mice on board help !

[akprb]

Kill! Kill! Kill! (Think Arlo Guthrie in Alice’s Restaurant)

Plenty of other good answers already, I’ll leave it at that.

[anacapaisland42]

We live in the woods, surrounded by wildlife, including mice.
Here is a guaranteed trap.

1. Bucket 1/2 full of water/antifreeze for winter
2. pop can with a small hole in both ends
3. wire coat hanger threaded thru pop can and used to support pop can across the top of the bucket, make sure can will rotate.
4. smear the pop can with peanut butter
5. put a small plank as a not too steep ramp to the top of the bucket

Neighbour caught 13 in his one year, my best is 5


Bill


1. Use mouse trap ? Worried the bait may attract more mice.

[SaltyMetals]

I had a visitor last year. Was anchored about 150m from shore. Droppings seemed to suggest a very acrobatic animal, in the tender, on the floor of the saloon, on the galley worktop. Thought it must be a bat but a whole bunch of guys said it must hv been a rat. Could hear it scuttling around behind the seatbacks in the evening. Eventually i set about 6 spirale (smokey things usually used against mozzies) down in the bilges all under the saloon flooring, then about 0200 once it had become horribly smokey for our visitor down there, i opened up the flooring and went to bed. Following morning my visitor had left. Still think it was a bat.
Andrew

[captlloyd]

Standard hardware mouse traps are effective, I use them in my pole barn/ shop. Mice can nibble the bait away without springing the trap but sooner or later they get nailed. As stated, do not use poison bait, they will get sick and go die in a place you can’t reach. Then about two weeks of stench.

[P3sailor]

I wouldn't recommend moth balls, they're toxic. One thing I've been using, that appears to work, is peppermint. The smell isn't overbearing, I just soak a few cotton balls with the stuff and locate them in places I feel the vermin may frequent. Of course, I use traps for a back-up.

[P3sailor]

Don't agree with using anti-freeze, it's sweet and can be harmful to other critters also, bad for the animals that may consume the mice killed by this potion!

[KTP]

If you float sunflower seeds in a bucket half full of water and have a board or ramp leading up to the edge of the bucket, mice will just jump right in. I guess they think the surface of seeds is solid. The water drowns them and is deep enough that they can't jump out of the bucket.

12 mice caught in one night with this setup. Cost is so cheap.

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by P3sailor

Don't agree with using anti-freeze, it's sweet and can be harmful to other critters also, bad for the animals that may consume the mice killed by this potion!

Indeed, zero need for antifreeze.
Bucket
water
coat hanger
pop can / paper towel roll / contorted alum foil /whatever will roll on the coat hanger
peanut butter

I'm not sure about the karma associated with drowning air breathers on a boat, maybe use fresh water.

[motion]

We were anchored in Puerto Plata Dominican Republic and a large rat about the size of a large cat probably 15_20 lb got on our boat in the middle of the night we got rid of it by putting a Honda generator down below plugged up all the holes and start up let it run for about 2 hours carbon dioxide everything in the boat it also kill all the bugs the danger after it shuts down you need to ventilate everything then don't go blow for at least 2 hours and then when you do go be blow leave all the ports openings and sleep outside on the deck or some other place but don't sleep down below for the first night carbon dioxide sets down there for a long time but it did get rid of everything so if you want to get rid of the mice that's the best way I could think of

[hamburking]

If you see one mouse, you have at least TEN.

I had a similar problem, but in my land house. I put out some live capture traps with PB and the first night caught 6 mice. My kids thought it was great fun. They got to release the live, unharmed mice into the wilds of the backyard, far from the house. I wanted to feed them to a neighbor's husky dog, but my kids would not allow it. We caught one or two mice every day for at least a week. Long enough for the excitement to wear off, for sure.

Despite my efforts, I still found "mouse dirt" every morning, and empty traps.

Finally, in desperation, I put out a few warfarin single block bait stations. I never saw another mouse after that. I also never had a bad smell or found a body.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by motion

We were anchored in Puerto Plata Dominican Republic and a large rat about the size of a large cat probably 15_20 lb got on our boat in the middle of the night we got rid of it by putting a Honda generator down below plugged up all the holes and start up let it run for about 2 hours carbon dioxide everything in the boat it also kill all the bugs the danger after it shuts down you need to ventilate everything then don't go blow for at least 2 hours and then when you do go be blow leave all the ports openings and sleep outside on the deck or some other place but don't sleep down below for the first night carbon dioxide sets down there for a long time but it did get rid of everything so if you want to get rid of the mice that's the best way I could think of

2 problems with your suggestion.

It’s not carbon dioxide that the generator produces, it’s carbon monoxide. Both can suffocate the pest (and you, for that matter).

The main problem is - what happens if the giant rat suffocates in some place you can’t find or reach? The stench from even a small rat could be present for weeks.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by zeehag

C A T

the rats in the field above my boat remain away from my boat with cats and head straight for unattended boats.
sticky traps work well. unfortunately they also collect gekkos. oopsy.
there is no perfect answer, but presence on board and cat smell help a lot

Last time we were out of the water our cat brought a mouse onboard, proudly deposited at our feet and let it run off.

Found her batting around its dead body a few days later.

[coastalexplorer]

In 1850 the Hudson's Bay Company vessel 'Mary Dare' became infested with rats. all entrances were sealed except the main hatch. A thick layer of rock was laid in the main hold. bundles of brush wood was laid in top, and torched. the hatch was sealed closed. the depth of hold was over 12 feet so the flames could not reach the deck. as the fire burnt up all the oxygen in the closed space the fire extinguished its self. anything that was previously living died. two days later they opened up and cleaned the ship.


In modern times in small scale miners lamps, or hurricane lamps hung close to the floor by chain or rigging wire. or light the cabin heater or cooking stove turned down low could suffice. The idea is not so much an intent to fill then place with carbon monoxide as the have the flame consume all the Oxygen.

[mottseng]

Originally Posted by anacapaisland42

We live in the woods, surrounded by wildlife, including mice.
Here is a guaranteed trap.

1. Bucket 1/2 full of water/antifreeze for winter
2. pop can with a small hole in both ends
3. wire coat hanger threaded thru pop can and used to support pop can across the top of the bucket, make sure can will rotate.
4. smear the pop can with peanut butter
5. put a small plank as a not too steep ramp to the top of the bucket

Neighbour caught 13 in his one year, my best is 5

Bill




1. Use mouse trap ? Worried the bait may attract more mice.

This is the best mouse trap ever and something you can make yourself. I made one and it is very effective.

[a64pilot]

I believe you May could more safely use a CO2 fire extinguisher as the CO2 will displace the O2, but then you have a dead rat somewhere that you get to smell as it decomposes.
In theory in a house they mummify cause it’s dry and you don’t smell them, but I have smelled them and it’s a nasty lingering odor that persists for a long time, on a boat I bet it’s worse.
Smaller spaces and higher humidity