Boat Storage and Dealing with rodents..

[Excalibur]

Ok, the winter tarp comes off and low and behold a few families of field mice have been using the boat as a winter condo..

I have tried mothballs and they seem to work fairly well but not everywhere. Is it worth renting a storage facility or do the mice get in there also?


Does anyone have other suggestions?

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Ok, the winter tarp comes off and low and behold a few families of field mice have been using the boat as a winter condo..

I have tried mothballs and they seem to work fairly well but not everywhere. Is it worth renting a storage facility or do the mice get in there also?


Does anyone have other suggestions?

In have mine shrink-wrapped. Never had a rodent problem and it's stored outside. Do you know where they get in?

[NoBozo]

Something to be aware of: MICE like to chew on the plastic/rubber insulation on electrical wiring. The heavier guage the wire, the better they like it.

A few years ago I had a 50 foot aluminum sailboat mast stored outside on saw horses. In the spring, I was waxing the mast and I happened to see a Little Face looking at me from one of the halyard exit boxes on the side of the mast. If I hadn't seen him, I never would have thought to check the wiring inside the mast. He had chewed up enough wire that I had to rewire the entire mast. He used the rubber insulation for a nest.

We shall never forget our little Pal "Iggy". NB

[jrc]

I always place a bunch of fabric softener dryer sheets in the enclosed spaces, like cabinets, head, and bilge, so far so good. I don't know if it helps but I know it bothers me the first few times I try to sleep in spring. We shrink wrap and store outside.

[Sunrise Point]

We also use dryer sheets in the camp and the boat as well. They really work!

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by Dave R

In have mine shrink-wrapped. Never had a rodent problem and it's stored outside. Do you know where they get in?

I put a heavy duty, folded over tarp on top of the jet ski cover that came with the craft. I found a hole in the jet ski cover by one of the rear view mirrors.

I picked up a nice rigid wet dry vac at home depot. It was great at cleaning out the machine, both wet and dry.. What a mess..

I am going to put dryer sheets in all the compartments and have it shrink wrapped next season. Thanks everyone for the advice,

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

I put a heavy duty, folded over tarp on top of the jet ski cover that came with the craft. I found a hole in the jet ski cover by one of the rear view mirrors.

I picked up a nice rigid wet dry vac at home depot. It was great at cleaning out the machine, both wet and dry.. What a mess..

I am going to put dryer sheets in all the compartments and have it shrink wrapped next season. Thanks everyone for the advice,

I bought a new Seadoo last year and stored it under a friends deck this past winter. Wrapped it up tight with a nice big tarp. When I put it in the water this spring....none of the guages worked. I brought it back to HK an they found the problem really quickly. When they opened it up, they found yellow home insulatin all bunched up inside where the rodents had made the nest and also all the chewed wires. We kind of figured it was mice or chipmunks because when I opened the front compartment, there were acorn shells inside. They don't need much of a space to get in

[Excalibur]

My machine is a 2004 Kawasaki that I bought at HK brand new. It looked brand new after six years until this happened. This was the first season I had a problem, I guess pretty lucky. I am going to buy a few cartons of the Bounce dryer sheets and put them everywhere. I am also going to have it shrink wrapped. It sits all season on a hoist over the water so it has stayed in great condition. Little did I know sitting in the back yard was more dangerous.

I was going to bring it to HK right away, but hoped a good cleaning would fix it up. I did find a few wires in the engine compartment that needed to be spliced and put some heat shrink tubing on them.

My biggest worry was a nest under or in a engine component that could catch fire. I used a wet\dry vac and put the hose in all the corners and sucked up all the dry stuff. Then I flooded the compartment with water and opened the drain plugs and sucked up all the water. Love the wet\dry vac now.. I think it saved me some money.

I ran it for a half hour to heat up while the seat was off to see if I could smell anything burning before I took it for a ride. So far its been out a few hours and runs great and all the gauges work.

[Ron's Fiberglassing USA]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Ok, the winter tarp comes off and low and behold a few families of field mice have been using the boat as a winter condo..

I have tried mothballs and they seem to work fairly well but not everywhere. Is it worth renting a storage facility or do the mice get in there also?


Does anyone have other suggestions?

Have your boat shrunkwrap all the way down over the drive, been doing this for over twenty years not one complaint.. Also dryer sheets also help.

[John A. Birdsall]

I have never had problems in the boat with them there mece, but we had in the cottage. I would not like to have moth balls rolling all ove my boat and have to get on my knees to get them. So what I suggest is putting them in a knitted sock, (the moth balls not the mice) and hang them here and there. You put them on the deck and them mice will call all there friends and have a ball game like hockey with them.

[NoBozo]

Shrink wrap has it's advantages. BUT: If you don't make allowances for VENTILATION of the boat under Shrink Wrap you are looking for Mildew, Mold, and all kinds of Mischief. If you DO shrink wrap, (I don't advise it for anything) make sure you ADD VENTS to allow air circulation....AND screens in the vents to keep out critters. NB

[bigdog]

Ditto on using those 'fabric dryer sheets'. Buy the cheapest generic type you can find, not the name brands. I think the vermin hate those genric the most !

Been using these for winter storage of both boat and my convertible car.
Lay them all over any openings on interior. I also place dryer sheets in different places on the engine, especially near any wiring.

So far no problems or signs of vermin anywhere ! Knock on wood !

BD

[ApS]

Originally Posted by GTO

"...When they opened it up, they found yellow home insulatin all bunched up inside where the rodents had made the nest and also all the chewed wires. We kind of figured it was mice or chipmunks because when I opened the front compartment, there were acorn shells inside. They don't need much of a space to get in..."

1) Mice make nests in enclosed spaces that are made of "minced" leaves, paper, fabric (and wire insulation ).

An acorn-sized hole is "plenty-big" for mice to get in: stuff the hole with steel wool or the coarser Chore-Girl® scrubbers.

2) Chipmunks keep underground chambers to over-winter in their burrows and aren't particularly chewers of great determination.

3) Red squirrels make larger, similar, nests in relatively exposed environments, but are composed of "shredded" materials. (Much larger fragments than the nesting materials gathered by mice).

Acorn shells and pine cone fragments are a dead give-away of Red Squirrel habitation.

Red Squirrels "test-cut" everything with their incisors: new vegetation, chaises, nylon covers, PVC, tree branches, porch flooring—you name it—they are the most destructive critters in this area.

One—in still-another attempt to enter one of our birdhouses—chewed the edges of the aluminum sheet-metal reinforcement I'd installed at the entry!

[robmac]

Has anyone ever used pepermint oil on cotton balls? I have a friend who stores a half a dozen cars outdoors for very extended periods and never a problem. Other vehicles are stored next to his and have been damaged by rodents NOT his though. Has to be something to it.

[RLW]

I just depend on the dozen or two feral cats we have in the neighbor 365 days. They keep everything clear of the rodents

[robmac]

Yup,that's an option too.

[bkgoodman]

I have two pieces of advise for you - which I learned The Hard Way™.

1. Plug up any intake/exhaust ports to your engine! Mice and vermin can get in there, nest and destroy (no), DESTROY your engine! This generally means coolant and air (exhaust) lines. Make sure the carburator has the cover and air filter over it so nothing can climb in the intakes.

2. Don't just "fog" the engine, remove the spark plugs and fill it with oil (MMO). Some people think this is overkill, but it will prevent problems if rodents do get in the engines. Put the plugs back on to seal them, but remember to pump, drain them in the spring before starting.

Like I said...I learned this the hard way. I have a destroyed V6 to prove it.

[Highlander]

I second the peppermint oil idea. Been in the car biz for 40 years, has always been a common issue both under the hood and in HVAC systems, they love to chew on wiring insulation. We have found over the years the two best things are peppermint oil and putting steel wool around the smaller engine harnesses.

[LIforrelaxin]

Peppermint oil works very well. I use it in my camp during the winter months... I was setting traps every winter, and catching mice all the time. Which ment taking trips once every couple of months through the winter, and emptying the traps and resetting them. Last winter, the second winter using Peppermint oil... I only visited the camp once, only set 3 traps, and only had one mouse in a trap....

[4Fun]

I had them in 2 places for the first time this year. They made a nest under my transom ladder door which was easy to wash away but after starting the boat I noticed some nest coming out of the prop. They must have built a nest up in the exhaust. I was still seeing some pieces come out after 1 hour run time in the water. Boat seems fine so I hope they just got flushed.

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by 4Fun

I had them in 2 places for the first time this year. They made a nest under my transom ladder door which was easy to wash away but after starting the boat I noticed some nest coming out of the prop. They must have built a nest up in the exhaust. I was still seeing some pieces come out after 1 hour run time in the water. Boat seems fine so I hope they just got flushed.

This is why it is best to wrap the drive, or exhaust ports.... I often wonder why some people did this and some didn't. Then I asked, and anyone that has had a rodent get in and make a nest now wraps the drive.

[tis]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Peppermint oil works very well. I use it in my camp during the winter months... I was setting traps every winter, and catching mice all the time. Which ment taking trips once every couple of months through the winter, and emptying the traps and resetting them. Last winter, the second winter using Peppermint oil... I only visited the camp once, only set 3 traps, and only had one mouse in a trap....

How do you apply the peppermint oil? Do you put it on a rag? What kind do you use? The kind from the grocery store or the kind from a health food store?

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by tis

How do you apply the peppermint oil? Do you put it on a rag? What kind do you use? The kind from the grocery store or the kind from a health food store?

I get the peppermint oil usually from a heath food store. As for application, I usually put some in a wide mouth jar, and put a piece of folded up paper towel down in it to act like a wick. It lasts an amazingly long time, I left the initial application from Oct, until January when I went up. Over the course of that time the peppermint oil had all dissipated, but I could still smell it in the air, and I re-soaked the paper towel and put some more oil in the bottom of the jar. I wish I could tell you how many oz I used over the course of the winter but I don't remember. It wasn't a very big bottle though. I put the jar, paper towel setup in two or three areas inside the camp. The camp was then left again from January until April.... there wasn't much scent left in April although I could still pick up a hint.

My Aunt who also has a camp has been using the same technique. We have had excellent results....

[tis]

And the oil doesn't evaporate? I bet it smells good in there! I have been using peppermint oil on my dogs. The breeder says it is much better than flea stuff and I think it is. My dog shown on the surf board here is allergic to the ones you get from the vet. He digs himself down to his skin-just awful so I can't use it. I do like natural things for my pets anyway. So now I have a new use for the oil. Thanks!

[nightrider]

I put those green cubes of poison everywhere in the boat before covering for the winter. Also remove anything soft that a rodent can chew/make into a nest including seat cushions, rags, life preservers, etc.

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by tis

And the oil doesn't evaporate? I bet it smells good in there! I have been using peppermint oil on my dogs. The breeder says it is much better than flea stuff and I think it is. My dog shown on the surf board here is allergic to the ones you get from the vet. He digs himself down to his skin-just awful so I can't use it. I do like natural things for my pets anyway. So now I have a new use for the oil. Thanks!

The oil does evaporate over time... However I have found that a sufficiently soaked cloth and a small pool at the bottom of a jar will last a fairly considerable amount of time....