When you spend plenty of time traveling the road in your RV, you can risk getting mice and snakes in your recreational vehicle. When you first see one of these paths, it could scare you, especially if you’re in the middle of driving.
Your pest problem can quickly spiral out of control if you don’t take the proper steps to eliminate and keep snakes and mice out of your RV.
Please continue reading to learn our top tips to keep snakes and mice out of your RV. We will discuss the best materials you can use, excellent methods, and what situations can cause a snake and mouse infestation.
What Attracts Snakes and Mice To Your RV?
Mice will go anywhere that they can find spare food ready for them to eat. RVs are a popular spot for mouse infestations because they can get access to all the human food they desire.
If you don’t have easily accessible food in your RV, you’re less likely to have a mouse infestation.
Alternatively, Rattlesnakes don’t need loose food to end up in your camper or RV. If you park your RV in a spot with a large snake population, you’re likely to end up with a snake in your vehicle.
Rattlesnakes are the biggest concern, but finding any snake in your vehicle can cause trouble and frighten you while you drive.
Dangers of Snakes and Mice in your RV
Snakes and mice are the most common pests people who live the RV lifestyle have to deal with. However, these pests cause different issues for RV enthusiasts. For example, mice can be dangerous because they can carry disease and ruin stuff you have in your RV.
Snakes can be dangerous if they bite you, especially if you get a venomous breed. For example, there are plenty of spots RV drivers travel that have rattlesnakes. If a rattlesnake bites you, it would be best to visit the hospital immediately to have a chance of survival.
How to Keep Snakes and Mice Out Of RV?
1. Seal Any Holes
The best way to keep snakes and mice out of your RV is to seal any holes or entryways throughout your vehicle. Even if you keep your doors and windows closed, you could have parts of your RV that are susceptible to unwanted pests.
You’ll need to check inside and outside of your RV for entryways that could invite snakes and mice.
Best Materials To Seal RV Holes
There are a couple of materials you can use to seal RVs, and there are a couple of misconceptions. For instance, using dryer sheets to plug mouse holes in your RV might not resolve your problem.
There’s no scientific proof to back up the idea of dryer sheets keeping mice away. The following are verified ways to seal the RV holes from spiders and mice.
- Steel wool
- Spray foam
- Cement
- Metal
- Hardware cloth
Filling the holes throughout your RV with these materials is the best way to keep pests away. All of these materials have been backed by science to keep unwanted visitors from entering your RV.
So, save time and money by not purchasing Irish spring soap and dryer sheets to fill holes when there are proven ways to keep pests out.
Check Inside For Holes
You’ll have to thoroughly examine your RV or camper to check for any holes in the interior. These holes can be tucked behind your appliances or into a corner. It would be best to use a flashlight to search around the corners and detect any holes you haven’t seen before.
It would be best if you blocked off any holes you find inside your RV to ensure that rodents and snakes can’t enter. When you spend time outside, you risk the wildlife entering your RV and disturbing your peace. These pests can get you sick and put you in the hospital if they’re venomous.
Check Outside For Holes
The inside of your camper or RV is not the only part you need to worry about. You need to seal any holes you find outside your RV to ensure snakes and mice can’t sit in the walls of your vehicle.
You’ll need to examine every RV corner and seal each hole you find. Using a flashlight can be a great way to detect holes at night.
2. Deter Them With Smells
You can deter rodents like mice with unpleasant smells, but if you already have an active infestation, then this aromatherapy won’t help. The following sentence can help keep mice away from your RV if you don’t have a pre-existing infestation.
- Lavender
- Eucalyptus
- Ammonia
- Chili powder
- Peppermint
Fortunately, most of these aromas smell great to us, even though they smell terrible to rodents. You’ll find many of these scents in regular cleaning supplies.
3. Keep Your Food Containers Seales
The best way to prevent a mouse infestation or other rodents is to seal all food containers. This is also a good practice to ensure no bacteria infest your food. Keeping your food in airtight containers is the best way to prevent rodents from entering your RV.
Rodents have an acute sense of smell, so if you leave food out, they’ll know it and infest your RV. In mouse infestation can get out of control within a week in your RV, so you’ll want to take as many preventative measures as possible.
Other animals that will come to your camper if you leave food out include possums, raccoons, and bears.
4. Keep A Cleaning Routine
Keeping your camper or RV as clean as possible is a fantastic way to prevent and catch early infestations. For example, if you clean every day and your house smells like cleaning chemicals, it’s unlikely you’ll have to deal with rodents or snakes often.
However, if you clean a lot and find a mouse or snake, you can squash the problem before it spirals out of control.
Mice and snakes like to find places to hide throughout your RV where you can’t find them. When you keep your RV clean, there are very few places these pests can hide. You’ll also clean up crumbs you drop while eating, which could draw in mice when you leave them neglected.
Cleaning often can seem like a lot to take on if you’re not used to the practice. However, the more often you clean, the less mess you have to worry about during your cleaning sessions.
If you’re not used to cleaning, you can set aside a day to deep clean your RV. Then, you can set a timer for 30-minute intervals to tidy up daily, which will help keep snakes and mice away.
5. Use Foil Is Spots Prone To Mice
Fun fact, mice hate the feeling, sound, and smell of aluminum foil. So, if you have an active mouse infestation and want to keep them away, you should put this foil in the spots they like to hang out. You’re most likely to find a mouse infestation in the kitchen of your RV.
So, keep the aluminum foil in your cupboards, under your fridge, and any other appliances in this area. Getting rid of rodent hiding spots will bring them all out, and you’ll have an easier time getting rid of them.
However, if you ignore these hiding spots, they become breeding grounds for mice, and you can get a larger problem.
Mice also like to hide in spots that have plenty of clutter. So, if you have areas in your RV prone to developing clutter, you should put aluminum foil at the base of these piles to keep rodents away.
Might as well avoid stepping on aluminum foil as often as possible because they hate it.
Sometimes, mice will hide in other areas of your RV. Therefore, it would be best to put aluminum foil in all the spots you think rodents could hide. For example, you could put aluminum foil on your bed to ensure that you don’t have a mouse colony where you sleep.
Be Mindful Of Open Doors And Windows
Many RVers like to spend their time traveling when it’s hot outside. So, they might leave their doors and windows often open to allow for fresh air.
While this is an excellent way to battle the heat and enjoy nature, it can be trouble if you’re trying to keep mice and snakes out of your camper.
If you leave your doors and windows open, you should be in or near your RV to ensure no animals enter. You should also limit the time you leave these orifices open to minimize your risk of infestation.
If snakes and rodents sense you in the area, they’re likely to avoid your RV, so don’t leave doors and windows open with the RV unattended.
Final Thoughts
Snakes and mice are pests that can enter your RV and cause you great distress. These animals can also make you sick or put you in the hospital if you don’t manage your infestation.
When you spend time in your RV, there are plenty of chances for these animals to sneak in if everything isn’t sealed properly. Seal all of the holes inside and outside your RV to keep pests away.