Occasionally, you will get a mouse in your RV. Look for little holes chewed through the sides of loaves of bread or other foods or look for mouse droppings (They appear to be slightly smaller in diameter and a bit shorter than a grain of rice. The droppings will be black.) Sometimes you don’t have to look. I was sitting on our sofa one night watching TV when a mouse walked to the middle of the room and just looked at me!
The best answer to get rid of mice is a mousetrap. While they make all kinds, one of the oldest, most common, and most reliable is made by Victor. Victor makes two kinds of mousetraps commonly for sale at hardware stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies. One style has a small copper-colored “trigger” in the center. This is used to hold the bait and also contains the “catch” for when you set the trap. The second type contains a larger yellow plastic trigger and this style is considered the “Professional” model. Both kinds are readily available.
The professional model actually has two types of settings – a Firm setting and a Soft setting. The Firm setting is easier to set but it takes more pressure on the trigger plate to spring the trap. The Soft setting is harder to set but takes less pressure to spring the trap. Both the “regular” model and the Professional model are similar and both are sold everywhere. My belief is that resellers don’t know the difference. For you, consider them to be the same.
Watch this video to learn how to bait and set the professional model trap… (Click here to watch the video.) (I did not post this video so if it is not available, search Google for “How to set a mousetrap”)
How do you “spring” (or release) a trap that has been set? Suppose you need to move—in an RV that typically means you will drive away. You may need to put the mousetraps away before you move the RV. After all, you don’t want them in the way especially with slides coming in and things being put away. Plus, you don’t know if the mouse is traveling with you or has just been temporarily visiting.
To trigger (or release) a trap that has been set, I personally don’t like to try to pick them up because with my big fingers, I can’t get a good grip on them. What I do is use a “normal” paper plate. Gently place the paper plate UPSIDE DOWN over the spring-loaded mousetrap. Then, using the handle of a wooden spoon (or a flyswatter), tap the bottom of the paper plate. This will set off the trap but it won’t launch itself (jump into the air) because it is under the paper plate. This works and contains everything nicely.