Sweet, babies!!

Oct 17, 2011
221
Catalina 310 USA
Found this lovely present in the anchor locker yesterday :mad: First time in 10 years....now I know to plug up the anchor chain opening in the early spring.

Luckily boating is banned in MD for a while so I cannot sail anyway......
 

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May 1, 2011
4,189
Pearson 37 Lusby MD
I had a momma bird take up residence in my boom several years ago. I'd take the boat out and hear cheeping from the boom. Then I noticed momma giving me the stink eye from another boat on the dock. A few weeks later, they left. The following spring, I put a folded sheet of oilsorb in the end of the boom. I saw her trying to get in a couple of times, but no luck, and no more unwanted guests! :beer:
 

KZW

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May 17, 2014
831
Catalina 310 #307 Bluewater Bay, FL
Boating is banned in Maryland????!!! That is dumber than dirt. I go out single handed or with the Admiral as often as a can. I do my best to stay at least six feet from all other boats.
 
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DaveJ

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Apr 2, 2013
449
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
Much nicer than the squirrels (6) that I had living in my anchor locker last year! Little birds won't chew the rode. Now, I plug the opening when on the hard, those little ones sure are cute!
Cheers
dj
 
Jan 17, 2013
439
Catalina 310 St. Simons Island, GA
You should be thankful for baby birds in your anchor locker. Much better than what we had in ours during our recent cruise south. We were in the Vero Beach mooring field and had noticed that something had torn into a trash bag in the aft cabin overnight. We were thinking small mouse and bought some mouse traps to use that night. Went up to the anchor locker to get my rubber gloves and there was a big RAT in the anchor locker! He jumped up, ran down the side deck, past my wife, into the cockpit and then down into the cabin. Real horror show. Grabbed the boat hook and slowly cleaned out the aft cabin one item at a time. Fortunately we do not have cushions in the aft cabin-removed them because this area is only for storage. Last item moved and there he was in the corner. He started running back and forth and I started swinging the boat hook with my wife shouting in the background. Missed most of the swings but finally wounded him and then finished him off. By this time everyone in our vicinity in the harbor was aware of what was going on and even the BoatUS guy was interested. This is not an experience quickly or easily recovered from and I only wish I found a birds nest with two babies instead!
bob
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Bob... reading the story I got the image of you swinging the boat hook about, your wife screaming.

Perhaps the folks in the neighboring boats were only aware of you swinging the hook and your wife screaming. The context of the ""Great Rat Eradication" might not have been evident. They were all reaching for their cell phone cameras and preparing the story they planned to tell the police.
 
Jan 17, 2013
439
Catalina 310 St. Simons Island, GA
Bob... reading the story I got the image of you swinging the boat hook about, your wife screaming.

Perhaps the folks in the neighboring boats were only aware of you swinging the hook and your wife screaming. The context of the ""Great Rat Eradication" might not have been evident. They were all reaching for their cell phone cameras and preparing the story they planned to tell the police.
Good point except my wife was on deck while all this was happening. No way was she going to be down below at the same time as the rodent... I just imagine if the bugger escaped somewhere down below and we couldn't find him. Probably would end the cruise and sell the boat on the spot. Fortunately no openings in the Catalina 310 aft cabin for him to crawl into.
 
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Sep 29, 2008
1,928
Catalina 310 #185 Quantico
You should be thankful for baby birds in your anchor locker. Much better than what we had in ours during our recent cruise south. We were in the Vero Beach mooring field and had noticed that something had torn into a trash bag in the aft cabin overnight. We were thinking small mouse and bought some mouse traps to use that night. Went up to the anchor locker to get my rubber gloves and there was a big RAT in the anchor locker! He jumped up, ran down the side deck, past my wife, into the cockpit and then down into the cabin. Real horror show. Grabbed the boat hook and slowly cleaned out the aft cabin one item at a time. Fortunately we do not have cushions in the aft cabin-removed them because this area is only for storage. Last item moved and there he was in the corner. He started running back and forth and I started swinging the boat hook with my wife shouting in the background. Missed most of the swings but finally wounded him and then finished him off. By this time everyone in our vicinity in the harbor was aware of what was going on and even the BoatUS guy was interested. This is not an experience quickly or easily recovered from and I only wish I found a birds nest with two babies instead!
bob
Had the same experience but in a house one time. Thought it was a mouse until I scared him from behind the refrigerator with a blast from my scuba tank. Chased him and cornered him in the bathroom and got him with a piece of 2x4. Then called an exterminator who told me to never do that again; said if he decided to fight you he could tear you up before you got him. You story brings back the memories.
 
Dec 25, 2008
1,580
catalina 310 Elk River
We had a rat living under our refrigerator in what was our summer house. We now live there permanently.
I pulled the refrigerator out and took the access panel off, pulled out all the nesting material (insulation from the dishwasher)and left it in the captated area behind it. Then I got the hair dryer and blew hot air at him which scared him out the back and into the nesting material. I then took a 5 gal bucket and put it over the nest and slid a metal plate under it turned it over and took it outside. So now he is in the bucket, so I got some MEK and dumped couple of ounces it in the which anesthetized him. It was January and cold. I took it down to the dock and dumped him in the river.....just swam away.
 
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Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
Maxine still on the hard but launch date about May 15. In the meantime, I'm trapping mice at the house. I'm currently on mouse #6 in the lower level of our 3 story home. I get them with the "Have a Heart Trap", which works like a champ with a dab of peanut butter. Then my wife dumps them in the woods out back. Six is a lot of mice and I'm beginning to think the little buggers have found a way back to the house. Anyone have an idea what the size of such a colony could be? I can't figure out how they are getting into the house. Apparently they are only in the lower level which is 50% ground level and 50% 6 ft below grade. I think the exterior is very tight and inside is all furnished living space. How do they typically get in?
 
Jan 17, 2013
439
Catalina 310 St. Simons Island, GA
Maxine still on the hard but launch date about May 15. In the meantime, I'm trapping mice at the house. I'm currently on mouse #6 in the lower level of our 3 story home. I get them with the "Have a Heart Trap", which works like a champ with a dab of peanut butter. Then my wife dumps them in the woods out back. Six is a lot of mice and I'm beginning to think the little buggers have found a way back to the house. Anyone have an idea what the size of such a colony could be? I can't figure out how they are getting into the house. Apparently they are only in the lower level which is 50% ground level and 50% 6 ft below grade. I think the exterior is very tight and inside is all furnished living space. How do they typically get in?
You might be catching the same mouse over and over. Happened to me when we lived in Atlanta and had flying squirrels in our attic. Caught him in a have a heart trap and released him out side. I think he was back in the house before me. Caught him again and relocated him across town. But when it comes to rats, I do not have a heart.
 
Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
You might be catching the same mouse over and over. Happened to me when we lived in Atlanta and had flying squirrels in our attic. Caught him in a have a heart trap and released him out side. I think he was back in the house before me. Caught him again and relocated him across town. But when it comes to rats, I do not have a heart.
I'm afraid of exactly that. Next one I catch goes up the street. Squirrels!!! That brings back bad memories. A few years back they chewed their way into an overhanging soffit on my roof. Nice warm nesting place. One day I reached out of an upstairs window with a long board and banged on the soffit. Five (5) squirrels jumped out and glided off into the woods. Cost me $3000.00 to armour the soffits and a nice tree cut down to defeat them.
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,928
Catalina 310 #185 Quantico
Many years ago I worked IT at the Pentagon and one time we went into where a bunch of our folks were working and they were all mad at each other. Eventually we got the story that they had caught a mouse on one of those glue traps and these two twin sisters were talking about taking it into a field and setting it free so it could be happy forever. After a few minutes of this their supervisor came over and said "Enough of this nonsense!" and killed it with her high heel. And then the battle was on.

I once caught a rat on a glue trap as well. Wow can they jump with a glue trap on them.
 
Dec 25, 2008
1,580
catalina 310 Elk River
Ray, I also worked IT in the Pentagon in the 80s. In the basement vault where JDSSC (parts of DISA) was located adjacent to the "Rat Farm", a dirt floor crawl space area which as the name suggests was infested. I had a call for service on these Data General 300MB disk Drives. Well the cables that were connected to them were completely chewed. Rats had gotten into the room that holds vital data and caused considerable damage! The computers were all shut down and the exterminators were called. Not sure what that space is used for today, but it kind of blew my mind that something like a rat could threaten national security.