Mouse in the popup :(

[Maggie at the Fort]

Our trip to the fort is only 33 days away. We pulled the pop up out of the barn to dust it off and fix it up. It hadn't been used since May and before a long trip I like to vacuum the cushions, rewash all the towels and bedding, etc. We also needed to inventory things like paper plates and paper towels and restock.

Sadly our barn owl has moved on and we found a mouse and a snake living in the camper. Now we are scrubbing, taking down curtains we have never dared to remove before (scared of breaking the plastic clips) and generally dealing with a disaster. We have at least 2 holes in the canvas and one in a curtain.

Any advice on patching, repairing, deterring future mice etc would be appreciated. There is no way for us to replace the whole canvas right now so we need to DIY and make do.

Commiseration is also appreciated.... cuz this just really stinks!!!!

 

[jmrothermel]

I bought a pop-up at a GREAT price with two holes in the canvas. What I did was got canvas and just took the side down, cut a patch with a pinking shears (so it wouldn't fray) and sewed it on. Then I used those iron on patch things and ironed over the entire thing, and it worked great!

 

[massmickeypal]

We had a similar issue with mice. We placed steel wool in every opening to discourage a repeat and it did seem to help deter. We also heard that mint oil can help.
I hope you move past this issue with mice so you can have a great time with THE mouse!

 

[2goofycampers]

Bummer, I hope you get everything repaired before your trip.

 

[PoohBearnTigger2]

We use Bounce dryer sheets in our camper when we winterize it or if we won't be taking it out for a while. I read that Bounce dryer sheets keep mice away. We have been doing this for 7 years and never had a mouse problem in our popup and so far our new camper. We buy a box and put the sheets everywhere. Good luck! Now if someone could just come up with a solution for getting rid of stink bugs...

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Sounds to me like either Mickey and Kaa are wanting to get back home to Disney,

or the snake is look'n to make a meal of da mouse.

 

[loislane]

Oh that stinks!

We put dryer sheets in ours, and I take the last remains of the Bounce dryer bars and put those in there too - they make it smell nice.

For longer storage, I also put an egg carton with mothballs in the middle. I know that's controversial for some, but we've had good luck using that to keep the critters away and it doesn't make the camper smell. We open and air it first thing in the spring and it's fine.

 

[sbnewhampshire1]

We also use Bounce everywhere! Also do the mothballs too! Works great

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We have the pop up open in a barn, empty and full of mousetraps. This way the canvas is safer. Not a good long term plan but it will get us the next 2 weeks until Disney. After that we will be filling every hole with steel wool and looking at some other deterrents as well.

We ordered some patching materials from John at http://www.freewebs.com/canvasrepair/
He was more than fair with us and I have been having an adventure getting my canvas down and running it through my sewing machine.

 

[1Grumpy9]

We use Bounce dryer sheets in our camper when we winterize it or if we won't be taking it out for a while. I read that Bounce dryer sheets keep mice away. We have been doing this for 7 years and never had a mouse problem in our popup and so far our new camper. We buy a box and put the sheets everywhere. Good luck! Now if someone could just come up with a solution for getting rid of stink bugs...

I haven't heard of dryer sheets, but might have to try that (just in case)...Plus I am sure you camper smells great. We deal with the stink bugs in my parents camper all the time. We just took the cover off last week and the stink bugs were everywhere. I heard lavendar sprays help with them, but we have a couple of rolls of duct tape along with us. We use that to catch them and throw them away in it. This way you don't have to smash them and have that HORRIBLE smell.