Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

[newbie4life]

Heya fellas,

We live in the 'up nort' climate. Winter ends around here in June, and starts in July. :facepalm:

Maybe it's not that bad... Feels like it some years. This is the first time we've had a pontoon and I don't have a tight fit mooring cover. It's an old barge that's been redone -- after spending as much money and time in new floor, seating, etc... I'm really not excited about the possiblity of 'little friends' lookin' for a home this year. It will be outside for the winter, under a tarp (got that figured out to pitch snow, etc.)... but what about the mice? Do glue traps work in the cold weather? Not sure about the bait stations as I don't really wanna open it up in the spring and have a bunch of dead mice to get rid of. Figured with the glue traps I could check on them over the season and throw and replace as necessary. Mothballs... never had much luck with them, and everything smells like moth balls halfway through the next season.

Any idears?

Thanks,

Jason

 

[MinUph]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

I feel for ya jason,
Even down here it's getting a bit chilly for boating. Mine will stay at the dock for another month or two. Maybe take her out for the cold month. Have no ideas about the varmints.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Jason, maybe some dryer sheets (Bounce), in all the storage areas. Some Cayenne pepper on styrofoam plates !!! I'd suggest the pepper around the perimeter, but that will be useless if packed under snow. Try using the search feature on the forum. I've seen lots of good ideas on this subject. Good luck !!!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

I don't think I would use traps since they have food that attracts mice, might make the situation worse, maybe a tink of Dcon so if any do get in they die before they can do any damage.

I have heard the dryer sheets thing a couple times so that might work.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Using Decon (lots of it) is a good choice. If they do get into it, the little buggers need to have water which they won't find inside the boat. The then head out looking for it. Wheny they die they dry up and don't stink up the place. Sticky traps are not humane and besides, the sticky stuff will get hard in the cold.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Sad to say, we've just winterized our new 21' Suntracker Fishn Barge. Boohoo! We own an old house in the country in SE Kansas that we use just during the summer months. The house has lots of cracks and crevices as it is 100 years old. We use tons of D-con. We haven't seen a live mouse or signs of any since we started setting it around in every room of the house. We've only found 1 dead one in all these years and he was all dried up. I think they go out and die or the D-con dehydrates them so they don't stink when they do die. I think we'll put some on the boat.

 

[newbie4life]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Using Decon (lots of it) is a good choice. If they do get into it, the little buggers need to have water which they won't find inside the boat. The then head out looking for it. Wheny they die they dry up and don't stink up the place. Sticky traps are not humane and besides, the sticky stuff will get hard in the cold.

I like the D-con idea. Makes good sense -- I even had a friend tell me today to get the brick or block instead of the pellets... they're forced to eat it there, rather than take the pellets and 'stash' them. Made sense to me as well.

The last statement made me chuckle... Not humane... They're not human to begin with... and any way the sucker dies, I'm okay with.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

I like the D-con idea. Makes good sense -- I even had a friend tell me today to get the brick or block instead of the pellets... they're forced to eat it there, rather than take the pellets and 'stash' them. Made sense to me as well.

The last statement made me chuckle... Not humane... They're not human to begin with... and any way the sucker dies, I'm okay with.

Newbie is cruel !!!

 

[newbie4life]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

I am.

I once killed a man just to watch 'em die.

What movie was that from? Seems like a Clint Eastwood or a John Wayne movie of the 70s....

We have cats out here too -- and they like mice and moles. They usually catch them, and play with them a little, then finally they become supper for them. All in a period of about 3 or 4 hours.

 

[jlongsta]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

I guess I'm cruel too! If the little suckers invade my space, they're dead! I work for an infectious disease physician and I know they are nasty little rodents that carry diseases.

 

[Papa Rick]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

@newbie... I think that was Johnny Cash... "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die"
My favorite mouse poem: " I loves the little mousies, they's what I like to eat. I bites they little heads off and eats they tiny feet"
I let the cat have access to the boat to stay out of the weather... and until he leaves me a "present" under the canopy, he'll be welcome to feast on all the rodents he can catch.
The old-fashioned snap trap is also a good choice if you don't have a cat to do your dirty work.

 

[washburn2010]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Glue won't work well in the cold. I find they make a bigger mess, when they get flipped over or stuck to a wall or something (???). I would tend to agree about the pellets. They usually eat them, then go off somewhere and kill over. Hopefully it's not on the boat. I've done the Cayenne pepper in flower gardens to keep cats out, and that stuff works! They smell it and won't come near it. Only issue, you have to sprinkle it all over the place. I don't think it would work just putting it on a plate or cup.

What about those "enclosed" traps? you know, they crawl in, but can't crawl out. Then come the spring, you just have to dump the thing out. I'm sure there's something out there like that, small enough for mice. If not, I think I just figured out my next business venture!
However, only down side I can see to that, is you would have to bait it, and there again you possibly may be attracting some that would have never come in the first place.

All in all, cat has to be the best way to go. Just make sure he / she's got a scratching post!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

mothballs work nice to keep animals out , cats n such , dryer sheets and decon

 

[newbie4life]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Thanks for all the help, guys. As usual, this is the place for ideas.

I'm gonna pick up some of the bait bars today and some snappy trappies.

Thanks again for all the help....

 

[mjc3834merc]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

We use this mouse repellent in our RV over the winter. Works great. One 4 pack would take care of your boat all winter long. We tried the drier sheets once. They just made their beds out of it.
http://www.toolboxsupply.com/productdetails.aspx?sku=10889695

 

[eddy622611]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Fresh Cab X2

 

[Scooterman 123]

Re: Closin' up the pontoon for the season...

Yup, "Fresh Cab" is the chosen one around here also. Gets hard to find in stores at this time of year tho so i always buy early.