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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I know its been discussed in the past, but its the time of year to think about where you store your rig, and the possibility of mice infestation. With that said, I always cover my rig in the shed and never had an issue until two years ago, when I found evidence of mice in the rig the following spring. Last winter I put quite a few dryer sheets in the compartments and it didn't seem as bad but there was still some poo on the floor. Is there a better method to keep them out? I'm not going to begin a trapping regiment in the huge shed the boat is in, so just want to keep them out of the boat. Do moth balls work? Sliced soap? |
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Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Moth balls work well, and I would bet you could just increase the amount of dryer sheets that you use. I definitely do not use them sparingly when I store my boat...I make sure every compartment has them, and the open spaces as well and in good amounts. I also stuff them in my exhaust opening on the prop so they cannot somehow get in there..
The key is to make sure the boat has that nice smell throughout.
I'm having that trouble right now with our 5th wheel. I used an entire box and I still need more and am hoping the mice move out... I've caught 5 already and a 6th has hit a trap and worked it's way off of it (sticky trap)
Steve
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Posts: 100
| Moth balls all the way! |
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Posts: 422
| Used dryer sheets last year in boat and camper and both were mice free in the spring. |
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Posts: 80
Location: Clintonville, Wi | Ive also used dryer sheets for years and havent had a mouse yet. |
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Posts: 43
| We always use mothballs, I've heard that spearmint and or peppermint will work too. |
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| dryer sheets. & moth balls, & like VMS said ALL OPEN SPACES AS WELL . I put the moth balls in socks & tie the ends up ... the more the merrier  |
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Posts: 333
Location: menasha wi 54952 | I always just place about 15 - 20 balls is an open cool whip container in all compartments and the open area of the boat. Never have had any problems.
MR |
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Posts: 272
| My friend found out that food trumps moth balls, so make sure you remove all the munchies from the boat. Despite a full bag of mothballs in the rod locker and elsewhere in the boat, the mice still went in and had a party with the box of granola bars accidentally left in the compartment.
I don't have mice where I live now, but always put moth balls under the clamshell where I lived in the past. More than once....on more than one engine did I crack the clamshell off in the spring only to find a ball of grass and other soft fluff jammed under there and formed into a nest.
-eric |
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | Three years ago I would have said mothballs myself & I still put them in the boat every fall. I have plastic trays and we add the three trays of mothballs to all the boats and then tarp. We also did the same up at the cabin when we closed her down for the winter. Last year the mice ate a big 'ole hole in my inflatable raft, PVC and another in a inflatable queen sized bed. I was ticked! I had two lakes that the inflatble was the easy solution to. Now theres a hole about the size of a softball. (still have th boat if anyone has the repair knowledge) I went to war on the little fur balls. What I found was one of the traps that consistently was catching them had mothballs around it I mean like inches away!! So now we have boxes of dcon down surrounding the boats and by the areas in the cabin we find sign. If there is no water they will eat and go in search of a drink and die. I've put up with the smell of mothballs in the spring for so many years I think I'd miss it. But my faith in them is gone. Good for spiders though |
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Posts: 447
Location: Waconia, MN | Bounce dryer sheets, I’ve been using them for the past 5 years and not a mouse to be found. Can’t remember who I picked the tip up from, but I believe it works. I also use them on my portable ice house too. |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | This year was my first battle with the mice. I tried dryer sheets, I found a nest built next to them. I trapped but too slow and they were licking the traps clean. I tried glue traps, those things are a waste of time. Can't stand the smell of mothballs and don't want it in my boat.
Dcon = problem solved. At first they went through it so fast I thought maybe I had a herd in there. I even set up my underwater camera and ran a line to my laptop to record activity at the bait pile. But too late, they were already gone by then. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to see what was going on in there but curiosity got the best of me. bummer that I didn't get anything but thats a good problem.
I found one dead one, have no idea where the others went I'm pretty sure they are not in the boat unless they are underdeck somewhere. The dead one smelled a bit but nothing major and its gone now. found it in my front right storage area.
By all means, I killed 5 of them that I know about.
So the boat goes to storage soon and with it the dcon. I'm not going to mess around with anything else.
Good luck with your boat Jason.
Jono
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Posts: 422
| Did you put dcon inside the boat or all around it on the floor?
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | Be aware that mice will take away the d-con pellets and store them elsewhere for later consumption. You may find you have one heck of a cleanup job to do in the springtime. |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | I put the dcon wedges in. Didn't spread it around - would be a big mess plus I have children so I would never do that as I'd always look at the carpet and think its toxic no matter how many times I vacuumed and powerwashed it.
It seemed that there was one area of activity so thats where I put the wedges. I say this because the back right corner of the boat was always where I got them in traps, etc. Never anywhere else in the boat. My thinking is that there was an easier travel route on that side of the boat but who knows for sure. The nest was found at the front end of the left front deck storage compartment.
I found some dcon in and around the nest I found so I agree they do take it away and store it. I went through all the compartments, nooks, and crannies and didn't find any more but I will be checking again in spring in case a new crew moves in.
Jono
Edited by Jono 11/18/2010 8:28 AM
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Location: Windy City | moth balls , peppermint oil soaked cotton balls, or dryer sheets will all work from what I was told by a buddy who works in pest control. |
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| A five gallon pail w/ a bit of olive oil, and a small ramp leading up to it. They dive right in it and keep coming. |
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Posts: 183
Location: Grand Forks ND | I rented a storage unit this fall, and the lady there told me that you need to use the original Bounce dryer sheets in the orange box. Don't know why or if it's true...but those are the ones I use. |
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Posts: 74
Location: Brainerd, MN 56401 | Original Bounce dryer sheets in the orange box. I shrinkwrap boats as part of the uphostery business I work for and have never found a mouse in hundreds of boats. Put it in every compartment and out in the open. No mice! |
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