Rodents in Boats
 

Dave Brown wrote:
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?




Shrinkwrap?

I pull all the upholstery out of my Parker before having it wrapped. So
far, knock on fiberglass, no rodents. Perhaps the problem isn't too bad
around here because we have lots of predatory birds that don't go south
for the winter. We've got a corn field not too far away, but I've never
seen a mouse or a rat in it...there are plenty of hawks and owls in the
nearby trees and barns, and none of them are thin.

Rodents in Boats
 

"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

Rodents in Boats
 

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:06:42 -0500, Dave Brown
wrote:

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?

I'm guessing you didn't have any last year because the population was
down. Not providing food and nesting materials in the stored boat is a
start.
I found this, which covers a number of solutions.
http://my.boatus.com/forum/forum_pos...TID=50954&PN=1

If you can't keep them from getting in the boat, I like the bale of
hay and plenty of poison idea.
The fox scent - I don't know if that might leave a smell.

--Vic

Rodents in Boats
 

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?

--
Regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina Ltd
http://brownsmarina.com/

Rodents in Boats
 

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.

Rodents in Boats
 

This does come up every year.......
Rodents go where the munchies are. Remove the food source, and they
will leave. Period.
Rat bait is counter productive. It may kill them, but still attracts
them, which you don't want.
Boats are attractive to rodents. They don't have to have that
forgotten open can of sardines in the locker. The smell of past
cooking from the galley, or the portapotty locker is more than enough
to tell them "there is food here". Wipe down the boats interior with
alcohol, bleach, etc. Remove every last crumb from that breakfast
muffin the owner dropped last year.
Remve the source, and the *suggestion* of source, and the rodents will
pack up and go somewhere else.
That;s all there is to it.
JR

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:06:42 -0500, Dave Brown
wrote:

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?

Rodents in Boats
 

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

I read the header, and instantly thought........Oh, you know!

Rodents in Boats
 

Rodents in Boats
 

"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

Rodents in Boats
 

"JR North" wrote in message
...

This does come up every year.......
Rodents go where the munchies are. Remove the food source, and they
will leave. Period.


Sorry, but I just don't buy it.

There was no food source left in the air filter intake of the car I stored
outside a couple of years ago. It was simply a nice, sheltered winter home
for the little suckers.

Eisboch