Keep Intruders out of your Travel Trailer!

Ok – it’s winter now and your RV is stored. How are you going to keep uninvited guests out of your Travel Trailer?

Here are some tips to get you through your storage period. I also have some tips for when the camping season begins again.

Since the cold weather is here, let’s start with that. It doesn’t matter if your trailer is onsite with you or in a storage facility. You are still at risk for having rodents and other creatures get in your trailer.

Tip 1 – Don’t make their lives easier by allowing easy access. Get under your trailer and look for places where they might gain access. Then use Rodent expanding foam, steel wool, or copper mesh to fill those voids OR a combination. I have used copper mesh around all my plumbing leading from the sinks to the under belly. Openings in the floor of the trailer are a great place for critters to get into your living area. Ball up the copper mesh and jam it in there, and the good thing is that it won’t rust.

Tip 2 – Keep your trailer completely empty when you go to storage. All food, clothing, soaps towels, everything out. This includes emptying your storage areas. Rodents in particular will look for anything to nest in. They will use outdoor mats, cardboard, rugs, and just about anything to create a home out of the elements.

Tip 3 – If your RV is on site, like mine is, you may want to use bait stations. I use bait stations that are dog safe. To add extra protection for Eva they are secured with bricks so they can’t blow over or move. Trust me these work. I have been using them for the last 10 years around my property.

Tip4 – If your rv is offsite, you may want to consider a product like decon. When I stored offsite I would put a box under the bed, and a box behind the toilet. I would never let my dogs in the trailer until they were removed in the spring. Some folks will recommend using cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil or lavender, dryer sheets, or Irish spring as alternate deterrents to rodent bait. I can tell you for certain that the Irish Spring recommendation doesn’t work. The others have mixed reviews.

Tip 5 – Battery powered ultrasonic or strobe deterrents. Many of these are available on Amazon. I have not used them, and I would highly recommend that you read the reviews before purchasing. Some swear by them but many have a large number of 1 star ratings.

Tip6 – if its spiders and ants your worried about there are many “Ortho Home Defense” type products you can spray around your trailer. Spray on all the contact points that touch the earth where they might find a way up. I use ortho home defense along my shop walls in the summer. Diatomaceous earth (food Grade) is another option for spreading around the contact points but over the winter it’s probably going to blow away or will get covered in snow. Also, there are some reported respiratory issues with it so do some research, I don’t think that would be a good option with Eva as she would most defiantly be snorting it.

Now, let’s move onto summer camping season, everything that we just talked about above applies, but now we have the complication of food.

It is important to keep the campsite as clean as possible. This means no garbage put outside waiting to be taken to the trash bins. Bugs are attracted to food smells, so clean up right after you eat. I always clean my grill or griddle immediately after use.

Try to Minimize the amount of time you’re going in and out of your travel trailer, I know that’s hard with kids. Flying insects are always hard to keep out if there is a lot of traffic in and out of the trailer.

If you have to go out at night, your best option is going to be to turn off the lights inside or dim them before you open the door. Also, I rarely put the awning light on if it’s buggy outside, but safety is more important that chasing down some bugs that slip by.

Keep in mind, while bugs are definitely annoying, they cause a lot of problems beyond just being a nuisance. They will cause damage to your major appliances. So, using bug screens on your furnace, fridge, and water heater, are a great idea. If you are worried about using them when your appliances are in use, just pull them off and reattach when you are done camping.

LASTLY – a caution about the worst pest of all – the folks that might try to steal your Travel Trailer out of the storage facility. Do yourself a favor and buy the best RV lock you can find. The 20-dollar locks that you can buy are junk, and they will be easily tapped off with a hammer. The lock below is from The S5 Trailer Coupler Lock | Lock It and Leave It website. Use a heavy duty lock like this and then also lock your tow chains around your hitch frame with a padlock so they can’t be used to cradle the hitch and then be towed away. Do everything in your power to make sure you make it really difficult for someone to steal it.