Well they're a determined species.. you gotta give them that!

[irishfield]

So I get my customer work done about 11am and decide to find all my stuff for Sunday's pike outing on GBay. Told we're using suckers, so knowing I have a couple quick strike rigs somewhere (and can't find them) I think maybe they're in the glove box of the boat. Open the door and see movement.. not good. Now here's a real good reason not to carry any original documents. Glad my vessel licence/insurance/etc are all copies. Them and the zip lock bag they were in are part of this mess.. as is my roll of TP.. roll of shop towel.. part of my Nippising paper charts.

 

I got two of the babies.. but damn sure momma ran off with one or two in her mouth. Glad I caught them when I did.. pre eye open and hope she bails out of the boat or gets caught in the traps I set.

 

 

 

Now for a bit of history, I noticed 2 pieces of mouse crap back in the fall at the rear of the boat but suspected it was just dropped in from above from a mouse crossing a roof truss above. Haven't had an issue any previous year. I purposely remove the trailering straps so that they have nothing to climb up etc. How or why they take the time to jump up to a trailer frame.. onto a bunk board.. up the transducer wires is all I can figure.. all the way thru the gunnel storage compartments and up into the glove box is beyond me... all while carrying ACORNS in their mouths. I can't even find a spot the size of an acorn that they can get thru to get in there. Another interesting thing.. they seem to do most of their eating over in the right storage locker and they only like the nice plush carpet under their little friggin feet. Not a speck of acorn beyond the carpeted area and I had to pull every rod locker end plate out to get at the full interior of the gunnel/storage compartments. They don't eat in their nest area at all, so if you see signs of eating you'd better start tearing EVERYTHING apart until you find their nest. So 4 hours of going through the boat, accessing everything short of pulling up the floor boards and I think I got everything. Still a mouse running around in there I'm sure.

 

 

 

That's a lot of trips in and out of the boat, and out to the oak tree and back ! I got lucky.. right in front of this pile of chips was the food stash... full acorns pushed up inside my rear curtain that was rolled up in this compartment. Not a scratch or bit of mouse piss on it... was like the mouse sat each acorn down and shoved them in with it's nose!

 

 

 

 

If you haven't pulled your own boat out yet, it might be worth a good look soon. Been a bad year for mice. I've never had them in the airplanes in the 17 years my hangar has been standing and figured it was all the junk to the sides and a pile of Roxul bundles left over from the house keeping them happy. The mice are so determined this year I've had 3 out of 6 airplanes so far that they've jumped up to the floats (on blocks).. climbed the mounting struts... somehow gone thru closes doors and made nests in various places inside the airplanes.

 

Oh and by the way.. this puts to death the myth that bounce sheets keep mice out of things!

Edited April 29, 2011 by irishfield

[limeyangler]

LOL....Wayne,

 

I literally just came in from taking the tarp off the boat and moving it inside the garage to do some "stuff" on it, and take out two sets of summer tires and rims, the deck for the lawn tractor, fold up chairs....lol....excellent storage vessel in the winter...and the tires make keep the tarp raised in the middle for water/snow/ice run off.

 

Not a sign of critters anywhere....guess thats an advantage of using the boat right up till its minus 20C...all the critters were long gone by the time the tarp went on.

 

Like you though...we have had an invasion of mice/vowels. My three cats are bringing back around 4 or 5 a day...steady stream.

[crappieperchhunter]

Really making me appreciate my 14 ft tinny wayne. Flipped over on 3 blocks in the back yard. It took me a whole 20 minutes to get it on the trailer and 100% ready to go on Wednesday night

Edited April 30, 2011 by crappieperchhunter

[skeeter]

Good luck with the clean up.

I had muskrats get into my bass boat one year.

They chewed up the carpet, the seats, and the life jackets.

 

When that was gone they chewed up ALL the electrical wiring.

The only thing left was the fiberglass and the foam flotation, so they chewed up the foam flotation too. :wallbash:

 

What a nightmare that was.

So I stripped it down to the bare hull, then rebuilt the whole boat interior with some modifications to the design including fiber glassing the new wood completely.

[irishfield]

Yah it definitely could have been worse Dann... chipmunks and squirrels live in them roxul bundles as well. Even had a white weasel in the hangar last year eating them. Wish he'd come back!!

[Guest gbfisher]

I only found one Acorn in the front of my boat when I took the cover off.

With two engines on the back it makes a nice opening for any critter that wants to get in and spend the winter. I'd figure Racoons would use the entrance sooner or later but none have yet. YET!

I’ve seen what Racoons can do to a nice boat with plush seats. Not to mention the nasty dung pile they leave at one end where they don’t sleep. I try to take everything that can mould up or get eaten out of the boat at the end of the season...which helps I think.

 

So, did you find what you were looking for? If not no worries..we'll set ya up with what ever you need for the day. The forecast calls for Wind and Rain....we should be ok out of the wind.

Last season the wind pushed us off the lake. The year before we ran right into a nasty storm but still did well. I found a bait store who has suckers in all sizes. Lots don't have what Im looking for. Who knows....they may be on a sucker bite...they may not. We'll let em tell us what they want when we get there. Same thing every year and it always changes. Just gotta be prepared.

CYA Sunday Morning Mr. 7;15....hahahaha

[DRIFTER_016]

At least you guys don't have to worry about a grizzly bear or wolverine taking up residence in your boat!!!

[irishfield]

I've got Fishers in the yard Dave!

[DRIFTER_016]

I've got Fishers in the yard Dave!

 

I don't know.

What do you think would be worse.

A/ pulling back the tarp to reveal a cudly little fisher or

B/ pulling back the tarp only to be shredded by a wolverine or mauled by a grizz?

[Guest gbfisher]

I don't know.

What do you think would be worse.

A/ pulling back the tarp to reveal a cudly little fisher or

B/ pulling back the tarp only to be shredded by a wolverine or mauled by a grizz?

 

I'd think either would make enough mess and noise to warrant a shot gun loaded with 00 buck.

I doubt a mouse trap or sticky paper would work...

[ketchenany]

Tie a yellow ribbon around old oak tree then cut it down!

Remember crap coming out the back of my snowmobile when I had one and started it for the first time! Good luck with the clean up.

[mercman]

Holy crap Wayne !!! The last time i seen a mess like that my pom got out of her day cage and expressed how angry she was that i forgot to latch her door

 

That just not right man

[misfish]

Im not a small vermit hunter,but if it had been turkey or deer causing the prob,I be up there right away. LMAO,

[BFSC Kevin]

Never had a issue with mice yet...

But I do have raccoon problems..!

 

I don't normally keep my papers in the boat. I have them in my boat bag. I guess because I don't have indoor storage for the boat, so I don't want anyone sneaking through my boat and touching those papers.

[Joey]

But did you find your quick strike rigs?

 

 

 

What a mess, time for a boat cat

[Guest gbfisher]

I'm sure Marty's looking for something to shoot..

[Squid]

Very lucky indeed Wayne. My trick for keeping the critters out all year round is placing irish spring soap in all the storage spaces. Learned this from an old deck hand. I have never seen any critters in my boat.

[Guest gbfisher]

Very lucky indeed Wayne. My trick for keeping the critters out all year round is placing irish spring soap in all the storage spaces. Learned this from an old deck hand. I have never seen any critters in my boat.

 

 

Bears like soap...

[fishnsled]

But did you find your quick strike rigs?

 

 

That is the more important question now isn't it?

 

Well that just sucks Wayne. Never had a problem with mice but maybe that's because the neighbourhood cats like to hang out in the boat during the winter. I'll take the clumps of cat hair over mouse crap and the unknown in the boat. I also empty the boat of everything in the fall (Now I know why I do it.) and add mothballs. Tried the bounce sheets this past winter instead and no mice or signs of a cat.

[irishfield]

Bounce sheets, moth balls, soap.. I've tried them all over the 30 years or so that I've stored classic cars. The mice could give a rats ass about any of these "deterants".

[Jewelbee]

I had a nest in a truck I had parked for a while. They took up residence in the heating vents!!! It was really hard to clean it all up, and when I turned the heat on...WHEW!!!!!

[irishfield]

Well I thought I was done with them... but they weren't done with me. Despite a few traps in the boat and the bucket and peanut butter bottle trick trying to be sure I had them out, they been alive and well in her. While getting the boat ready to go North, I found a new nest in the bow storage compartment sans mice and thought maybe I just missed it with it being in the little cardboard box I have up there. Then I noticed a mess on the floor by my nets as I was stowing my tackle boxes. Look in my $280 Stowmaster "tennis" bag and see insulation. DAMN... throw it out of the boat and again no mice, but the buggers ate my net!!!

 

I'm not a Newf like Misfish... so I repaired it using tie wraps as I don't know how to use a net darning shuttle!!

[Joey]

Those buggers, that's just plain wrong Wayne. Sorry to see this bud

[Terry]

[quote name='irishfield' date='29 April 2011 - 04:41 PM' timestamp='1304109715' post='577739'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

really have to watch your nuts around there

they got in my glove box on my boat over the winter too..

 

come to think of it

I don't remember seeing the vessel register

might have been part of their nest

[Terry]

[quote name='irishfield' date='29 April 2011 - 04:41 PM' timestamp='1304109715' post='577739'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

really have to watch your nuts around there

they got in my glove box on my boat over the winter too..

 

come to think of it

I don't remember seeing the vessel register

might have been part of their nest