wherever you feel the mice might be.

Cayenne Pepper

Apart from the heat, this type of chili pepper has a particularly sharp odor, which most rodents and insects hate. You can sprinkle it at entry points or where you have seen any evidence of mice, such as droppings, urine, or food crumbs.

All they need to do is take a sniff and will turn around immediately. That said, don’t sprinkle cayenne in cupboards and near the areas where it could make you or your pets uncomfortable.

Can Dryer Sheets Keep Mice Out of a Camper?

Dryer sheets are another common household products you can employ for keeping mice away from your camper. These animals don’t like the scent of the sheets, which are easy to apply at any space the mice may be drawn to.

You can stick them under furniture, in the cupboards where you keep your food, or even in closets. You can leave a piece of sheets around the edges of the counter tops, sinks, or the corners of the floor. These are the places mice frequent when they are looking for food and shelter.

For us humans, these sheets have a pleasant fragrance. So one thing you won’t have to worry about is a pungent smell because with sheets lying around, your space will always feel refreshed.

That said, their fragrance fades after a week or so, which means that to continue being effective in this area, they need to be replaced more often than other mouse trapping methods. Essentially the value of that time you have saved by not spraying and misting several scents around will be diminished by the fact that you will keep replacing the sheets.

While they are proven to work combined with other methods, these sheets are not designed to be a long-term solution to your mouse infestation issues. Not to mention the economic and the ecological implications of using that many sheets.

Does Irish Spring Soap Keep Mice Away?

The efficiency of Irish Spring soap as a mouse repellent has been a long-debated affair. Some swear that the intense fragrance of the soap works fine at keeping the critters at bay, while others say the animals will chew right through it and move on to the other parts of the vehicle’s interior.

In any case, if you want to try this method, here is how to do it. Place a few bars of Irish soap in a warm area to soften them up, then grate them.

It’s a good idea to do this over a plastic bag, so you can collect the shaving as you grate. Pour the shaving in the areas you want to repel the mice from. Use as much soap you feel you would need to cover all the possible entry points.

Additional Tips for Keeping Mice out of Camper During Winter

Winter is probably the most challenging period for keeping mice and other pests out of your living space. Most of the time, their only source of food and shelter are our homes, and campers are very convenient for them to move into.

So, if you don’t want them to invade your space and, you may have to go beyond the ordinary measures for keeping your camper mouse proof.

Identify Potential Entry Points

Before you start laying down mouse traps when the weather gets cold in autumn, the first thing you need to do is to figure out how the mice and other pests might get into your trailer in the first place. Inspect your camper inside and out to find openings through which they may enter.

Make sure to go underneath as well because, in most cases, this is where the mice will crawl in. Check the areas where wires and plumbing pipes enter the camper and the windows and doors for any gaps around them. Do this also from the inside and preferably on a sunny day when you can see sunlight shining through the existing holes.

If you have an RV-type home on wheels, it’s also a good idea to open the hood and check for potential entry points underneath it.

When checking the inside, focus on the basement, or other storage areas, cabinets, and drawers where you keep food and material that can serve as nests for the mice. This may sound like a lot of work but failing to notice even one entryway would cause you many headaches during the winter months.

Seal All Cracks and Gaps

When you have completed the inspection and found all the potential openings where the mice could enter, your next step should be to seal them up immediately to make your camper mouse proof.

Make sure to fill any gaps or cracks around the plumbing and wiring, doors, windows, the floor, the access for electrical and dumping stations, and the pullout sections as well. The best insulation material for this purpose is expanding spray foam, but caulk and wire mesh can work too.

Store Your Camper on a Hard Surface

When you are storing your camper for any amount of time, make sure to do it on a hard surface away from grassy areas where mice typically roam. Whenever possible, park on a paved surface to prevent your mouse problem.

Even better if you can find an elevated area, which will make it easier to inspect the underside of the camper. This way, if you discover any evidence of mice or other rodents, you’ll be able to take the necessary measures against them immediately.

Remove Potential Nest Material

The mice raiding your food supplies aren’t the only thing you’ll have to worry about during the winter. These critters will also be looking for materials to build nests for shelter and reproduction.

To avoid this, make sure to remove all the paper trash and unnecessary towels, clothing, or foam products from the camper. While you can’t get rid of every such item when using the space, you can inspect them regularly. If you notice missing parts of your cushions, insulation, or other potential nest material, act immediately.

Conclusion

Mice can do a lot of harm to your camper and your health, and once they get in, removing them can be tricky. Maintaining your space clean will go a long way for keeping these pesky rodents out. In addition, you can Thanos Under Hood Aniaml repellent

Whether you opt for any of the scents listed above or a traditional mousetrap, it will be up to you. Just make sure that whatever exclusion technique you go for is safe for people and your pets as well.