Preventing Mice In Boat During Storage?

[tcbass]

So I am storing my boat in my mom's pole barn which is up north in the woods and has a lot of mice. I never had a problem last year but I don't want to say I never had a problem last year and then have problems this year. A friend said to put some brillo in the exhaust port so mice don't crawl into the motor and build a nest.

 

 

 

 

Is there anything anyone on here does to prevent mice from geting into their boat and has anyone here ever had a problem with mice and their boat?

[Lund Explorer]

Moth Balls or Dryer Sheets - It's your choice.

[Fishing Rhino]

We had a problem with mice in our garage next door.  Simple solution, d-CON.

 

But it comes with a hazard if domestic animals or pets can get to it.  To prevent that, I used a plastic milk crate, the kind that hold four gallons of milk.  I put the crate upside down over the warfarin, then put a cement block on top to prevent other animals from getting access to the poison.  Center the container of food in the center of the crate, not along an edge.

 

The holes in the crate allow easy access for mice and rats, while preventing dogs, cats, chickens, etc., from getting to it.

 

The good thing about d-CON is that the mice and rats will seek water, usually getting them outside to die in the search for water.

 

Rodents are seeking shelter this time of year, and they will build their nests in enclosed areas making them even more of a nuisance.  Such places include the cowlings around lawnmower engines and other power equipment, including the engine compartments of vehicles, and vehicle seats.  They build them, then begin stocking them with food.

 

The next thing you know, you can have a colony of the "pests".

 

If you have large numbers in the barn, you will need to make sure you keep their dining rooms from running out of "food".  When the consumption drops to zero, leave the remaining bait in place to welcome any newcomers.

[slonezp]

cats

[SHaugh]

I've found a well made cover for the boat to be the best defense.    one that stretches around the top edge to keep it sealed up tight.  You have to make sure there is not a single gap anywhere around the edges.  And if there is stuff some steel wool in there to plug it up.  First trick is to keep them out.  Then put the poison around to reduce the population outside the boat....

[desmobob]

I hate to resort to poison, but I have as a final resort.  I had a problem with mice in my garage.  They were chewing through the weatherstrip on the bottom of the garage door and getting into everything, even chewing the insulation off the electrical wiring where it goes through the ceiling/floor into my kitchen!

 

They were carrying away the D-Con and even chewing up the empty boxes.  I switched to those green bait block cubes (at any home store) and they are the bomb!

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[WIGuide]

Moth Balls or Dryer Sheets - It's your choice.

Both of these work. Put in all storage's and on the decks. If you have a cover, keep it covered too. 

[gardnerjigman]

Moth balls for sure. Keeps bugs away also. If you put poison out they die in your boat and let me tell you how great that smell is. Couldn't pay me enough to get a cat... I'd rather deal with rats before cat hair and pee.

[slonezp]

Moth balls for sure. Keeps bugs away also. If you put poison out they die in your boat and let me tell you how great that smell is. Couldn't pay me enough to get a cat... I'd rather deal with rats before cat hair and pee.

I said cats as a joke, but in reality I keep my boat in a storage yard and have for 10 years. There are stray cats that roam the yard and get into the boat. They have not used the boat as a litter box, I only find clumps of hair. Cat's won't chew thru the wiring like rodents will 

[Fishing Rhino]

I said cats as a joke, but in reality I keep my boat in a storage yard and have for 10 years. There are stray cats that roam the yard and get into the boat. They have not used the boat as a litter box, I only find clumps of hair. Cat's won't chew thru the wiring like rodents will 

There was a stray cat that made my lobster boat its hotel.  It made one corner of the wheelhouse its litter box.

 

Trust me, there is nothing more foul smelling than that, not even a skunk, or a dead mouse.

 

We never saw the critter until one morning when I opened the foc'sle.  The cat thought it was an escape route until I closed the hatch, and left it locked in there for the day.  When we got back to the dock, I opened the hatch. 

 

The cat came zooming out of the foc'sle and onto the dock.  The last we saw of it was its tail as it sped northward up the road.  That was the end of the cat using the boat as a litter box.

[Fishing Rhino]

Moth balls for sure. Keeps bugs away also. If you put poison out they die in your boat and let me tell you how great that smell is. Couldn't pay me enough to get a cat... I'd rather deal with rats before cat hair and pee.

 

dCON makes them thirsty so they go to their water supply and do not return.  At least I've never had one return to die in the garage.  Even if they do die in the boat, by the time spring rolls around they will have dried out and no more stink.

[Way2slow]

Mint julep also works for a numer of different critters. It,s not poisenous and the can't stand the smell.

[Lund Explorer]

dCON makes them thirsty so they go to their water supply and do not return.  At least I've never had one return to die in the garage.  Even if they do die in the boat, by the time spring rolls around they will have dried out and no more stink.

 

Poisons are fine as long as Mom doesn't have a cat she really likes.

 

Many vets warn of the residual effects of these poisons on the next critter in the food chain.

[DogBone_384]

cats

X2 - we gave 2 cats that 'pay their rent' almost daily by hunting in the marsh across the street.  Some days they'll leave 3 or 4 mice dead on our patio, with the occasional garden snake, or bird.  Have never had a mouse in the house, or the shed.

[starcraft1]

I live in the mts. of N. cal. and have had a wood rat problem before. Tried the peanut butter trick, D-con, and others to fight off the problem. The green blocks are the best imo. Not to many stray cats around here. We have much bigger cats that eat them. And small dogs also.

[deaknh03]

Peppermint oil..non poisoinous and really works.

[Catch 22]

load it up with moth balls. They work for chipmunks too. Those little striped rats did lots  of damage to my cars and boats

[gim]

I have heard that storing items with engines, wires, and other goodies that mice and other rodents like to get into is compounded if you have a dirt or gravel floor too.  Concrete tends to reduce this so if you have access to a garage or shed with concrete floor that is a much better option simply for reducing rodent problems.