Mouse Tails And How To Keep Them Away

Let's talk about mice. No, not the one that's attached (or wireless) to your computer.
I mean the four legged rodent with beady little eyes.

When winter comes around, they apparently think it's an open house at my home. Last winter, when the first mouse came visiting, it was apparent, not because I saw the mouse, but because of the calling card they leave in mass, with those tiny black droppings.

I'd prefer to trap them humanely, but it doesn't always work out that way. I used to have a couple of cats who would solve the problem for me, but I no longer have cats, and have no desire to adopt any more.

Setting up traps with a dab of peanut butter works sometimes, but for unknown reasons, I've found traps with the peanut butter licked clean without disturbing the trap. I've been outsmarted by a mouse.

When I winterize my camper, I use painter's tape to cover up every opening I can find on the outer walls, including taping around the outside storage doors, refrigerator, heater and water heater vents.

It's important to try to keep mice out of the camper, because they love to chew on the wiring and make nests in the heating and air-conditioning ducts. Since we are away for six months, there's no disturbance to keep them from taking up shelter.

I scatter moth balls outside and sometimes inside the camper even though I hate the smell, and have tried dryer sheets. Guess what? The mice walk and dump all over those dryer sheets. My brother suggested placing Irish Spring soap in the camper to keep the mice away. I'll have to try that.

Because of the wet weather we've experienced since last spring, the mice have been furiously taking shelter in my home and my camper over the past few months. I've found bird seed being stored in certain places in the camper, most recently in one of my rubber boots. Yea, not happy about that.

This weekend, I will be winterizing my camper, and hopefully with all the mouse deterrents in place, I will open up on May 1st to find that the mice of Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains will have spent their winter in someone else's camper. Is that a cruel wish?