How to prevent mice.

[Martkimwat]

I had field mice get on and nest on my boat whilst up on the hard about 7 years back (still there now, the boat not the mice) I was told to trap them to get rid of them and then instal sonic repellers which will deter them from entering your boat but won't get rid of them if they are already ensconced. Has worked these last 7 years.

[Martkimwat]

Originally Posted by PirateFoxy

What a horrible thing to do to them. We need better humane management options.

If you experienced first hand the damage these critters can cause and the disease they spread, I think you might change your mind, but that being said, the sonic option seems to work to keep them at bay.

[MicHughV]

I must be lucky....in 35 years afloat, never once had a rat or mouse problem....

Roaches, yes, rodents, no...I apply a liberal coating of boric acid in the bilge areas for the roaches...a rodent would likely eat that as well, though I have no experience with this....

But if I were to have that problem....a good old fashioned mousetrap with a dab of peanut butter will guarantee success...snap....bam....problem gone...

[le chat beaute]

Lot of good suggestions. When in an area with rodents or bugs I wrap tape around docklines about 3 inches and smear with grease. Rodents and insects will not cross the barrier on your lines. Good for about a month if no rain.

[Dave9111]

Some of you guys are very funny regarding cruelty to mice.

Mice are the bottom of the food chain. How do you feel about the plight of earthworms?

I have farm fields around my house.
Hawks circle the skies looking for mice. Rats show up once in a while.
When I moved here 24 years ago and I walked into the barn all I could hear were little feet running out of the way. I had a huge mice problem.
Fortunately we moved in with a cat and quickly got more. (Look for the free kitten signs)

I now have roughly 10 cats/kittens in the barn. But even they cannot keep the onslaught of mice and rats at bay.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...hunx-4-lb-pail
I use this inside of 6 plastic boxes designed to hold these blocks. The boxes prevent rodents from carrying the bait away. (seriously)

Cats have zero interest in these bait blocks. They won't eat them.
Cats also have zero interest in fruit and nuts.

However hungry raccoons will eat them. I once had a racoon/s get into my shop, find the pail of mice blocks (4 lbs!), pull the top off (raccoons are very agile) and eat ALL of the contents. Never had that band of raccoons reappear.
You can live trap raccoons with fruit and nuts, and marshmallows. (Cats have no interest in fruits, nuts, and marshmallows)

So Mice and Rats are easy. Buy the bait blocks and put them around your boat. Keeping them in the little bait dispensers is easy and very safe. Meant to be dog and kid proof.

When a mouse dies, it dries up. Very little smell.

Someone mentioned gophers - the only way I have been able to trap gophers/groundhogs reliably is with a body trap. They are extremely wary animals. Gophers can be extremely destructive, like Racoons.

But put one of these in front of a hole and they will charge through it and trip the trap. Death is quick.

https://www.ruralking.com/catalogsea...t/?q=body+trap
There a Youtube videos on how to set these traps. Its easy once you have done it a few times.

Keep in mind I have a large number of cats as well. (No dogs).
A cat will not push their way into a body trap (which is required to trip the trap). They aren't "wired" that way.
I have taken 5 ground hogs out of my barn in the past year with body traps placed in their runways.

[DeValency]

Using these ultrasonic repellent devices, work on 110-240VAC for over a year ago. Originally to prevent cockroaches but they claim it works on mice, spiders etc. Was important while in the West Indies and as plugging these had zero insects.

Ultrasonic Pest Repeller 6 Pack [2020 UPGRADED] 100% Safe Electronic Pest Control Ultrasonic Repellent, Indoor Plug in Ultrasonic Pest Repellent for Mice, Cockroach, Spider, Ant, Mosquito, Bug, Insect https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089VWMDRM..._k8GCFbK9XP4JP

[Dougtiff]

The problem with rats getting on board when in a Marina, is they can board just like you do, and if you wish to keep the boat open for ventilation they get in.

[capn ken]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Rat Guard or trade the dog for a cat.

You can make inexpensive rat guards out of aluminum foil or frisbees

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by Martkimwat

If you experienced first hand the damage these critters can cause and the disease they spread, I think you might change your mind, but that being said, the sonic option seems to work to keep them at bay.

I didn’t say we should leave them alone, I said we should have ways to deal with them that aren’t basically torturing them to death. I’m not sure why that is such an objectionable concept. Do you like thinking of them dying in agony?

As far as the sonic thingies, my rats never cared about them at all so I don’t trust them as rodent prevention. (Pet rats, someone plugged one in in the house to see if it turned on without me knowing about it. I didn’t deliberately expose them to it.)

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by PirateFoxy

What a horrible thing to do to them. We need better humane management options.

What Bullock's!

I guess you would have fishermen euthanize fish with lethal injections, or put the rest of us on a seagrass diet.

I hate mice and having had two rats on our boat in the BVI, I borrowed rat cages and caught them after 2 weeks. I drowned them.

No lethal injection around and I had no intention of setting those breeding rodents free. You board my vessel without permission, steal and destroy my precious provisions, the death penalty awaits, akin to walking the plank.

Don't like it? Deal with it.

Take your mice and give them the royal treat if you wish, but on the vessel under my captaincy, brutal death ensues.

For the rest, welcome to join us for a nice sundowner drink, in a rodent free boat.

[Heathenly Twins]

I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack for this but: cats are highly likely to have or get and then spread toxoplasma to you, this is worse than having mice aboard IMO as you can't get rid of it. Those rat guards seem like a great idea. I also saw a trap on YouTube comprised of a 5 gallon bucket with a metal roller in it. You put water in the bucket to drown the mice, peanut butter on the roller to attract them and when they crawl out to get the PB they fall in and die. Very effective and you can probably make one for a few dollars. Many how-to videos on YouTube showing the various designs and their merits. Of course, you'd have to figure out how to keep the dog from the peanut butter...maybe a bit of fencing material in a dome might work.

[Popeye2]

Originally Posted by Heathenly Twins

I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack for this but: cats are highly likely to have or get and then spread toxoplasma to you, this is worse than having mice aboard IMO as you can't get rid of it. Those rat guards seem like a great idea. I also saw a trap on YouTube comprised of a 5 gallon bucket with a metal roller in it. You put water in the bucket to drown the mice, peanut butter on the roller to attract them and when they crawl out to get the PB they fall in and die. Very effective and you can probably make one for a few dollars. Many how-to videos on YouTube showing the various designs and their merits. Of course, you'd have to figure out how to keep the dog from the peanut butter...maybe a bit of fencing material in a dome might work.

Thanks. Had not heard before of Toxoplasmosis.

[r2sail]

I had mice living on my boat at the marina while I was not aboard. So I put some of my cats urine litter clumps in a plastic super market bag and left it on the cockpit floor, viola no more mice. When aboard I couldn’t even tell it was there.

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by Gerrit Coetzee

What Bullock's!

I guess you would have fishermen euthanize fish with lethal injections, or put the rest of us on a seagrass diet.

I hate mice and having had two rats on our boat in the BVI, I borrowed rat cages and caught them after 2 weeks. I drowned them.

No lethal injection around and I had no intention of setting those breeding rodents free. You board my vessel without permission, steal and destroy my precious provisions, the death penalty awaits, akin to walking the plank.

Don't like it? Deal with it.

Take your mice and give them the royal treat if you wish, but on the vessel under my captaincy, brutal death ensues.

For the rest, welcome to join us for a nice sundowner drink, in a rodent free boat.

We have huge amounts of medical technology and chemistry, and you’re all throwing fits because I suggested we could do with having bait that offed rodents in more humane ways than exploding their stomachs or causing them to bleed to death internally.

You might want to consider why it is that you so enjoy the idea of another creature being tortured to death that you take the proposal of less painful alternatives to be a threat.

And no, I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, but yes, I do pay attention to how things are raised and killed so their suffering on my behalf is minimized. Quick and painless is the goal for slaughter.

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by r2sail

I had mice living on my boat at the marina while I was not aboard. So I put some of my cats urine litter clumps in a plastic super market bag and left it on the cockpit floor, viola no more mice. When aboard I couldn’t even tell it was there.

Just change it every so often so the scent stays ‘fresh’, and make sure there’s nothing around to temp them into risking the ‘cat’. Like if there are plentiful food sources they might decide to give it a try anyway, you know?