Critters in My Boat

[Captain Caveman]

I use the stinkiest, cheapest dryer sheets that I can find. At the least, they smell better than mothballs. They somewhat work but won't stop a determined rodent.

Don't use poisons unless they are instant like the antifreeze. Otherwise some eagle, red-tailed hawk, owl, or other beneficial predator will die too.

The too best deterrents are always (as stated earlier) eliminating any hint of food and effectively blocking all sources of entry.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Thanks for all the ideas! Some I've tried, some are questionable, like others stated. I've used mothballs to get coons out of my fireplace before I put a cap on it. Yet whatever is doing the damage tolerates them. My cuz used to swear by dryer sheets until one winter his Z28 got all messed up. Inside his garage too. I like the noise/radio idea, but think it would get old to hear that every time I go outside, plus no easy way to plug it in. I put a Havahart trap in there along with a mouse trap a couple weeks ago. They got messed with, but nothing caught. Critters, whatever kind they are seem to have moved on now. Think maybe the best idea is shrink wrap. Would that keep them out for sure? Is it expensive? Can you DIY if you have the torch?

 

[airshot]

Thanks for all the ideas! Some I've tried, some are questionable, like others stated. I've used mothballs to get coons out of my fireplace before I put a cap on it. Yet whatever is doing the damage tolerates them. My cuz used to swear by dryer sheets until one winter his Z28 got all messed up. Inside his garage too. I like the noise/radio idea, but think it would get old to hear that every time I go outside, plus no easy way to plug it in. I put a Havahart trap in there along with a mouse trap a couple weeks ago. They got messed with, but nothing caught. Critters, whatever kind they are seem to have moved on now. Think maybe the best idea is shrink wrap. Would that keep them out for sure? Is it expensive? Can you DIY if you have the torch?

There are do it yourself shrink wrap kits and you need a heat gun not a torch. From what I hear they are not cheap but neither is repairing your interior and wiring. Radio noise does not need to be loud, and a couple lights going on and off with a small timer does work, I have used that one myself.

 

[cyclops222]

Our cat left the heads and tails on the back door steps as proof.

 

[airshot]

Our cat left the heads and tails on the back door steps as proof.

We probably don't want to know where the middle went do we ?? Especially when kitty wants some closeup attention.....

 

[Mc Tool]

Our cat left the heads and tails on the back door steps as proof.

One of ours drops them in the toilet and then stands and watches them drown . Bit iffy coz ya gotta wizz on them to get the air out of their fur or they dont flush......not a job for the wife

 

[dingbat]

Our cat left the heads and tails on the back door steps as proof.

Same here, but sometimes on a larger scale…found most of a rabbit in my daughter’s bedroom one afternoon.

Opened the garage one morning to find the head (only) of groundhog laying on the drive. Bristol…….come get your head

 

[tphoyt]

When I was a kid I would the screen out of my bedroom window so the cat could come and go as she pleased. One night I woke up to her running around the room so I turned on the tv for light and there was a moth on the screen so I figured that’s what she was playing with. When I woke up in the morning I found a rat laying in bed with me.

 

[Mc Tool]

My friend has 3 Jack Russel terriers, went there one day and the porch looked like a bomb had gone off in a butcher shop ........the dogs had got a possum and absolutely shredded it. Unbelievable , there were bits of it stuck to the ceiling

 

[airshot]

When I was a kid I would the screen out of my bedroom window so the cat could come and go as she pleased. One night I woke up to her running around the room so I turned on the tv for light and there was a moth on the screen so I figured that’s what she was playing with. When I woke up in the morning I found a rat laying in bed with me.

Holy $hit.....

 

[JimS123]

After reading some of the comments, maybe cats and dogs are more of a problem than mice.

 

[LaqueRatt]

I need to borrow some of your pets. We have the world's dumbest cat. If we let him out he probably couldn't find his way back. I miss our outdoor cats.

Today I'm fighting a flock of birds who decided that newly seeded lawn areas are a buffet. I got bird shot too. Could prob take 'em all out from the deck. So tempting.

 

[Mc Tool]

I need to borrow some of your pets. We have the world's dumbest cat. If we let him out he probably couldn't find his way back. I miss our outdoor cats.

Today I'm fighting a flock of birds who decided that newly seeded lawn areas are a buffet. I got bird shot too. Could prob take 'em all out from the deck. So tempting.

I use strawberry netting , a light weight netting to keep birds off fruit crops , I just hang it about the place on their flight paths and the birds hate it (coz they get stuck in it and die slowly while I watch ) and generally stay clear of it .

 

[cyclops222]

Al ways leave the dead pest where they die. Others stay away.

 

[Mc Tool]

Al ways leave the dead pest where they die. Others stay away.

Yeah , that only works for random shots . I have a disused power pole at my house on the flight path to the sheds and all the starlings stop off on the way to farm buildings ....but Im hiding in the hedge with a .22 , anyhow the pile of dead starlings really gets a nose on it after a few days in the sun .
Bit of reckoning ,ammo count , and I reckon I have shot better than 2000 starlings off that pole....so far

 

[nola mike]

I'm going to take the opposite route. I leave my boat loosely covered with the sides open. Unless there's a real driving rain (and Im parked next to a building on the usual windward side) it doesn't get wet. Doesn't get mold. No critters because I think it's too exposed for them.