Visitors over the winter

[ericga]

Look like some undesirable creatures managed to get inside the boat, party hard, and didn't left the kitchen clean (see picture)

Are you guys have any tricks to prevent field mice? My boat is kept outside, on stand, and shrink wrapped the following days after hauling out.

Needless to say that I have to clean the mess and address the problem before the wife finds out.

 

[tpenfield]

First try to block any openings, but with mice, that can be pretty difficult.

Dryer sheets spread around the cabin . . . Sometimes I leave a small bit of bleach in an open bucket. This past year, I shampooed the cabin carpet and that seemed to leave a clean smell, which the critters don't like

 

[km1125]

nothing is guaranteed to work, if those critters really want to get in they will get in. Just like a car thief though, if you make yours less "interesting", they'll pick another target first.

I've had good luck with mothballs. Just leave a little bucket of them in there or an open box and the smell is pretty overpowering. Any critter that uses smell to find things will go elsewhere

I've also had guys suggest getting some predator urine (available from hunting shops) and spraying it around the trailer. I don't know how long this lasts, but he swears it's effective.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Bounce drier sheets, and a few bars of irish spring cut up into little shavings placed in disposable paper bowls (I use the cereal bowls you get next to the red solo cups) around. mice and spiders dont seam to like the scented soaps.

smells a hell of a lot better than moth balls inside a vehicle.

I do spread moth balls around the exterior

 

[ericga]

Thank you all. I already use drier sheets for spiders. I'll get some moth balls and Irish spring. I'll try to find some tiger **** too.

 

[dolluper]

Eh! Your pic says get rid of nest making materials ( paper towels), Then you have to deal with electrical issues if in they get to your wiring (sharping their teeth ) I use dehydration seeds they eat they dehydrate, then they become spring clean up and wifee's let you do that......hummmm

 

[ericga]

I usually never leave any paper towels in the boat. Hope I don't have any electrical damage. I reconnected the batteries last week and so far so good. I always leave two jars of dehydration seeds, one in the cabin and one in the cockpit. They haven't touch that. There is no curds or any apparent damage. I know a guy who, few years ago, got all his cabin and cockpit seats destroyed by mice.

Someone was telling me to use soiled cat litter around the boat (just the pee). Definitely easier than getting a tiger to pee in a jar.

 

[Bob_VT]

You also need to figure out WHERE they have taken those paper towel scraps. That is what they stole now find out where it was used. They used to get into my old plow truck and steal the insulation and papers and then I found a big nest in AND behind my glovebox.......

 

[ericga]

I doubt they are still there or I would have found curds. I don't want to set traps as baits could attract them inside. I'm thinking about using glue traps on the outside and taping the vents. They have many options to reach inside as the boat is supported by 12x12" beams and 4 stands. I'll start with irish spring shavings and some black pepper to make their stay as unpleasant as possible (if they are still there).

 

[four winns 214]

I've seen that exact picture in my Four Winns. As mentioned above, somewhere in the boat those paper towel scraps are in a nest. I hate to break this to you, but if there is canvas rolled up, such as a bimini, there may be a nest in there. That happened to me. They chewed a hole in the canvas.

My defense this past layup season was to remove EVERYTHING from the boat and put it in a large plastic storage container. I laid dryer sheets all around and placed sticky traps. Last I checked on the boat about a month ago (it's 250 miles away), no mouse damage.

 

[redneck joe]

Mice need a thickness of a quarter to gain entry.


good luck

 

[ericga]

I removed the shrink wrap last weekend and no damage to the canvas. I looked pretty much everywhere and could find any sign of their presence. Wondering if they could have gained access via the drain plug hole?

I usually leave nothing in the boat. Last year they wrapped it earlier than originally planned because of the weather. All that was left inside was the paper towels and some tools.