Rats and Boats don't mix!

[ffejsmada]

Got back from an OS trip, keen for a fish. Put the sounder on............no reading.
I could hear a ticking noise, turned around and saw a spark and a gaping hole in the transducer cable!!
Fuc#&n' rats had had a chew and exposed the coax cables.
Not happy at all!! $170 later and a new transducer and I'm ready to go!

Next time I'm away for a week or two without using the boat, I'm putting some ratsack in the boat...........they can chew on that instead!

There's a lot of boats out there that sit idle for a long time, some still with bits of bait, fish guts etc.
Putting some rat bait in the boat might not be a bad idea, could save you some money and a lot of grief!

Cheers, Jeff.

[Didley]

Time to clean the boat out Jeff

[disorderly]

Yes they are little ####s aren't they...
Ive had electronic motor cables,conduit,poly water pipes and fittings as well as god knows how many thousands of dollars worth of rare plant seedlings chewed up by them also.

We also have have the notorious White-Tailed Rat up here who is capable of horrible damage...can chew through tin cans!!

Yeah, we mainly trap the suckers up here as we have dogs and baiting can be dangerous to the canines.

Scott

[Xahn1960]

Interesting point... Our boat gets parked up for months at a time, I'd never even thought about possible nasties like rats and the sort. Is this a common problem for boats ?? or are some areas more prone than others......

Bill.

[ffejsmada]

Interesting point... Our boat gets parked up for months at a time, I'd never even thought about possible nasties like rats and the sort. Is this a common problem for boats ?? or are some areas more prone than others......

Bill.

Bill, I only fish lures, not bait, and my boat gets washed down every trip, probably 3 or 4 times a week. There's no fish guts or anything for the mongrels to scavenge. I also had a thick plastic bag containing a torch and it had a hole about 6" across eaten in it. I think they'll have a chew on anything!!!

Wasps are also a concern with the telltale on the motor etc.

[Chimo]

Hi Jeff

Probably best to place the bait out of the boat.

The little buggers only chew on the cables etc etc to maintain their teeth.

Your biggest problem is going to be finding the dead, decomposing, smelly, dripping little bathplugs before they dry out and lose their smell............. but only till the corpse wets up after a fishing trip and your off again.

Check the areas above steering cables etc in the gunnels etc. great nesting spots.

Also keep your eyes open for Luciea caprina, Primary Blowfly, you know the little green ones cause they will lead you right to the corpse before you ever smell it.

As you may have guessed Ive been where you are ......... after I missed finding some food left in a side pocket by one of my guests after a social cruise thing.

Good luck and definitely don't put bait in the boat ............outside in the shed or even better outside but under a sheet of tin or some other cover.


Cheers
Chimo

[Mrs Ronnie H]

Hey Jeff
Put some plaster in with the rat sak and leave some water close by. They eat the ratsak, drink the water, which activates it and also the plaster. They end up with a hard lump in their tummy??????????????????

Hey-- I used to live on a farm and thats what we used to do.

Ronnie

[Chimo]

Hey Ronnie

Did you ever do the thing with the 4 gal drum of water with a large olive oiled beer bottle with a lump of cheese shoved up the neck?

our neighbour did and then she would empty the buckets and buckets of drowned mice and rats in the paddock across the road........

Then we'd get a plague of red bellied blacks etc coming into the yard.......... but thats another story.

Cheers
Chimo

[Vindicator]

They're the worst bloody things ever. I jumped in one of the tractors today only to find a rat or mouse has had a go at one of the rubber buttons on the radio. God knows how the little turd got in there.

Cheers
Kezza

[Grand_Marlin]

We had a rat in our boat years ago.

It chewed all the tassles off the sid eof a blanket...

Ate a packet of matches ....

Then ate a packet of Panadol ... box, foil and all

Cheers

Pete

[tigermullet]

Does that rat bait stuff work on dogs? Seriously?? Even for little white fluffy ones?

Pleasant dreams can be made of material like that.

[dnej]

eucalyptus is a great deterent.Pour some on some rags and store them in containers around your boat.
Works in sheds as well.
Remind me .I need to renew mine on my boat.
David

[Peter4]

Rather than Ratsack try Talon. It comes in a round block with a pre-made hole so you can nail it to a piece of timber.

Easy to tell if its been gnawed, lasts for years and it works on rats and mice!

Don't know where they go to die though as I haven't found any corpses.

[ozscott]

I can just see Tigermullet throwing rat baits on the gin palaces around the Pin...

[Dirtysanchez]

I have a staffy bull terrier, she won't let anything like a mouse or rat into our yard, very efficient machine she is, I have seen her run down a field mouse, it took her 2 stubbies to do it, but she did..
I was drinking the stubbies, not the dog, I just used it as a reference.
Mind you, after that top effort I felt inclined to shout her a beer