Critters on swimplatform

T

Third Edition

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2017
820
NE Florida
Boat Info
boatless
Engines
engineless
20180930_132742_HDR.jpg


I used to have cormorants, great blue herons and even raccoons frequent my swimplatform at night. One lazy day I left the deck brush on the swimplatform with the handle tucked under the handrail. No critters since. Maybe it looks menacing to them.
 
until they get used to it.....it is kind of like a scarecrow in a corn field....at first all the crows are frightened by it and stay away from the field....but after a while they notice it doesn't move so they eventually come back to the field...I have even seen crows sitting on top of a scarecrow.....:(...

cliff
 
Third Edition said:
You could be right, Cliff. But our critters must be slow learners. It's been over a year this way.
Click to expand...


if they do get used to the brush swap it out for something different like a bucket....just keep them guessing for a while and they may leave your boat alone for good.....

cliff
 
I'd rather have critters on the swim platform then my current dilemma of Muskrats in the exhaust port. I had a family of them move in within a 4 day window - I was at the boat on a Sunday and there were none, by Thursday my dock neighbor texted saying they had moved in. I cleared them out with the boat hook and then firing up the motors, there were about 6-7 babies that came floating out. Ooops. :)

My solution is plugging the holes up with fenders, it's worked so far!

I used to have an owl decoy that I kept on my previous boats' swim platform because the local heron enjoyed catching and eating his meals on my boat and making a mess. I put the owl decoy there and that took care of the problem. Funny how just a deck brush does the same trick!
 
GnrlPatton said:
I'd rather have critters on the swim platform then my current dilemma of Muskrats in the exhaust port. I had a family of them move in within a 4 day window - I was at the boat on a Sunday and there were none, by Thursday my dock neighbor texted saying they had moved in. I cleared them out with the boat hook and then firing up the motors, there were about 6-7 babies that came floating out. Ooops. :)

My solution is plugging the holes up with fenders, it's worked so far!

I used to have an owl decoy that I kept on my previous boats' swim platform because the local heron enjoyed catching and eating his meals on my boat and making a mess. I put the owl decoy there and that took care of the problem. Funny how just a deck brush does the same trick!
Click to expand...

I've seen this several times, and especially in the fall. In our area a lot folks get these and it takes care the problem https://hurleymarine.com/shop/muskrat-otter-guards/muskrat-otter-exhaust-guards/

-Tom
 
I had birds this year resting on my bow rail and crapping all over the place until I placed 2 - 12" streamers hanging on my bow lines. No more birds. I wish everything was this simple.
 

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We have ducks which crap a LOT!!!!!!! The dock hands have to wash the poop off the dock every morning. They will party all night on a dingy or swim platform at random. The Night Herons leave a big mess as well. One guy strung a mess of old CDs across his swim platform. Seems to work for now.
 
wayne0 said:
We have ducks which crap a LOT!!!!!!! The dock hands have to wash the poop off the dock every morning. They will party all night on a dingy or swim platform at random. The Night Herons leave a big mess as well. One guy strung a mess of old CDs across his swim platform. Seems to work for now.
Click to expand...

We had this issue and a plastic owl fixed it really quick and they are on the dock no more....

Bennett
 
wayne0 said:
We have ducks which crap a LOT!!!!!!! The dock hands have to wash the poop off the dock every morning. They will party all night on a dingy or swim platform at random. The Night Herons leave a big mess as well. One guy strung a mess of old CDs across his swim platform. Seems to work for now.
Click to expand...

Our marina has the benefit of all kinds....where we are on the river, we have the pleasure of lots of ducks. Like you..crapping all over. Every morning I'm up and hosing off the docks.

Our marina also wraps around to a little inlet/cove we call "the basin". Those who have docks over there...have the added benefit of tons of barn swallows. While cute little birds to watch them perform aerobatics and skim the water...eating mosquitoes and other small bugs...they enjoy sitting on bow rails and up in trees...making a mess of anything underneath. Such as decks on boats, and the docks.

And...across from us is an island which sort of separates our marina from the main part of the CT River...and living in those trees are lots of night herons, egrets, king fishers, and other larger birds...a few bald eagles. Never mind when one of those lets loose over your dock or boat...it's like someone threw a half dozen raw eggs at ya!
 
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