Traveling in the RV with the pets is like traveling with children. You have to be prepared to entertain them and take care of their needs. With this year’s tick season being extremely bad, we have found some helpful ways to combat the issue of happy dogs frolicking in tall grass vs bringing in nasty bugs!
First and foremost is having your vet prescribe an appropriate tick and flea treatment option. Our babies take monthly pills and that seems to work most of the time… but geeze the ticks are bad this year! We have found a few ticks that have either found a way to sneak in thru a crack or crevice in the RV and get inside or they are being tracked in by the pups. Either way, nobody likes to find a tick crawling on them while sitting on the couch or sleeping in the bed at night, so it’s time to up our game on bug control! Here are some of the things we do to help combat that reality of enjoying the great outdoors while trying to be nature friendly and poison adverse.
First we will start with a handy little item we found at the local dollar tree. I was skeptical at first, but for a dollar I’m willing to give it a try. It worked so well, and the dogs like it so much, we went back and got a second one! I’m sure you can find these in just about any pet store. It’s a glove with soft rubber spikes/nibs that you use to groom the dog with.
We keep this out on the patio so when we are done playing outside and frolicking In the tall grass, we can brush the dogs down. While “petting them” with this glove on, which they enjoy a great amount, we inspect for ticks and hope the little nubs will brush off any little freeloaders we may not see. A simple command of “time to get brushed off” makes both dogs come running with tails wagging. A secondary effect means some (not all) of the shedding fur is removed which means Less cleaning time in the RV (win win!) and more outside play time. A simple “flap” of the hand while wearing the glove allows the hair and any other debris to fall from those rubber nibs onto the ground. Easy to use, easy to transport, and Conestoga Chuck approved!
There are two other products that I like to use for tick, ant and mice etc repellant in and around the RV (and the main house). The first is Dr Bronner’s peppermint Castile soap. We dilute this with water in a pump up garden spray and spray anything that touches the ground outside the camper and the area around the camper (as well as around the main house). Kills ants, spiders and ticks hate it as do mice. But if it rains… it needs to be reapplied. It is not a poison so you are not harming the environment nor leaving pesticide for the next camper who is in that camping spot to have to endure. It’s kid and pet friendly (with some caveats). Just don’t let the dogs (lol or kids) lick or wallow in the area till it is dry. They don’t do well with the peppermint. It can burn the skin some in large undiluted quantities and can in some cases cause gastrointestinal distress. For some dogs and cats in large quantities it can be toxic, so use caution and let it dry before letting any of the babies out to play.
For inside the RV I again use peppermint. A simple solution. Find the biggest cheapest box of peppermint tea bags you can at the local grocery store. Open the tea bags like you are getting ready to make a cuppa… and toss those dry tea bags into every compartment, drawer, cabinet and cubby (not in reach of the cat or dog of course). It’s amazing how pest free you will become! Replace the bags once a year. If you want to get fancy you can buy peppermint balls for RV’s made for this purpose… but honestly it’s the same stuff that’s in the teas bags and way less expensive!
When the ticks get really, really, really, bad like they are right now… I go to the spice cabinet. One spice that I’m pretty sure you already have on hand is cinnamon! Ticks (as well as ants, mice and other pests) hate cinnamon. But cinnamon is non toxic to dogs and cats. It may give them a tummy ache if they eat a bunch so be careful where you sprinkle it just to be safe. I noticed ticks on the couch which is in the slide out and I think they may be getting in that way (ditto in the bedroom they the compartment underneath the bed that lifts up where the engine is located) so I sprinkled cinnamon behind the couch, underneath the dog bed (taking my hand to sweep it deep into the carpet under the dog bed just to be safe) and put cinnamon sticks in the compartment underneath the bed (another possible tick entry point) as well as the space underneath we the mattress. We have a lift bed so under the mattress there is about 1-2” of space where the lift mechanism is installed. I like to sprinkle cinnamon out on the patio and around the RV… etc also. It seems to have helped! You can buy cinnamon in large quantities for a fairly inexpensive price. So this is an inexpensive way to up you game when things get bad with something you probably already have on hand! Non toxic and safe for the kids and who doesn’t like the smell of cinnamon?
The peppermint and cinnamon and dog brush mentioned above only cost a few dollars, which is way less expensive than a big spray bucket of bug be gone type bug spray… that honestly I don’t want to be exposed to, don’t want to expose my pets to, and prefer to leave the camping spot clean and safe for the next camper so their kids and pets can camp safely without poison exposure as well. This is my way of dealing with the not so fun part of enjoying the great outdoors while not destroying it for the next person, or my return trips!
Conestoga Chuck 