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Old 01-11-2012, 14:05   #1
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Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

I hope this is the correct place to make my first post. I searched and didnt find much.

A question regarding Winterization, I am in Minnesoata where we put our boats up for several months of snow and cold. I have a 40 foot Regal and just heard that I should have put "Bounce" dryer sheets in the boat prior to shrinkwrapping it. This is how to keep the mice out of the boat i am told.

Is this Urban Legend or good practice?


Thanks,
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Old 02-11-2012, 04:40   #2
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Toadmanor.

"Some smells repel mice for a short period of time, like cigarette smoke and certain colognes," says Ron Harrison of Orkin Pest Control in Atlanta. "But mice are extremely curious. A strange odor isn't going to keep them away when they're looking for food or a place to nest."

Bottom Line: Don't expect your box of Bounce to work any pest-control miracles.

Dryer Sheets Don't Deter Mice | Cleaning | Upkeep | This Old House - 1
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Old 02-11-2012, 04:54   #3
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

The Mk 1 Cattus Cattus is still the best mousetrap...not sure how you're going to deploy one on a hard-standing boat, though.
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Old 02-11-2012, 07:31   #4
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

Over the winter while on the hard many years ago, mice chewed trough my folded mainsail,4 holes a foot apart. Since then I put a package of warfarine on the cabin sole, when I open the boat it is easy to see if I had visitors. Ole
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Old 02-11-2012, 09:07   #5
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

Warfarin works well as long as the mice have a way to get out of the boat to look for water (it makes them very thirsty before they die). Otherwise, you'll be picking them out of the bilges in the spring.

You can make it really, really hard for rodents to get on board in the first place- "rodent baffle" cones on any lines leading to the deck tend to help.
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Old 02-11-2012, 09:10   #6
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

W
Quote:
arfarin works well as long as the mice have a way to get out of the boat to look for water
It helps if you don't leave them a way in (or out) - no lines or power cables hanging down, and your boat a few feet from walls, scaffolding, or other boats.
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Old 04-11-2012, 15:23   #7
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

Hey there,

I obtained an abandoned project boat in Rio de Janeiro and it had been used as the local "House of Ill Repute" so the first thing I had to clear out were all the used condoms, joint roaches and other umentionable stuff. But the boat also housed a thriving community of mice...

I think mice are cute and even kept them as pets when I was a kid but I was living aboard while fixing the yacht and everytime I heard them gnawing I wondered what exacly they were gnawing at; like my wiring or even a hole through the hull.

So reluctantly I bought some mousetraps and soon killed 8 but one was a born survivor and I swear it could eat the cheese off four mousetraps without springing one of them!

I then tried mouse poison that you buy in supermarkets here and I think it worked more like LSD because the mouse seemed hyperactive and even pooped psychadelic red tu_ds.

Well this went on for months and I even tried throwing a half full (half empty?) bottle of wine at it and all to no avail.

So eventually the big day came to launch the yacht and everything went without a hitch until I climbed on board and found the water was rising rapidly!! OMG I was sinking. So I beached the yacht (it had a swing keel) and it settled onto the sandy bottom in shallow water.

On climbing aboard to survey the disaster, I saw the mouse floating face down in the water filled cabin. I had developed a lot of respect for the little beast as it had made a complete fool of me for so long, so I tried CPR but it was too late. He had passed away. When I buried him I thought maybe I am burying the DNA of a super intelligent mammal and maybe I should send the body to a University.

Well as this is a cruising forum I guess some people are wondering what happened to the yacht? I decided I had two options: 1) walk away and try not to cry in public or 2) set fire to it, then walk away and try not to cry in public.

I was debating the merits of these options with my son when an old salt arrived and started asking about the boat. I explained that I had just wasted nearly a year renovating the hull and it had sunk in less than an hour. He said not to worry because wooden boats are like that and to leave it there for three days to let the wood swell and then bail it out.

Well I followed his advice and low and behold she was bobbing happily on top of the water with only a few trickles of water into the bilges. So that was the start of some great adventures living onboard and the end of a super smart little mouse.
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Old 04-11-2012, 15:31   #8
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Re: Winterization, Mice, & Bounce

Are you going to turn it back into a House of Ill Repute?
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