We recently purchased a 30 foot camper and I found mouse droppings in the floor vents and cupboards. Everything is sealed up tight under the camper so mice shouldn't be able to get in anymore. I heard that certain dryer sheets help repel mice. Is that true? Does is have to be a certain brand (Downy or Bounce or generic store brand) or scent? Any info would be appreciated!
Janel
Peppermint oil (but not the kind used in candy) will send them on their way. It works! I've used it before with great success. You can buy the peppermint oil at a health food store. Put it on rags or cotton balls and then just place them where you want them. No harm to anyone and the mice don't like them. I hope this helps you. Good luck. (06/05/2007)
By Darlene
I've never heard of dryer sheets doing the job. I would think the dryer sheets would help make them a nice soft nest, but I do not know, the smell might drive them away. I do know that peppermint essential oil will help repel them. Here is a paragraph I grabbed from another site:
Essential oils such as peppermint, mothballs, ammonia and onion have been known to drive mice away. Some people even say fox urine will send your mice packing, because the fox is a natural predator of mice. Peppermint oil sure sounds more pleasing to the other residents of the apartment; you!
Oh, also, ammonia will help with any other odors too. It attracts odors and cleans the air. But be very careful with ammonia, and empty any containers before moving the camper. As for the peppermint, I'd suggest putting a few drops on cotton balls and tossing them freely around the camper. They will smell wonderful for you and awful for the mice. (06/05/2007)
By Tina Brown
I read one time to try dryer sheets so I tried it. Well, the mice pooped all over it. Then I tried peppermint oil on cotton balls. It was too hard for the mice to poop on them, so they just pooped along side them. I have not found anything that works. Now we bought a strong spot light that we will take under the camper and look for any little hole that they get in through. I think it might be around the slide outs that they get in. We'll just keep trying to seal it up. (06/06/2007)
By Sandy
Try putting peppermint essential oil on balls of cotton and place them where you see mouse droppings. It should repel them. (06/07/2007)
I sprinkled baking soda in my daughter's closet when we were catching at least a mouse a day in there, almost 2 yrs ago, and haven't seen a mouse since. I do vacuum it up every few months and add new to keep it fresh. I am terrified of mice. Good luck. (06/07/2007)
By janice
I used Bounce dryer sheets all over in every corner (closet, fridge, bed, drawers, cupboards, etc.) of my camper last winter to spring. I never found any mouse droppings at all. (06/07/2007)
By Esther
How about a cat? Lol. (06/15/2007)
By Cindy
Another year in the battle with the mice. I believe they appreciate the bedding that dryer sheets provide. I spread a whole box of the smelly scented type and it didn't deter them at all. Pooped all over them. Last fall, we read about peppermint oil on cotton balls and tried them all over as well.
By Bill Goodman
I put moth balls in plastic Tupperware with holes poked in the containers. I haven't had another mouse since. The Tupperware keeps the moth balls from rolling around. (08/08/2007)
By Steve
Moth balls are the way to go. Put in a few balls in various spots and rest peacefully. First year with a trailer I used dryer sheets and they do not work. I have used moth balls for the past 7 and haven't seen a mouse since! (12/02/2007)
By Mike
My friend and I are doing a science fair project for school on what repels mice. These suggestions will be very helpful for my research paper. Thank you all! (03/18/2008)
By Rachel
I wonder if mice are like people in the sense that some like peppermint and/or dryer sheets and some don't. I'm going to try the peppermint oil, and if that doesn't work, I'll try the dryer sheets. By the way, I read if you put a dryer sheet half out your pocket it keeps mosquitoes away from your tender skin; I will try it this year camping. Bye y'all! (03/28/2008)
By Kellie
The dryer sheets do not work. I tried it this past winter and they still get in. (04/20/2008)
By carolyn
I've tried it all; dryer sheets, fox urine, moth balls, d-con, yes it's killing them, but they are dying in my camper and it's gross. A fellow camper just told me to put a bag of kitty litter down in a box and the mice smell that and think there is a cat. I haven't tried this one yet. Has anyone tried this, and does it work? (02/09/2009)
By pr
I found what I think is the main access to my trailer for the mice. The general approach seems to be trying to keep them out of the cupboards, etc., but I think what I need to do is try and keep them out of the floor and walls and then living spaces won't be an issue.
Easier said than done? I am soon to find out. Under my shower is a big square hole which leads directly to the insulation between the floor and that stupid cloth under the trailer. There are holes in this cloth and I can see mouse poop in there as well as insulation that is probably being pulled out of the walls and other parts of the floor as this area seems very "full". I believe this is the nest.
I am going to spray foam under the shower and any other areas where I think the mice might be able to make a break for it, and then I am going to cut open the cloth and see what falls out. I'll keep you posted. Curious. Do most of the trailers having problems have this cloth underneath? My other trailer was a solid wood underside and I never had mice inside. (02/28/2009)
By stephen
The fabric softener has to be Bounce or it does not work. (08/15/2009)
By dan
I've tried them all; peppermint oil, moth balls, steel wool sprayed with Lysol, and more. Nothing has really worked for the long haul.
Here's a tip: We camp 2-3 weekends a month through the summer. I hate unloading all the food each time to keep it away from the mice. I bought a food storage bag called a Grubpack. I bought it on-line. It's a bag made of flexible metal mesh. I store pancake mix, sugar, potatoes, raisins, crackers, and all my other non-canned dry foods in the Grubpack. Mice can't chew through it and the food stays safe. (11/02/2009)
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It seems I have mice in the ceiling of our 5th wheel. I don't even know how they'd be getting up there or how I can put anything up there to run them out. I sure don't want to poison them and they die in there and cause a stink. I can't stand mice!!!!
if you use warfarin in a foil tray and another foil tray of a little water, they will die from poisoning an basically turn to stone no odour at all, but the trick is they need the water to activate inside after they eat the pwdr.
we have ha our new used rv 5th wheel since spring of 2013 and always used bounce sheets when storing our trailer inside a drive shed on a farm. We have it home to clean and get ready for winter storage, only to find mouse droppings in the toaster and under the sink. We obvoiusly had a mouse during the summer and didnt know it. All my dried foods in cupboard were not chewed , but have a habit of putting stuff in fridge once opened . We have also found seeds that a possible chipmunk grought in for winter food supply in the bottom of the puul out hideabed. The only places we found they could be coming in are along the pipes of the slides and also plumbing pipe areas. My husband is going to try the steel wool in those areas and I will let you all know how that works. ..as for the bounce sheets, they have always worked for us, however, I guess we should have left them inside the trailer in the summer.
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