Last weekend, the better half and I closed up our Travel Trailer for the season. (We have a seasonal site we keep it on, with year round "in / out" priveleges. If we use the RV off season, it takes a short time to un-winterize it.)

Anyway, some of our fellow campers in the campground started asking for suggestions on how to keep the mice out. (Wisconsin field mice are smart - why would anyone want to be outsde all winter whe they can hid in a nice RV?! We're lucky in that we bought our trailer with a cold weather camping package. Many of the openings to the outside other trailers have a are closed off already.)

So fellow campers - what tricks do you have to keep the mice out of the RV during the winter?

I put mothballs in all the lower cabinets. Rather than scatter them around I put them in old tuna cans. I started doing this to keep bugs out in the warmer months, then figured it might work for mice. So far it has...unless we just have no mice around here!

In some ways, I've given up on trying to keep the mice out. They come in every little finger-sized hole. I have reverted to putting many items they like in a mouse-proof container. I bought a rodent proof bag on-line called a Grubpack. I put our soaps, TP, deodorants, air fresheners, etc (anything that smells good, that mice like to chew on or use as nesting) in the Grubpack and leave it in the RV all winter. During the summer months when we use the RV, I use the Grubpack as a mouse proof food container to store flour, sugar, cereal, potatoes and other uncanned food items. This is a wire mesh camping food protection bag and it works really well.

For every mouse one kills with rodentcide products or traps, there will two more to take it's place. Most poisons are classified by the EPA as harmful to humans and pets. Most do not know that the EPA has classifies moth balls as carcinogenic. It is not adviseable to use moth balls inside of an RV.

The thing that I have found effective in ridding mice from the rig is the smell of extract of peppermint. Pour some on cotton balls and put in the back of drawers cabinets and other places you might find evidence of mice. Replace when the scent is no longer present. Peppermint oil isn't cheap, but it is effective.

Don't believe anyone who says they have invented a better mouse trap. The old fashion mouse trap is very effective albeit labor intensive.

If you can safely get under the rig, caulk all the openings through the floor with a butyl rubber caulk--I'm told they hate the taste of it so won't try to chew through it. While you're at it, be sure to caulk around the fender wells. Also, a non-fouling paint for the bottoms of wooden boats will keep them from gnawing at the floor.

My problem in storage isn't ants--it's wasps. We have a folding trailer (pup), and the critters get in the tiny openings around the top of the door and build nests inside. Always a nasty surprise when the trailer gets opened up.

Here are the steps I take to prep my RV. Pretty basic, but it generally works for me.

Fill any obvious gaps with expanding foam.
Keep food properly stored and sealed
Clean all surfaces with disinfectant and vacuum, making sure there are no traces of food
Set up your basic mousetraps. In my experience, nothing works better than your basic mousetrap. Poison works well too, but if they die in the RV and you can't find them...

I love the home remedies!! I always felt the traps from the store were never good enough.. This is all very helpful! Thanks everyone for good info!