rat!

[jojoknitter]

help help help!

 

We are in battle with a RAT ! it has moved in under the floor boards...makes a racket all night and scrabbles inside the wall down the side of the boat. We laid poison 5 -6 days ago EVERYWHERE on the advice of an expert....but yet he still scrabble and scratches about. He got in though an open vetilation hole in our engine room ( having work done to the engine so was left open....) he couldnt handle the rain so thought he'd move into our lovely warm and cosy boat.

 

It is starting to have a serious affect on the ol' mental stability...i am getting traps tomorrow to try out. ...Luckily he cant get into the boat - we have blocked all sneaky holes and gaps.

 

Any advice for two sleep deprived folk with a very unwelcome guest?????

 

By the way I am fully aware of the fact he may well die under the floor - and the pong will follow.... but at least it will be quiet! So any grand plans or words of experience would be appreciated,

 

cheers!

[Yoda]

Get a cat.

[RLWP]

help help help!

 

We are in battle with a RAT ! it has moved in under the floor boards...makes a racket all night and scrabbles inside the wall down the side of the boat. We laid poison 5 -6 days ago EVERYWHERE on the advice of an expert....but yet he still scrabble and scratches about. He got in though an open vetilation hole in our engine room ( having work done to the engine so was left open....) he couldnt handle the rain so thought he'd move into our lovely warm and cosy boat.

 

It is starting to have a serious affect on the ol' mental stability...i am getting traps tomorrow to try out. ...Luckily he cant get into the boat - we have blocked all sneaky holes and gaps.

 

Any advice for two sleep deprived folk with a very unwelcome guest?????

 

By the way I am fully aware of the fact he may well die under the floor - and the pong will follow.... but at least it will be quiet! So any grand plans or words of experience would be appreciated,

 

cheers!

 

 

OH No! At least I think I only have a mouse or two, and we don't liveaboard. Go for traps and good luck. Be careful though. It hurts to catch your fingers in a mousetrap, but rat traps break things.

 

Richard

 

What an awful thing to happen.

[jojoknitter]

Get a cat.

 

 

ah well we have considered this too...but do cats actually fend off rats well and kill 'em when they come accross them?

[Nickhlx]

Seal up the boat and fill with a poisonous gas .... like Carbon Monoxide, ( take precautions !) or even just snuff it out with carbon dioxide which sinks having a molecular weight of about 44 compared to that of air of about 29... and go out for lunch.

 

The smell is quite bad - eventually smelling like a cross between a bad gas leak and cyanide.

 

Nick

 

Edited November 15, 2008 by Nickhlx

[Night Hawk]

Try catching your rudder on the rear cill of a lock and get your ship sinking...rats will leave of their own free will?

 

Seriously though, have you tried those sonic things from B&Q - We had one at the farm that seemed to keep mice and rats well away.

 

Good luck,

 

Andrew

[jojoknitter]

OH No! At least I think I only have a mouse or two, and we don't liveaboard. Go for traps and good luck. Be careful though. It hurts to catch your fingers in a mousetrap, but rat traps break things.

 

Richard

 

What an awful thing to happen.

 

...not as awful as it is going to be for ratty....with the fate that awaits him.

 

 

Try catching your rudder on the rear cill of a lock and get your ship sinking...rats will leave of their own free will?

 

Seriously though, have you tried those sonic things from B&Q - We had one at the farm that seemed to keep mice and rats well away.

 

Good luck,

 

Andrew

 

 

well i think B&Q will do well out of us..I will get all the gadgets going.

[Timleech]

If it does die in a cavity within the boat, you'll have to be prepared to rip out linings until you find the body. The smell is truly awful.

 

Tim

[US Marines]

The best animal for getting rats is not a cat - its a terrier dog.

 

But, I'm guessing poison, traps and/or possibly gassing might be the best answer for you.

 

Good luck with it !

[johnthebridge]

Serve it with a rat writ.

[NB Alnwick]

The best animal for getting rats is not a cat - its a terrier dog.

 

I agree - terriers are excellent rat-catchers but for all that they are not a deterrent.

For some reason cats tend to deter rats from coming aboard . . .

[John Orentas]

I understand that poison stuff may well take a lot longer to do the job than the 5-6 days, I would give it some more time..

 

The good news is that the poison will induce the naughty rodent to take the hint and clear off before it eventually passes away.

[RLWP]

I have thought long and hard about this and I think you would be much more certain with a 12 bore shotgun.

 

Richard

[NB Alnwick]

I have thought long and hard about this and I think you would be much more certain with a 12 bore shotgun.

 

No that's far too dangerous. I would use a mixture of chlorine and cyanide - that's how the railways used to rid their third class coaches of lice and vermin in Victorian days - obviously suitable precautions may be necessary

[John Orentas]

No that's far too dangerous. I would use a mixture of chlorine and cyanide - that's how the railways used to rid their third class coaches of lice and vermin in Victorian days - obviously suitable precautions may be necessary

 

 

I tried that method in my mother-in-laws house when she had a minor infestation.. Didn't get chance to confirm the effectiveness however, it just happened that she passed away a couple of days later.

[RLWP]

No that's far too dangerous. I would use a mixture of chlorine and cyanide - that's how the railways used to rid their third class coaches of lice and vermin in Victorian days - obviously suitable precautions may be necessary

 

Hurrah, back to the trenches and WWI.

 

Richard

 

Gassed last night, and gassed the night before. Gonna get gassed tonight if we never get gassed any more....

[denboy]

Hi my name is hommer i am 5 years old (or there abouts)

I specialize in rodent infestations fully qualified

I am available for contracts in the midlands area at very competitive rates (one bone an hour or tin of food and biscuits per 24 hours)

23 1/2 hours a day 365 days of the year

No call out charge

prefer to work at night when its very dark

See photo for qualifications

:lol:

all work carried out at owners risk

[topcatm]

Hurrah, back to the trenches and WWI.

 

Richard

 

Gassed last night, and gassed the night before. Gonna get gassed tonight if we never get gassed any more....

 

Make sure the rats got some water to drink. It makes the poison work quicker!!

[Guest]

Hi my name is hommer i am 5 years old (or there abouts)

I specialize in rodent infestations fully qualified

I am available for contracts in the midlands area at very competitive rates (one bone an hour or tin of food and biscuits per 24 hours)

23 1/2 hours a day 365 days of the year

No call out charge

prefer to work at night when its very dark

See photo for qualifications

:lol:

all work carried out at owners risk

I have one a bit like Hommer. Good aint they?

[denboy]

Just wish he would stop trying to chew toads up as they make him sick as a dog

[Guest]

Just wish he would stop trying to chew toads up as they make him sick as a dog

Our previous dog tried that a few times. Used to make him foam at the mouth, then he would release the unfortunate toad/frog into the house which we then had to catch. Better than the cat though which liked to bring mallards home, usually alive. I have had to catch more than one angry mallard by chucking a quilt over it off the bed.

[paulcatchpole]

help help help!

 

We are in battle with a RAT

 

Find and keep as a pet?

 

 

 

PC

[fuzzyduck]

Ewwwwwwww wouldn't catch me doing anything like that

 

 

On a more serious note, rats are afraid of the smell of cats, and cat wee, simply liquidise a cat, and smear it round the inside of your boat, the rat will scarper sharpish.

Edited November 16, 2008 by fuzzyduck

[tobytimothy]

I would strongly advise against using poison. There can be many problems with using poison, one of which is to poison something other than the rat.

 

I would agree that dogs are very effective against rats. At the rear of where I live is a tributary of the trent, so there can sometimes be rats about. Our neighbour has three cats who regularly catch mice but are no use at all at detering rats. One rat however once made the mistake of entering my kitchen through the hatch in my kitchen door.

 

I had a most amusing and interesting few mins watching the rat being chased round the kitchen by one of my dogs (cross springer spaniel/retriever) It ended up with the rat hanging for dear life from the top of the venetian blind with my dog sitting patiently below waiting for it to fall. Eventually however I decided to take pity on the rat and got hold of my dog by his collar and pulled him away. Seeing his escape route no longer barred the rat did a quick exit back out through the hatch. That was the last I ever saw of it. In fact interestingly, even though that was a few years ago now, I have not seen a rat since.

 

So my answer would be to get or borrow a dog. Alternately if you have 240v electrics you could try one of the electronic rat & mouse deterrents. There are many available. A quick search of the internet will bring up many suppliers. An example of one is

 

http://www.martleyelectronics.co.uk/pestcontrol-rodent.html

 

One final solution is to adopt the system they use to use to remove rats from the old sea going saling ships. They would overnight leave waste food on the seashore and then all the rats would leave the ship by way of the ropes, attracted by the food. they would then set sail. A bit long winded but very effective.

 

Hope you manage to resolve your problem.

Edited November 16, 2008 by tobytimothy

[jojoknitter]

thanks for all info do far......an update is that we had a quiet and sleep silled night . NO RATTY NOISES! It is eerily quiet and i have a feeling he has either moved out ( dont know how as we blocked all the holes ) OR had been driven by hunger to eat all the poison and has died somewhere in the boat.

 

I am sure it will present itself very soon...we have placed bets as to where this may be...and ripping apart shall follw! Luckily most of the boat is due for a revamp/ new insulation etc so the rats final resting place will dictate where we start.