My wife's worst nightmare come true - Rat on board

RichardS said:
I'm certainly not a rat expert as we've only had them on board once .... although that was a swarm of them running from boat to boat whilst at anchor in a raft with two shore lines. One of the guys on the next boat was bitten on the thigh and screamed blue murder and no-one got any sleep that night in the heat with all the hatches closed.

I would have thought that if the marina is kept clean and tidy then rats would not be a problem but if there is any history of rats, then the charter people need to make sure that there are plenty of traps set and that all the boats have their hatches closed or just cracked open when in the marina. Ultimately, it is the charter companies decision whether to insure against charter days being lost due to rat infestations.

It is definitely not down to the charterer to lose several days of their expensive charter holiday because the charter company did not take sufficient precautions resulting in a rat already being on board before the charter even started. The difficulty would normally be in proving that the rat was already on board but, through fortuitous circumstances, it appears that Shaun will be able to prove this sufficiently to meet the balance of probability test. I therefore suspect that the charter company, if they are British or paid for with a UK credit card, will come up with an offer of compensation/future discount/whatever.

Richard
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I had a rat on board last winter. Took the bait from spring traps without triggering them so I resorted to poison. Problem is ot takes several days to work.
You may get a sense of shadenfreude in knowing it will gnaw wiring. Mine did, as I continue to discover.
 
Bellacruiser said:
Not helpful for your circumstances right now, but it is reasonably easy to fashion rat guards from acetate and tie wraps for future charters/longer term cruising and to allay your wife's fears of one boarding (but not helpful if they beat you onboard!) :)
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I have heard that the top third of a 2ltr coke bottle on the mooring line is quite effective.
 
Quiddle said:
I had a rat on board last winter. Took the bait from spring traps without triggering them so I resorted to poison. Problem is ot takes several days to work.
You may get a sense of shadenfreude in knowing it will gnaw wiring. Mine did, as I continue to discover.
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The problem with poison is bound to be that the rat might die somewhere where you can't find/reach the body and, before long, the stink will be horrendous .... and then the flies start to appear. :ambivalence:

Richard
 
Get a proper spring trap: large mouse trap type. Bait with peanut butter or chocolate: small quantity in centre of trip plate. Clear out a locker and place baited trap in locker. Rat will be relaxed about exploring locker space and should rapidly be caught.
My wife has a similar phobia to the OPs wife and the above is how we caught and killed to one rat we’ve had on board during ten years of wandering round the Med. The secret as far as I’m concerned was using an attractive bait in a small quantity (we used peanut butter) and the location of the trap. Don’t put the trap in the open, set it inside an enclosed space: I used the locker where I first spotted the wretched creature, lifted a couple of items out and placed the trap there. The rat was caught within 2 hours of us finding it.
 
No one has mentioned Weil’s disease, a very real risk, someone I worked with got it when clearing a drain, he only wiped the sweat off his brow and the rat pee got in his eye. Easy to do in the confines of a boat.
My goodnature trap didn’t work round my fish shop where there is plentiful food, but in my loft it was pretty much instantaneous.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Agro-Roden...ocphy=1006858&hvtargid=pla-697204602630&psc=1
 
corbu said:
Part way through a two week charter in Croatia and rat found on board.

Shaun.
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Pure curiosity, but how large?
Living in the country we are used to finding all sorts of mice, squirrels, jackdaws and horrible cluster flies who have taken up abode in our attics. Not so nice was the dead rat in the garden last week, body measured in at just under 12 inches, plus a lengthy tail. Probably killed by poison put down by neighbour.
Peter
 
Update. Rat caught this morning in a cage trap with chocolate and ham as bait.

Boat deep cleaned twice, once by charter staff and once by me for good measure.

Anchored, well from shore, in a lovely bay. All well with the world again.

Thanks for all the advice.

Shaun.
 
Glad your rat free, if you should ever find yourself in this situation again and I'm sure you won't, make sure you've got every survivalists favourite staple...... peanut butter, it's the go to food to bait a rat trap. Also good to have should the rat knaw through the hull...... don't show the wife this bit! I can't talk, still trying to get my wife through Portsmouth harbour! Glad it all worked out for you.
 
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