Have you ever experienced hurrying out the door for work, only to have your car not start because mice have gotten into your engine compartment and chewed through the insulated wiring in your vehicle? In this article, we’re going to cover how to keep mice out of a car, how to keep mice out of a camper, and how to keep mice out of your RV.
Mice and other rodents can do a lot of damage to both your engine and the interior of your car if they manage to get inside. In the autumn and early winter, mice are on the lookout for materials to use in their nests. If mice can get into your car, even small mice they can wreak havoc in just a few weeks.
They chew holes in the fabric on your ceiling, seat covers, and shred the insulating material in your hood and seats for their nesting material. If they build their nests in your car, they can clog your hoses, air cleaners, and air ducts. If mice happen to get stuck and die, you’ll end up with a dead mouse and smell its decomposing body for weeks.
How to Keep Mice Out of the Garage
Mice belong outside and not in our homes or vehicles. The best defense against mice and other rodents is to mouse proof your garage and any other area where mice shouldn’t take up residence. The way to get rid of rats in a garage or other outdoor area is by making sure all holes, cracks, chinks, or other openings are properly sealed.
Check for openings higher up as mice can enter your garage through holes under your eaves. Taking this preventative step can also help keep mice out of your home. If you store your pet food in the garage, keep it sealed in containers.
Pet food, especially dog food, is a magnet for mice and rats and will bring them into your garage in droves if they can get to the food.
Keeping Mice Out of the Car
Keep Your Vehicle Clean
If you want to find natural ways to get rid of rats in a car, you need to keep your car clean. If you have a ton of tissue, cups, food bags, and other garbage littering your seats, you have a higher chance of mice getting in.
Having a dirty car strewn with litter will attract mice because it makes for an ideal place for them to hide and build their nests. Making a homemade RV cleaner and using it periodically is also a great way to keep mice out of your RV.
Eliminate Moisture
You also want to try and keep moisture from building up in your car since, like all living things, mice thrive on water. You want to do everything you can to prevent condensation from building up in your car.
If you have a blocked pollen filter or a leak in your heater, you may have a problem with moisture build-up, and you need to address it immediately.
Roll Up the Windows
When you get out of your car at night, make sure you roll up your windows and close any outside vents. Keeping your car windows rolled up and vents closed will help to eliminate entry points that mice can use to get into your vehicle.
If you have windows that won’t roll up all the way or a damaged sunroof, fix the problems if you want to keep mice from getting into the inside of your car.
Set Traps
If you are wondering how to keep mice out of car engine compartment, the best way is to set traps around your car or on top of your wheels to keep mice and other rodents from getting into your engine compartment.
You can use the standard snap type of trap and use peanut butter as bait. For those that don’t want to kill the mice, you can use a walk-in type trap to dispose of the rodents humanely.
If the mice have learned to avoid these kinds of traps, you can always use glue boards to catch the mice, by placing them wherever you have a mice infestation problem.
Keep Outside Foliage Trimmed
If you have bushes lining your driveway, make sure you keep them well maintained, or remove them altogether. Mice and rats like to use foliage as cover when it is raining and can quickly move to your vehicle if it is parked close enough to the bushes.
There is less chance that mice will get into your car if you keep it away from unkempt foliage in your yard. This is one of the easiest ways to keep rats away from your car. Keeping the outside foliage trimmed is also a simple solution for how to keep mice out of a camper near your home.
How to Get Rid of Mice in a Camper
Use Mouse Repellents
Peppermint oil is one of the best natural ways to keep mice away and to prevent them from taking up residence in your vehicle, or garage. Using the peppermint oil that you can find at any drugstore or supermarket as one of the smells that repel mice, soak several cotton balls and place them in areas throughout your car.
You can also pour one ounce of peppermint oil in a spray bottle and mix it with warm water to use as a spray. Spray the mixture on the car’s upholstery and other hard surfaces. It works very well for mice but also to keep spiders out of your home or vehicle.
Generously apply this spray at the entrance of molehills as one of the natural ways to keep moles away, too.
You can also use an all-natural mouse repellent like Fresh Cab. Fresh Cab uses botanical fibers and oils that irritate a mouse’s sense of smell and keep them away. You can place these pouches anywhere you have a rodent problem.
Use Poison
The safest mouse poison to use is Borax powder as it will kill the mice but not harm your pets or children if they come in contact with it. Sprinkle the Borax powder on the floor near the walls and on surfaces where you have seen evidence of mice.
Mothballs can also be used to get rid of unwanted rodents, but be careful using these if you have small children or pets, as they are toxic. Both mothballs and Borax can be used as a homemade bug remover for cars. Banish all types of nasty critters from your car with these home remedies.
How to Clean a Car Infested with Mice
If your car has become infested with mice, they can not only cause extensive damage, but you run the risk of catching the hantavirus or getting sick from salmonella.
You can contract hantavirus by inhaling the air where the virus is, so it is imperative that you use precautions when cleaning a car that has been infested by mice.
Use a liquid disinfectant and avoid sweeping or vacuuming up rodent urine or droppings to stay healthy.
Always wear rubber gloves. Mix the bleach and water and saturate the affected areas with the mixture. Allow it to sit for five minutes. Wipe the area down with a clean paper towel, then wipe the area with a sponge soaked in the bleach mixture.
Before taking the gloves off, soak them in a fresh batch of the bleach mix. Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water.
When the weather starts to turn cold, you may find that you have a problem keeping mice out of your car. As they seek to find warm places to build their nests, they can pull out the insulation from your hood and tear holes in your upholstery and use the material to make nests.
These simple solutions will help you keep mice and other rodents from turning your car into their winter retreat.
In this article, we went over how to keep mice out of your car, how to keep mice out of a camper, and how to keep mice out of your RV. We hope that you enjoyed this mouse control article and found the information helpful. Please feel free to share these mice tips with everyone you know!