Eisboch wrote:
"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:UtWdncaSmcFWJ1bVnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@wtccommunica tions.ca...
No doubt this has been discussed before, but let's see if we can get a
little more boat action going in here and see what may be new on this
topic.

I received an e-mail this morning from someone asking how to deter rodents
from nesting in their boat over the winter. The winter of 2006/2007 was a
particularly bad year in our region and yet last winter, we didn't have a
single occurrence in any of the 200+ boats we store.

There are common remedies like dryer sheets and moth balls, but I have
seen infestations with both of these used. Plus, the smell never goes away
for either (not to mention the health effect the moth balls can have on
humans).

Last year I went with rodent baits hoping that if they were going to get
in, they'd at least be killed before the upholstery was trashed and carpet
urine soaked. Of course, having one of the little buggers die inside an
inaccessible panel wouldn't be pleasant either.

Thoughts? Ideas?




One word.

Cat.

The cat doesn't have to live on or near the boat. It just needs to be aware
that the boat is a rewarding place to visit once or twice a day as it makes
it's daily rounds. An initial training period of leaving a small amount of
canned tuna in the area of the stored boat will make it's location part of
the cat's daily prowl.

We have a lot of field mice in the horse paddocks at our house and the horse
barn had evidence of them making themselves at home. Our next door neighbor
adopted a stray cat a couple of years ago and he (she?) makes the barn part
of the daily rounds.
Occasionally we have seen it accompanied by a second cat. Since they
started their daily visits, we have not seen any further evidence of field
mice in the barn.

EIsboch


That's trading one pest for another. Traps work.

"jim" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:UtWdncaSmcFWJ1bVnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@wtccommunica tions.ca...
No doubt this has been discussed before, but let's see if we can get a
little more boat action going in here and see what may be new on this
topic.

I received an e-mail this morning from someone asking how to deter
rodents from nesting in their boat over the winter. The winter of
2006/2007 was a particularly bad year in our region and yet last winter,
we didn't have a single occurrence in any of the 200+ boats we store.

There are common remedies like dryer sheets and moth balls, but I have
seen infestations with both of these used. Plus, the smell never goes
away for either (not to mention the health effect the moth balls can
have on humans).

Last year I went with rodent baits hoping that if they were going to get
in, they'd at least be killed before the upholstery was trashed and
carpet urine soaked. Of course, having one of the little buggers die
inside an inaccessible panel wouldn't be pleasant either.

Thoughts? Ideas?




One word.

Cat.

The cat doesn't have to live on or near the boat. It just needs to be
aware that the boat is a rewarding place to visit once or twice a day as
it makes it's daily rounds. An initial training period of leaving a
small amount of canned tuna in the area of the stored boat will make it's
location part of the cat's daily prowl.

We have a lot of field mice in the horse paddocks at our house and the
horse barn had evidence of them making themselves at home. Our next door
neighbor adopted a stray cat a couple of years ago and he (she?) makes
the barn part of the daily rounds.
Occasionally we have seen it accompanied by a second cat. Since they
started their daily visits, we have not seen any further evidence of
field mice in the barn.

EIsboch
That's trading one pest for another. Traps work.

I don't see the cats as pests at all. In fact, I like 'em. One is very
friendly and loves to be petted. I don't feed them or take care of them
...... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

Eisboch

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:52:10 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

I don't see the cats as pests at all. In fact, I like 'em. One is very
friendly and loves to be petted. I don't feed them or take care of them
..... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

The feed store has " barn cat food " 16 bucks for a 50 pound bag. Only
about twice as much as cracked corn.

Casady

"Richard Casady" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:52:10 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

I don't see the cats as pests at all. In fact, I like 'em. One is very
friendly and loves to be petted. I don't feed them or take care of them
..... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

The feed store has " barn cat food " 16 bucks for a 50 pound bag. Only
about twice as much as cracked corn.

Casady


Horse people love having "barn cats" around.

When we wintered in Florida Mrs.E. shipped her horses down there, and she
often mentioned the benefits of having a barn cat.

One day the Animal Rescue League or some such animal lovers group had a big
adoption van stationed in the local Publix supermarket parking lot. I
remembered Mrs.E's comments about having a barn cat and decided I'd get her
one.

I entered the van and reviewed crate after crate of cats of all shapes and
colors. I finally found one that looked pretty cool and tough and called
the attendant over, saying that I'd like to take it.

She asked a few questions, including why I wanted it. When I told her I
wanted a barn cat to keep the unwanted critters out of the horse barn, the
attendant became indignant. She told me "her" stray cats needed a loving
home, etc., etc., etc., and how my plans were cruel.

Thanks anyway .... and I left.

Eisboch

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"Richard Casady" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:52:10 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

I don't see the cats as pests at all. In fact, I like 'em. One is
very
friendly and loves to be petted. I don't feed them or take care of them
..... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

The feed store has " barn cat food " 16 bucks for a 50 pound bag. Only
about twice as much as cracked corn.

Casady


Horse people love having "barn cats" around.

When we wintered in Florida Mrs.E. shipped her horses down there, and she
often mentioned the benefits of having a barn cat.

One day the Animal Rescue League or some such animal lovers group had a
big adoption van stationed in the local Publix supermarket parking lot.
I remembered Mrs.E's comments about having a barn cat and decided I'd get
her one.

I entered the van and reviewed crate after crate of cats of all shapes and
colors. I finally found one that looked pretty cool and tough and called
the attendant over, saying that I'd like to take it.

She asked a few questions, including why I wanted it. When I told her I
wanted a barn cat to keep the unwanted critters out of the horse barn, the
attendant became indignant. She told me "her" stray cats needed a loving
home, etc., etc., etc., and how my plans were cruel.

Thanks anyway .... and I left.

Eisboch


We had barn cats on our horse farm when I was a kid. They did their job, and
were well as well cared for as our horses, and other livestock. My
grandmother fed them every night, and it included a bowl of milk, fresh from
Elsie. We rarely had any other critters in the barns.

Oh yeah, we had an old rowboat that we'd use for fishing in the small lake
nearby. The cats never wanted to go...

Just keeping it boating related. g

--Mike

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"jim" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:UtWdncaSmcFWJ1bVnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@wtccommunica tions.ca...
No doubt this has been discussed before, but let's see if we can get a
little more boat action going in here and see what may be new on this
topic.

I received an e-mail this morning from someone asking how to deter
rodents from nesting in their boat over the winter. The winter of
2006/2007 was a particularly bad year in our region and yet last
winter, we didn't have a single occurrence in any of the 200+ boats we
store.

There are common remedies like dryer sheets and moth balls, but I have
seen infestations with both of these used. Plus, the smell never goes
away for either (not to mention the health effect the moth balls can
have on humans).

Last year I went with rodent baits hoping that if they were going to
get in, they'd at least be killed before the upholstery was trashed and
carpet urine soaked. Of course, having one of the little buggers die
inside an inaccessible panel wouldn't be pleasant either.

Thoughts? Ideas?




One word.

Cat.

The cat doesn't have to live on or near the boat. It just needs to be
aware that the boat is a rewarding place to visit once or twice a day as
it makes it's daily rounds. An initial training period of leaving a
small amount of canned tuna in the area of the stored boat will make
it's location part of the cat's daily prowl.

We have a lot of field mice in the horse paddocks at our house and the
horse barn had evidence of them making themselves at home. Our next
door neighbor adopted a stray cat a couple of years ago and he (she?)
makes the barn part of the daily rounds.
Occasionally we have seen it accompanied by a second cat. Since they
started their daily visits, we have not seen any further evidence of
field mice in the barn.

EIsboch
That's trading one pest for another. Traps work.

I don't see the cats as pests at all. In fact, I like 'em. One is very
friendly and loves to be petted. I don't feed them or take care of them
..... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

Eisboch

Nice buddy you have there!
Next he'll be telling you to use them for target practice with the 12 gauge.

Don White wrote:
"Eisboch" wrote in message
...
"jim" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:UtWdncaSmcFWJ1bVnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@wtccommunica tions.ca...
No doubt this has been discussed before, but let's see if we can get a
little more boat action going in here and see what may be new on this
topic.

I received an e-mail this morning from someone asking how to deter
rodents from nesting in their boat over the winter. The winter of
2006/2007 was a particularly bad year in our region and yet last
winter, we didn't have a single occurrence in any of the 200+ boats we
store.

There are common remedies like dryer sheets and moth balls, but I have
seen infestations with both of these used. Plus, the smell never goes
away for either (not to mention the health effect the moth balls can
have on humans).

Last year I went with rodent baits hoping that if they were going to
get in, they'd at least be killed before the upholstery was trashed and
carpet urine soaked. Of course, having one of the little buggers die
inside an inaccessible panel wouldn't be pleasant either.

Thoughts? Ideas?



One word.

Cat.

The cat doesn't have to live on or near the boat. It just needs to be
aware that the boat is a rewarding place to visit once or twice a day as
it makes it's daily rounds. An initial training period of leaving a
small amount of canned tuna in the area of the stored boat will make
it's location part of the cat's daily prowl.

We have a lot of field mice in the horse paddocks at our house and the
horse barn had evidence of them making themselves at home. Our next
door neighbor adopted a stray cat a couple of years ago and he (she?)
makes the barn part of the daily rounds.
Occasionally we have seen it accompanied by a second cat. Since they
started their daily visits, we have not seen any further evidence of
field mice in the barn.

EIsboch
That's trading one pest for another. Traps work.
I don't see the cats as pests at all. In fact, I like 'em. One is very
friendly and loves to be petted. I don't feed them or take care of them
..... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

Eisboch

Nice buddy you have there!
Next he'll be telling you to use them for target practice with the 12 gauge.




FloridaJim doesn't like cats because you have to feed them and keep them
safe and healthy in return for their love as pets. In FloridaJim's mind,
if he can't turn a profit with a little pussy, it's not worth the effort
to him.

I suppose that makes him...a pimp.

On Sep 13, 5:52*pm, "Eisboch" wrote:
"jim" wrote in message

...





Eisboch wrote:
"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:UtWdncaSmcFWJ1bVnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@wtccommuni cations.ca...
No doubt this has been discussed before, but let's see if we can get a
little more boat action going in here and see what may be new on this
topic.

I received an e-mail this morning from someone asking how to deter
rodents from nesting in their boat over the winter. The winter of
2006/2007 was a particularly bad year in our region and yet last winter,
we didn't have a single occurrence in any of the 200+ boats we store.

There are common remedies like dryer sheets and moth balls, but I have
seen infestations with both of these used. Plus, the smell never goes
away for either (not to mention the health effect the moth balls can
have on humans).

Last year I went with rodent baits hoping that if they were going to get
in, they'd at least be killed before the upholstery was trashed and
carpet urine soaked. Of course, having one of the little buggers die
inside an inaccessible panel wouldn't be pleasant either.

Thoughts? Ideas?

One word.

Cat.

The cat doesn't have to live on or near the boat. *It just needs to be
aware that the boat is a rewarding place to visit once or twice a day as
it makes it's daily rounds. * An initial training period of leaving a
small amount of canned tuna in the area of the stored boat will make it's
location part of the cat's daily prowl.

We have a lot of field mice in the horse paddocks at our house and the
horse barn had evidence of them making themselves at home. *Our next door
neighbor adopted a stray cat a couple of years ago and he (she?) *makes
the barn part of the daily rounds.
Occasionally we have seen it accompanied by a second cat. * Since they
started their daily visits, we have not seen any further evidence of
field mice in the barn.

EIsboch
That's trading one pest for another. Traps work.

I don't see the cats as pests at all. *In fact, I like 'em. * *One is very
friendly and loves to be petted. *I don't feed them or take care of them
..... they just make a twice daily patrol of the yard and barn.

Eisboch- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh they can be a great thwart to mice, especially an old Calico that's
jsut had kittens. But I'd also be concerned about a cat that likes to
climb in a boat, take a crap (or puke) on the carpet, and use some
good boat furniture for a scratching post.