Rats or mice munching on tubes???

archie720 · 03 November 2005, 14:02

Am thinking of storing my RIB in a barn over winter and was wondering if anyone has ever had experience of rates or mice having a good chew on the tubes.

If so, apart from having a secure cover, are there any practical steps one can take to try and prevent this from happening other than covering the entire boat in vaseline!

Just dont want to come back in March and find i need to order a new set of tubes.

Rodan · 03 November 2005, 14:05

Put it on some of those stone 'toadstools' olde barns are on - stops the rats!

codprawn · 03 November 2005, 14:39

There IS a real danger - and rats are brilliant climbers - will even drop from rafters etc.

My next door neighbour had his inflatable canoe eaten by rats in his attic - he was not amused!!!

A lot depends on the barn - just make sure there is no food stored there or anything and try to cover the boat over - as long as it's up on it's trailer it should be all right.

Mollers · 03 November 2005, 14:55

Uuumm? Mine's also in a barn. The guy's on this site rattled on about fires. Furry friends are more of a worry

prairie tuber · 03 November 2005, 16:03

Cats or a dacshund that lived in the barn would help mininmize the presence of rats & mice. A pet owl in the barn would be even more effective.

Searider · 03 November 2005, 16:33

Surely as long as it's kept inflated the rats / mice won't feel the need to chew on it.

I suspect they only chew on sails etc as they are soft and look like they might make good bedding.

Biggles · 03 November 2005, 16:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Cats or a dacshund that lived in the barn would help mininmize the presence of rats & mice. A pet owl in the barn would be even more effective.

A pet Owl. We've all got those in the UK.

And how hard is Owl pooh to get off boats.....

Stephen-RIB · 03 November 2005, 16:38

I am just repairing a rib for a customer which is riddle with rodent damage so they definetly do like eating the stuff. I even had a boat brought to me with a live mouse still inside of it!!

I would make sure the tubes are pumped pretty hard, leave some poison down and keep an eye on it. Maybe get the farm yard cat to make its bed in the boat?

Cheers

Stephen

codprawn · 03 November 2005, 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Searider

Surely as long as it's kept inflated the rats / mice won't feel the need to chew on it.

I suspect they only chew on sails etc as they are soft and look like they might make good bedding.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/ratchew.htm

Rats will chew anything - they do it to keep their teeth in good conditions - they will even chew through wires and nibble the bars of a cage!!!

Searider · 03 November 2005, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/ratchew.htm

Rats will chew anything - they do it to keep their teeth in good conditions - they will even chew through wires and nibble the bars of a cage!!!

fair comment, but if they can't get their mouth around something it will be difficult to chew I reckon.

hard1 · 03 November 2005, 17:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Searider

fair comment, but if they can't get their mouth around something it will be difficult to chew I reckon.

Had mine in a barn for 2 years and my Optimax still seems complete..

steve b · 03 November 2005, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Searider

fair comment, but if they can't get their mouth around something it will be difficult to chew I reckon.

you can get a ultra sound device that will get rid of mice/rats

we got one in our brum office and it works. no more rats

can be tuned to do cats & dogs as well (but they dont eat tubes)

I will get the name + no next week

but do a search on google for rodent control

steve

codprawn · 03 November 2005, 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve b

you can get a ultra sound device that will get rid of mice/rats

we got one in our brum office and it works. no more rats

can be tuned to do cats & dogs as well (but they dont eat tubes)

I will get the name + no next week

but do a search on google for rodent control

steve

Often seen these things for sale - always wondered if they worked - knowing my luck it would be more like the Pied Piper and the place would be swarming with them!!!

http://www.northerntooluk.com/produc...lt.asp?id=1642

replica owl - they claim it is great for stopping bird flu!!!

codprawn · 03 November 2005, 17:22

whoops forgot the other link to one I was l;ooking at earlier

http://www.pestfree.co.uk/ultrasonic-rat-repeller.htm

not bad for £14

steve b · 03 November 2005, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Often seen these things for sale - always wondered if they worked - knowing my luck it would be more like the Pied Piper and the place would be swarming with them!!!

http://www.northerntooluk.com/produc...lt.asp?id=1642

replica owl - they claim it is great for stopping bird flu!!!

The one we used DOES work.

no more rats in the yard

looked at pestfree.co.uk

they have a battery powerd one

just leave in the rib

steve

Tideway · 03 November 2005, 17:37

Just to add to the other comments, I have seen a small inflatable roll-up tender get munched to death. This was kept in a stores building, adjacent to shrubland. I suspect the surrounding landuse will have a big influence on the numbers of rodents? The mice come inside over the winter and can cause alot of damage. We have had drysuits, polarbear suits, lifejackets, waders, and the polystyrene floats on seine and gillnets eaten in the past. Even with Rentokill on the case, and lots of traps/poison, we had mice in the building and the consequent damage. Often you will pull some of the gear out in the summer and find dead mice (so the poison works), nested within some very unusual and generally expensive places!

Get a few cats and check it often if you do use the barn...

Good luck.

t

codprawn · 03 November 2005, 18:08

Craziest one I ever came across was a call to a PC where the mouse had stopped working. I tried everything but couldn't work out the problem - in the end I opened up the case and discovered that a mouse had eaten through the ribbon cable connecting com1 to the board!!!

The mouse was dead inside the case - maybe electrocuted? Only 5v but straight on it's tongue!!! What I couldn't work out was how the hell it got in there - all the backplates were in place and there were no holes - only possibility was a narrow gap at the front of the case - it must have crawled up there and through the speaker hole!!!

Maybe the only case of Mouse on Mouse???

Jono · 03 November 2005, 18:23

Not unique....

codprawn · 03 November 2005, 18:30

Yes but had it actually eaten through the mouse cable??? Pretty obvious where it got in - through the open back planes - which I always leave out as well for better cooling - or that's what I tell people........

Nos4r2 · 03 November 2005, 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen-RIB

I am just repairing a rib for a customer which is riddle with rodent damage so they definetly do like eating the stuff. I even had a boat brought to me with a live mouse still inside of it!!

I would make sure the tubes are pumped pretty hard, leave some poison down and keep an eye on it. Maybe get the farm yard cat to make its bed in the boat?

Cheers

Stephen

Not much of a choice that-eaten or smelling of cats piss...