Mice, how to get rid of them?

[wish2fish]

Well, my boat sat from labor day to last Sunday covered outside. The drain plug was removed. When doing a final cleaning before putting away for the winter I found a mouse. It scampered off and I couldn't locate again. I have cleaned the boat, removed any possible food sources and moved the boat to indoor storage.

Do you think the mouse will leave on its own or should I trap it? What would you use for trap?

Do you think the mouse got onboard via the open drain plug?

 

[Dick Whetstone]

Our cat just had 4 kittens. You want a free cat?

 

[Big Island Lifer]

I am not sure how it got in but if you value your vinyl, wiring, and sanity I would get rid of it. I have heard of those buggers climbing trailers and falling off of trees and overhangs. Trap it and put some decon in there as well as a few more traps for his friends. They usually don't travel alone.

 

[wish2fish]

another note: I can have limited acess to the boat while is storage. I guess I need to put some traps and decon on there then come back to remove.

 

[Tonka Boater]

Yep, put some mouse poison in a corner or along an edge in the bilge, storage compartments and in the cockpit area. he could be a loner but usually where there is one there are many. You can also try some mothballs to flush him out.

 

[sbw1]

Decon.

 

[Groucho]

Well...The only problem with poison is when they die they normally go crawl in a hole and stink.
I have had sucess with those big glue traps..(Get the ones for the rat size.) Put a dap of peanut butter in the middle. They get stuck and die right there.

 

[J.Wilt]

Put one of those portable gennys on the swim platform, he will be dead in no time.:smt043:smt043

 

[Dick Whetstone]

My cat post was a joke. I hope you took it that way. I could have recommended a Honda 2000 generator on the swim platform and gas the little sucker.

I recommend you get some old fashioned mouse traps, the wooden ones with the big spring that wacks the little sucker across his neck. Bait it with peanut butter and he cannot resist it. That way he won't eat poison, crawl into a hole, die a day later, and stink the boat up.

 

[searay40dad]

...and a decomposing mouse carcass won't stink?

if they really can't resist peanut butter put the trap and peanut butter in someone else's boat.

 

[mwph]

...and a decomposing mouse carcass won't stink?.

Thats what I was thinking the whole time. We use moth balls both at home & at our slip. At home it keeps the chipmunks out of the flower beds. At the slip, it keeps the snakes from hanging out on the tops of the floaters that support our dock.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Thats what I was thinking the whole time. We use moth balls both at home & at our slip. At home it keeps the chipmunks out of the flower beds. At the slip, it keeps the snakes from hanging out on the tops of the floaters that support our dock.

+1 on the mothballs. I use them in the garage because the little monsters crawl up inside the cars. I had one living on top of the engine under the heat shield on little convertible! Little rat ate $ 300 of sound insulation and air hoses over the course of one winter.

Henry

 

[eman369]

ANY TRAP!!!!! they are NEVER ALONE! put snap traps glue I would stay away from poisons but mothballs are great put the traps all around in and out of your boat. hurry they cause major damage

 

[BoomerangII]

My cat post was a joke. I hope you took it that way. I could have recommended a Honda 2000 generator on the swim platform and gas the little sucker.

I recommend you get some old fashioned mouse traps, the wooden ones with the big spring that wacks the little sucker across his neck. Bait it with peanut butter and he cannot resist it. That way he won't eat poison, crawl into a hole, die a day later, and stink the boat up.

Ditto, they are quick and almost failsafe. As far as stink...check on the trap often until you trap the first. Set another trap and check a few days later. Repeat until you are mice free, then seal entry. :smt038

 

[sbw1]

Their bodies are small and they mummify in cold dry winter weather. They really don't smell. Just clean up any that you find.

 

[tdschafer]

Thats what I was thinking the whole time. We use moth balls both at home & at our slip. At home it keeps the chipmunks out of the flower beds. At the slip, it keeps the snakes from hanging out on the tops of the floaters that support our dock.

Snakes?? That would not fly with my mate!!
Todd

 

[Big Island Lifer]

Put traps around the outside of the boat too. They are cheap and you'll be surprised what you might find.

 

[wish2fish]

boat is stored in heated indoor storage so if I don't get there regularly I think it will smell! I could get access to my boat everyday but my schedule won't allow that.

I could do the mothballs but that smell takes a while to go away in the spring.

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

I trap mice in our basement and my classic car trunks and found the baited glue traps work very well. They will not "stink up" the boat since the mice are small and not much to them at all. A couple of hours mice free would allow any smell to air out once they are removed but honestly, I have never found a smell of dead mice rotting away in a glue trap. If there were, a spray bottle of bleach would certainly freshen up the area and rid your boat of any mold from dampness.

 

[JVM225]

A friend owns an auto repair shop and has a couple of classic cars in different stages of completion around the place. He found a rat, and a racoon, had taken up residence in a Mustang shell he had stored in a tent behind the shop a few weeks back. He put mothballs in the car and hasn't seen the rat or the racoon since.