HELP RATS

[Exit door]

Hi my boat ended up beached during cyclone Winston we re-floated her but it seems that rats have moved in? I presume through the through holes when she was beached

I am overseas working so cannot be Johnny on the spot I have a mate that has been having some luck killing them but they have bred and he can't be there constantly to eradicate them

There are no pest controllers where the boat is moored.

Any ideas on how to exterminate them full stop. I was thinking a generator with a hose into the cabins thus carbon monoxide them!

Is there any type of vapor/ gas canisters that can be legally bought to do a similar type extermination.

My buddy won't even tell me how the inside of the boats looking! I can only imagine the destruction of a nest of rats are doing. Cyclone now this. Bummed.

Yes we are already trapping and poisoning but are down to the last two or three and they are not touching those old tricks

Any ideas for instant direct extermination greatly greatly appreciated

[neilpride]

Slice a fresh tomato in half, and dig the poison in the tomato, dont use the regular stuff, use a anticoagulant poison, they tend to dry the rat from inside , it take few days and later they die from dehydration , if they die in hiden locations in the boat usually they dont smell bad thx to the anticoagulant...they love the tomato , at least that work for me...good luck.

[Sea Dreaming]

A very hungry cat?

[Butler]

Someone over on the Wooden Boat Forum suggested that a decent sized pail or basin of dry ice at the lowest point in the bilge will clear them off very quickly.
I have no idea if this works or why it should... maybe the nitrogen gas??? I dunno

[a64pilot]

It would be CO2 not nitrogen, but no matter, you or rats cannot breathe either one.
I am pretty sure CO2 is heavier than air and would displace air, it would build up like propane, just not explode. CO2 has killed many animals and I think some people in the past that came from volcanic activity, I think I remember some lake that many people died around several years ago?


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[skipmac]

I have always had 100% luck with plain old traps. Bait with peanut butter or a little piece of jerky. EXCEPT, one mouse got trap smart and wouldn't go near the baits.

I got that one with a glue trap. Set out a dozen or more all along the walkways.

I hate to use any kind of poison. Even if the coagulate and don't stink (somehow I think in hot FL they would have to stink sooner or later) I just can't live with the idea of dead rodent bodies hidden around the boat.

[MarkJ]

I think a nuclear bomb would be effective. But the cockroaches would survive...

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I think a nuclear bomb would be effective. But the cockroaches would survive...

[tkeithlu]

The anticoagulent causes rats to internally bleed to death, so you will have rotting rats. The CO2 will work; the relative densities of Carbon Dioxide and air are 44 to 29. The lake mentioned was Lake Nyos in the Cameroon in 1986. The hope would be that CO2 would drive them out, but killing them in place is more likely, ergo dead rat smell again. Rats are bait shy, meaning that they sample a new food, wait, and if they do not become nauseated in an hour or two come back for more, so conventional poisons don't work well. Anticoagulents are effective if left on the running surfaces - they get it in their fur and then groom themselves. Traps or sticky paper seem the best bet since you can count on retrieving them.

[Lepke]

I had a dairy. Cows get grain that draws rats and mice. You cannot have rodents anywhere near food for humans. It was a constant battle to eliminate the rodents before the milking areas. Besides barn cats as the last line of defense, the anti-coagulant is the best. It does not have a secondary kill, meaning the cats didn't get sick if they ate a dead rat. The anti coagulant makes rodents thirsty from internal bleeding. If the bilge is dry, they will be found outside.
On the farm I usually found the dead rodents a few feet outside the bait stations. Having one die inside is extremely rare.
I used Decon, but only if the cats were falling behind.

[uncle stinkybob]

pour small amounts of bleach in any areas holding water (bilge and such) no water to drink, no rats, they just leave instead of dying and smelling the boat up.

[Exit door]

Thanks for all the advice

It would not be such an issue if I was there as I could make a consorted effort at killing them a freind of mine is on it but I'm not sure how commited he is I'm presuming not as much as I would be and my worry is I won't be back for another two months and that's a lot of rat destruction time.

This is why I was thinking of gassing them as it would be a quick fix and I would rather a smelly dead rat than one eating or my hoses and wiring etc etc

I don't think they would be too keen to leave now as the boat has been re-floated and is on a mooring in the middle of a bay.

Does anybody know of actual canisters I can buy that fumigate rodents! Not insect ones but hardcore rodent gas canisters. If yes the brand and where would be appreciated.

Cheers

[TurninTurtle]

Closing the boat up after dropping a few blocks of dry ice in will certainly kill any rodents that don't abandon ship.
Even better tarp over the boat for a couple of days to keep as much CO2 trapped as possible.

A lot less smelly then piping in the exhaust of a generator or similar to produce the CO/CO2

After the treatment, the boat would have to be VERY well ventilated.

Advantage:
No potentially hazardous chemical or poison residue. Once the boat is ventilated the CO2 is all gone.
Dry ice should be available fairly easily.

Disadvantage: the time needed for the dry ice to evaporate so it will do its job.

You could "flood" the boat with CO2 fire extinguishers. Same basic idea but can expose the person(s) applying it to deadly concentrations of the CO2.

***************

The ultimate extreme rat removal plan is sink the boat. They'll all leave.

Creates more problems than it solves.

But like burning a house to get rid of spiders, it has been done.

[Exit door]

With the dry ice idea I read that if it is to well contained it can create a pressure explosion? Anybody know about this! Blowing up the boat to get rid of the rats I guess is the same philosophy as sinking her.

[Aloft]

Originally Posted by Exit door

With the dry ice idea I read that if it is to well contained it can create a pressure explosion?

That would be one watertight boat, with no engine vent, cracks between the hatch boards, sink drains, or engine exhaust.

I actually like rats, when they're not on my boat, and have used CO2 to euthanize a terminally ill one. Works in about 20 minutes. They don't know they're suffocating, so they'll remain where they were for you to find in a few years.

I had a rat aboard for almost a month before I got her. Had a cheerio in a glue pad, but she tore off half her fur getting away from it, and wouldn't go near any grains after that. She seemed to know what a rat trap was, wouldn't go near that no matter what kind of bait was on it. I finally got her in a live trap. The trick on those is to cover them with a towel so that they feel safe there - rats don't like to be out in the open. And put it someplace new - they'll remember bad experiences. For bait, rat's favorite foods are: peanut butter, popcorn, peas, smelly grains like bread and some cereals. Best bet is popcorn dipped in peanut butter - irresistible.