After advice from bareboat charters in the Med, I put empty (partially sliced and cut to rotate) plastic drinks bottles on mooring lines. Stops them running up the ropes as they cannot grip and fall off.
Rodents ugh
- Thread starter rgj592015
- Start date
For some reason rats/mice love to chew on wire! After 37 years working on copiers I have seen them get into the smallest places and strip the wires until they get fried. Or you do!
Check every wire you can find.
Check every wire you can find.
I second the dryer sheets. Keep them tucked in discrete places throughout the boat. Not only will it keep them out, the boat smells nice after being closed up for a while.
We live in a wooded area where we get a lot of field mice trying to get into the house every fall. Mouse traps baited with peanut butter or chocolate chips takes care of them. That is, however, not an option for storing the boat over the winter. Dryer sheets work every time! That along with an air dryer and good quality battery charger and you don't have to remove anything from the boat before storage.
We live in a wooded area where we get a lot of field mice trying to get into the house every fall. Mouse traps baited with peanut butter or chocolate chips takes care of them. That is, however, not an option for storing the boat over the winter. Dryer sheets work every time! That along with an air dryer and good quality battery charger and you don't have to remove anything from the boat before storage.
Rat Remover
Rats Mice squirrels are all part of the same family
This will make them want to leave
Peppermint oil, simple as that add a few drops to a sprayer and spray it round the boat in areas that as suspect spray on a sponge and leave it on the engine when it running spray some in the Bilge sump water and on bedding It smells nice and keep spraying it ..... that will be looking to leave also Mint leaves or a pot of mint, cat mint in a pot, if you have a hole, fill it up with wirewool or metal type pan scourers.
If you have an electrical supply like on a marina mooring you can use an electronic device as well ....BUT make sure with any cleansing make sure you remove all food.
Rats Mice squirrels are all part of the same family
This will make them want to leave
Peppermint oil, simple as that add a few drops to a sprayer and spray it round the boat in areas that as suspect spray on a sponge and leave it on the engine when it running spray some in the Bilge sump water and on bedding It smells nice and keep spraying it ..... that will be looking to leave also Mint leaves or a pot of mint, cat mint in a pot, if you have a hole, fill it up with wirewool or metal type pan scourers.
If you have an electrical supply like on a marina mooring you can use an electronic device as well ....BUT make sure with any cleansing make sure you remove all food.
I second the use of scented dryers sheets but the best prevention is not to leave any kind of food on board when the boat is not being used. Once you have them on board it is best to try and get rid of them as quickly as possible to prevent damage to the wiring of electrical systems and components. Glue traps and rat poison will work the fastest. I would not worry about the smell of any dead ones that could not be located as it will only last some 3 or 4 days and will be gone with proper ventilation. Avoid docking near construction sites and unkempt fields.
Non-Toxic Rat and Mouse Killer
We lived on 40 acres and a devious rat ate all the spark plug wires off my Farm Truck. I felt like an idiot cranking away at it when I had pulled off the air cleaner to put some gas in the carb and never noticed the distributor only had nubs on it. The spark plugs as well only had nubs as well.
I found that sandwich bags of quick oats (just plain generic store brand Quaker Oats) mixed with some Plaster of Paris (just enough to make it white)
Just tie them off and put them around where you have a rodent problem. They eat the oats and the plaster hardens which kills them overnight. You can place it on cardboard if you do not want the mess of the plaster of paris getting on everything.
Good Luck,
Lee
We lived on 40 acres and a devious rat ate all the spark plug wires off my Farm Truck. I felt like an idiot cranking away at it when I had pulled off the air cleaner to put some gas in the carb and never noticed the distributor only had nubs on it. The spark plugs as well only had nubs as well.
I found that sandwich bags of quick oats (just plain generic store brand Quaker Oats) mixed with some Plaster of Paris (just enough to make it white)
Just tie them off and put them around where you have a rodent problem. They eat the oats and the plaster hardens which kills them overnight. You can place it on cardboard if you do not want the mess of the plaster of paris getting on everything.
Good Luck,
Lee
I agree with drier sheets(I use Bounce). They work in farm trucks left in barn. What doesn't work is to just open the box. You have to scatter them around and make a mess. In an effort to be neat I tried the box method. Not good. I tried some of the bags in one truck this year but they smelled so bad that I had to spread out drier sheets to cover them up. They must work, they repelled me. Also have a !968 ODay Mariner undergoing resurrection about 2 blocks from Naples City Dock. Hope to be there in 1-2 wks. Will look for you.
Solution
OK Rats big problem easy fix. I live on 5 acres and have a problem with rodants getting into my cars and setting up house and as with cars, boat can be rendered in-op because thet feast on wire installation causeing shorts and can also cause fires. I have Had the BEST luck with a organic repellant called "Freash Cab" it's a pleasant smell to humans but rodents don't like it. Go to "jefferspet.com" in search type in "fresh Cab" you'll find that it's not very expensive. If your like me in no time at all you'll be a great fan. Good luck
PS> Dont Posion them, why, because if they go and died in a place you cant asses you'll never get rid of the foul smell. I've also tried Bounce and that didn't work for me
I have found an absolutely foolproof way to keep a boat rat and mouse free without poisons or any possibility of the damn things dying on board.
Make sure any standing water on the boat or in the bilges is undrinkable. When I got rats in the Keys, after the traps stopped working and I was unable to catch or kill the last few rats, someone mentioned this to me. I put about a gallon of bleach in any water I found in the bilge and the rats were gone in 24 hours. Gone!
They may be able to survive on salt water, but apparently water with bleach is not tasty to them.
Make sure any standing water on the boat or in the bilges is undrinkable. When I got rats in the Keys, after the traps stopped working and I was unable to catch or kill the last few rats, someone mentioned this to me. I put about a gallon of bleach in any water I found in the bilge and the rats were gone in 24 hours. Gone!
They may be able to survive on salt water, but apparently water with bleach is not tasty to them.
...whichever method u end up using to rid yourself of them...keep in mind they prefer to live where there us access to food & water...otherwise they just move on.
A rat can fit anywhere you can stick 1 or 2 fingers thru, a mouse 1 finger. Is the boat on the Hard or tied up? If its docked try rat guards! Navys been using them for centuries! Best bet though is traps then repellant which is iffy. a important thing is REMOVE all food! That's usually the attraction for them
HRJ
HRJ
Funnels
Some friends in Rio Vista, California had a problem when an agricultural field was harvested. They put funnels on the dock lines with the wide part facing the dock cleat. They made sure the line was taught and that the funnel was out in the middle away from both the dock and the boat. I guess they can jump past the funnel and grab the dock line, but that is a lot of work for them. This seems to discourage them.
Some friends in Rio Vista, California had a problem when an agricultural field was harvested. They put funnels on the dock lines with the wide part facing the dock cleat. They made sure the line was taught and that the funnel was out in the middle away from both the dock and the boat. I guess they can jump past the funnel and grab the dock line, but that is a lot of work for them. This seems to discourage them.
Re: Rat poison works
Reminds me of the time some years ago when we had one mouse on board that we just could NOT catch- when it showed up we all would start trying to whack it, to no avail....pulled up about 2 feet from a friend under sail a day or two later; it showed up on the gunnel, and we all started whacking at it again...it JUMPED to the other boat and we tacked away watching THEM starting whack-a-mouse! Funny!
Reminds me of the time some years ago when we had one mouse on board that we just could NOT catch- when it showed up we all would start trying to whack it, to no avail....pulled up about 2 feet from a friend under sail a day or two later; it showed up on the gunnel, and we all started whacking at it again...it JUMPED to the other boat and we tacked away watching THEM starting whack-a-mouse! Funny!
Lots of good suggestions here with quite a variety of solutions. When all else fails, #2 buckshot may do it.
traps!!!
I had! a big rat in my yacht, NO more !!!
only those spring traps will help
buy few average size (15X10 c"m) with a strong spring.
when it catches something throw it with the trap to the water.
(the fish will celebrate)
I had! a big rat in my yacht, NO more !!!
only those spring traps will help
buy few average size (15X10 c"m) with a strong spring.
when it catches something throw it with the trap to the water.
(the fish will celebrate)