Mice ate my jon boat cover. Any brand or other ideas to keep that from happening?

[E-H]

I keep my jon boat near the woods (hidden) over the summer next to the lake where I fish.  Last year some mice ate some holes in my cover (a cheap one).

 

Any covers that would be mice chew proof?  I will use bounce etc...this year inside the cover and possibly spray the cover with lavender.

 

Anybody know of a fairly inexpensive way to help remedy this problem?  I had 5 mice living in my jon boat last summer.  Had to use lysol spray to help with the odor a bit too.

 

Either a better cover or other method?

 

Thanks.

[Jig Man]

Bar bait in and under the boat.

[E-H]

1 hour ago, Jig Man said:

Bar bait in and under the boat.

Thanks.  Won't the mice die in my boat if they eat it and still chew threw the cover?

 

I was hoping to keep them out of the boat entirely through a better boat cover or something.

 

I was using green (waterproof) foam across the top then the cover and that worked the first year but was a bit of a pain because the one panel slid a bit and a huge pile of water was in the boat (on top of the cover).  Last year I put in the pvc pipes across to keep more water off and they chewed right through the cover to get in.

[OCdockskipper]

Put a cat under the boat cover.

[jbsoonerfan]

42 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

Put a cat under the boat cover.

Or a black snake!

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, OCdockskipper said:

Put a cat under the boat cover.

I stored my Lund in a lot. The factory cover had enough room by the transom for feral cats to get in the boat. I'd pick up the boat and have to vacuum the hair out of it every week. Bounce and mothballs didn't do a thing. After the factory cover rotted, I had a custom cover made. No more cats.

[Jig Man]

A cover won’t keep mice out.

[RichF]

Mice destroyed the seats in my tracker and got into my motor again. Chewed up the foam inside the cowl and almost go through some wires. No clue how to stop them.

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, E-H said:

Thanks.  Won't the mice die in my boat if they eat it and still chew threw the cover?

 

I was hoping to keep them out of the boat entirely through a better boat cover or something.

 

I was using green (waterproof) foam across the top then the cover and that worked the first year but was a bit of a pain because the one panel slid a bit and a huge pile of water was in the boat (on top of the cover).  Last year I put in the pvc pipes across to keep more water off and they chewed right through the cover to get in.

Who knows where they will die but you’d rather have a dead mouse in there than a live mouse

1 hour ago, RichF said:

Mice destroyed the seats in my tracker and got into my motor again. Chewed up the foam inside the cowl and almost go through some wires. No clue how to stop them.

With extreme levels of persistence 

[12poundbass]

The honest truth is don’t store it in the woods. I know that may not be practical but it’s the only way you’ll keep them out. Peppermint, dryer sheets, etc will not keep them out. Don’t even store it close to the woods. It needs to be as far away from woods, tall weeds, brush, and cover to keep them away. They’re a menace and there’s nothing to keep them away except to keep your boat away from them. 

[E-H]

Thanks for all the ideas and also the honesty on the situation.

 

I really don’t have too much of a choice of where to keep it in the summer.  Everything is wooded in the vicinity so even if I would bring to a storage place close by the chances are similar it would happen.

 

The green waterproof foam insulation did work - covering the entire boat then a cover over that the first year.  Maybe I will try that again. Just a pain to lug those pieces there in my SUV but once and done.  I can leave them up there permanently.

 

The worst part about the mice is the went into the small openings next to where the batteries would sit.  Has anyone filled those in with anything?  A spray foam?  At least I could get the mice out easier because they can’t hide and they wouldn’t try and nest there.  I am talking about the gaps around the back blocks in the back of the Jon boat where there is some foam blocks etc...

 

If I can’t keep them out totally maybe limiting their hiding spots would help.

 

This is what worked the first year.

[E-rude dude]

We had mice in the house we bought 2 years ago. Pest company put a bait station outside the house. No more mice.
I had my doubts that mice would leave the house to eat poison bait but they did. May be worth checking out. 
The mice eat the bait and take the poison with them. 

[12poundbass]

4 hours ago, E-H said:

The worst part about the mice is the went into the small openings next to where the batteries would sit.  Has anyone filled those in with anything?  A spray foam?

Fill the tiny areas with steel wool. Nice will chew through any spray foam but can not chew through steel wool. 

[RobA]

Have you thought about giving the mice a small way in and load up the boat with snap traps or a bucket trap?  That way the boat is covered and protected from the elements and the mice aren't damaging the cover or the boat.

[E-H]

2 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

Fill the tiny areas with steel wool. Nice will chew through any spray foam but can not chew through steel wool. 

I can give that try. Thanks. 

8 minutes ago, RobA said:

Have you thought about giving the mice a small way in and load up the boat with snap traps or a bucket trap?  That way the boat is covered and protected from the elements and the mice aren't damaging the cover or the boat.

That’s a good thought but I leave it up there for a couple of weeks without being there.  Could be pretty bad smelling and who knows what other creatures it would bring... I do have a trap that has worked overnight in the boat when I sleep up there and have the boat in the water.  It’s a temporary fix at least.

 

Sounds like I need a steel wool cover. Lol

[RobA]

Google "bucket trap for mice".  They work really well.  I've used them in my barn with good results.  For the liquid you can mix water with antifreeze in the winter and vinegar in the summer.  No smell.

[GaryH]

11 minutes ago, RobA said:

Google "bucket trap for mice".  They work really well.  I've used them in my barn with good results.  For the liquid you can mix water with antifreeze in the winter and vinegar in the summer.  No smell.

That works. It’s the same setup we use at camp. 

[E-H]

4 hours ago, RobA said:

Google "bucket trap for mice".  They work really well.  I've used them in my barn with good results.  For the liquid you can mix water with antifreeze in the winter and vinegar in the summer.  No smell.

Thanks. I will look it up.  So in a few weeks in the summer with vinegar in the bucket they won’t stink?  Could work if that’s the case.  I just don’t want my boat to smell or have a dozen dead mice to dispose of when I arrive after a couple of weeks.  If they are all in the bucket it’s not too bad I guess. 

[Alex from GA]

Steel wool rusts, but I guess red streaks are better than mice.  They will chew through wires.

[E-H]

Quite a few great ideas here.  Appreciate it.

 

So there really isn't a cover that is mice chew proof?  Those panels in the picture above did do the trick one year - maybe I just got lucky that year or was I on to something with the waterproof insulation panels?

 

I will probably try the bucket trap but put it away from the boat a little under some kind of cover to keep it from getting ruined with a storm and heavy rain.  Should decrease the population of mice if nothing else.

 

Seems like a thin-ish plastic cover custom fit with enough weight to keep the mice from pushing it up.  It would have to be in pieces like the panels in my picture to fit in my SUV to get them up there, but again once and done.  Probably a bit of a cost but it would be nice to have it sealed up somehow, which is my ultimate goal.  

 

Why are mice such a pain???

[TnRiver46]

17 hours ago, E-H said:

Quite a few great ideas here.  Appreciate it.

 

So there really isn't a cover that is mice chew proof?  Those panels in the picture above did do the trick one year - maybe I just got lucky that year or was I on to something with the waterproof insulation panels?

 

I will probably try the bucket trap but put it away from the boat a little under some kind of cover to keep it from getting ruined with a storm and heavy rain.  Should decrease the population of mice if nothing else.

 

Seems like a thin-ish plastic cover custom fit with enough weight to keep the mice from pushing it up.  It would have to be in pieces like the panels in my picture to fit in my SUV to get them up there, but again once and done.  Probably a bit of a cost but it would be nice to have it sealed up somehow, which is my ultimate goal.  

 

Why are mice such a pain???

Mice and other animals being a pain is how I pay the bills! If you find something that is “mouse proof,” you will be a billionaire and retired in the Bahamas 

[E-H]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Mice and other animals being a pain is how I pay the bills! If you find something that is “mouse proof,” you will be a billionaire and retired in the Bahamas 

Sounds like you will have job security.

 

In 2021 you would think there would be an easy and inexpensive way to cover a boat where mice can’t invade.

 

 

 

[J Francho]

Moth balls and dryer sheets always work for everything, save the one red squirrel that decided to fill my Bullet up with walnuts.  I fed it tactical .22 cal pellets and he stopped.

[Guitarfish]

It is illegal to shoot squirrels where I'm at.  I have no idea why they fall dead out of the trees.

[E-H]

34 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Moth balls and dryer sheets always work for everything, save the one red squirrel that decided to fill my Bullet up with walnuts.  I fed it tactical .22 cal pellets and he stopped.

I heard they do work, they don't work....I guess I will give them a try - the dryer sheets anyway.

You aren't too far from where I fish, so maybe certain areas they work better than others.

 

So my plan is....

 

1.  Still waiting for advice on a better brand cover that could keep the mice from chewing through - thicker material.  The one I have is pretty worn even though I covered the holes from the mice with flex tape.  SO new thicker cover.

 

2.  Use a filler of some kind to fill the gaps in the back of the boat where the mice were - either a spray foam or steel wool covered in Ziploc bags (to keep any rusting from getting on the boat).  Just a few gaps - not much space to fill.  This would be just in the summer when the boat is stored and used up there.

 

3.  Try the green water proof insulation flat panels again, that I used before. That seemed to help as the initial cover of the boat - no mice that year but water pushed them in at some point.  See pictures in previous posts.

 

4.  Bounce sheets in any remaining gaps.  Not a fan of moth balls...but we will see on that.

 

5.  If the mice get in again, put a bucket trap under the boat or in a protected area near it.  So I can at least fish without them coming out and running across my feet in the evening...I have one of the humane traps that caught some when I put it in the boat overnight.  I think the bucket trap would probably work a little better outside the boat as another way to control the nearby population.

 

Can't do a cat or black snake...

 

Any other ideas?  Still looking for a better cover brand etc...