Wintering Over

[NevadaVandal]

My neighbor was an adjuster and recalls how mice can destroy your TT. Therefore, I remove liquids, dish soap, etc., that may freeze along with any nesting material. I usually do a shake down trip but on this unexpected trip I am caught without the basics. Do you use canning jars for the liquids to winter over. Any ideas appreciated. Thnks

[naturist]

I agree that sealing up holes is the best approach and poison of any sort is a bad idea, not just due to the stink of rotting flesh, but because of the risk to other wildlife that may eat freshly killed mice they find outside the trailer.

I had mice until the day I crawled under the trailer with a roll of steel wool and a can of Great Stuff to seal up those holes where water, sewer, propane, and electric lines passed through the underbelly. Not a single mouse in the years since.

[Gdetrailer]

NevadaVandal wrote:
Was in a USFS campground and it had been a lite winter. The mice were everywhere. At 11pm after 2 hours of the scratching I am now trying to figure out the gas lines and where they are. If I use my 45 do I hit a gas line? The next day I got those green mouse tabs. After a few bits of the green tab sounds like a person with bronchitis.

A few days after that, the smells of dead mice will be stronger than what you will be able to handle.

Poisons in a RV are not the best idea since the mice will chew and carry the poison to their nest, depending on the poison mice may look for a source of water but may never make it out of the RV before expiring.. Those nests are often in the walls where you have no access.

Trap if you must, at least you know where they are when the expire but the best way is to seal every little opening to the outside world..

As far as food, water, and other liquids during storage, we take all food, canned, shelf stable and refrigerated along with non food liquids out of the RV during winter storage.

While freezing may not harm most foods, it may change or alter taste an/or consistency making it a lot less palatable when you go to use it.

We don't camp yr round, only get a couple of weeks per summer in so not leaving food in the RV does not make any sense.

We don't camp during winter months especially when temperatures are in the freezing area.

May not hurt liquid soaps but may change consistency, may expand enough to burst containers if not enough room for expansion (liquid soaps contain a considerable amount of water which expands greatly when frozen).

We also take clothing out, less to clean if a mouse finds it's way in and we don't have bunches of extra clothing.

We do leave pots, pans, kitchen utensils, paper plates, plastic table ware, towels, washcloths and bedding in the RV since we have duplicate items in our home. Things like utensils, towels, washcloths and bedding all get put into plastic bins with good snap on lids when in storage.

But since I have sealed up all of the little holes to the outside our RV has been mouse free for 12+ yrs running now..

[mr_andyj]

Mouse traps!!
I like the glue ones for some reason.

Dish soap will not freeze.
I doubt that even water in a dish soap bottle when frozen solid will break the bottle, but, Soap will not break the bottle.

What does freezing liquids have to do with mice?

[Lwiddis]

A 45 may not be enough gun…IMO.

[NevadaVandal]

Was in a USFS campground and it had been a lite winter. The mice were everywhere. At 11pm after 2 hours of the scratching I am now trying to figure out the gas lines and where they are. If I use my 45 do I hit a gas line? The next day I got those green mouse tabs. After a few bits of the green tab sounds like a person with bronchitis.

[MitchF150]

Yep, keeping the mice out in the first place is best. I've either been really lucky or what, but I have mice/rats all around my property and have more problems with them around my house (they seem to like chewing on my video camera wires now!)

But, have never had them in my 2 different TT's I've had over the last 19 years.

As far as what I keep in the rig over the winter, I take out all perishable food items. I've left some canned foods in there, but will rotate them every camping season.

I don't live in a really 'cold' area where it's freezing for months at a time, so I guess that would make a difference too..

I guess in the end, if you have to just hitch up and go and have not had a chance to stock the rig.. Carry a CC and go shopping along the way! 🙂

Good luck! Mitch

[NevadaVandal]

Thnks Appreciate the info!!

[kellem]

I'm possibly a minority here which is fine.

1st, yes mice nearly destroyed our first trailer and trust me, nothing from Amazon works like mint oil, moth balls, high pitch squeals, nothing.
You must eliminate access to trailer by sealing all crevices.

2nd, we take nothing from trailer during the cold weather months and simply leave the furnace set to 40*......but I'm an expert at keeping mice out now.