Oh, Rats!

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Got one on board so 2 questions:
How did it get into a closed AWB. Only conceivable route is through engine blower outlet on sugar scoop transom which is located horizontally 6" above the step . All other external openings involve a passage through engine, heads, sink drains or electric pump. Can a rat be so persistent as to find the blower entrance?
Secondly, how to get rid? I've laid traditional traps in the only two storage areas for food on board, both of which show evidence of previous rodent visitations. I'm reluctant to use poison as I don't want a dead rat stinking the boat out. Can borrow a cat but can't see how it will access the bilges and multifarious nooks and crannies on a boat to carry out its ratting duties.
Suggestions most welcome.
 
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Standard rat trap, use peanut butter as bait. Set the trap in an empty quiet space, not near food as that’ll distract the rat. Should work, especially if the boat is quiet.

Rats can fit in through any space that’ll admit their head. So they can fit through holes that you’d dismiss as too small and can be remarkably persistent in finding a route into the boat.

Good luck in getting rid of the damn thing.
 
Biggles Wader said:
Same problem as poison ---- dead rat stinking out boat.Can you borrow a jack russell? It probably wont catch the rat but might persuade it to leave voluntarily.
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Well I just read more about the treatment offered by the firm I linked to above and it doesn't apply to rats and mice. So that's no help. Sorry.
 
You have my sympathy.

Dead rats stink, but they don't gnaw the insulation on the electrics or the water and fuel piping. Or your clothes and bedding. Or you. Cats don't work reliably with rats - they tend to ignore each other - unless you can borrow a certified ratter (which in Anglo-Saxon England was worth sixpence).
 
Minn said:
Cats don't work reliably with rats - they tend to ignore each other - unless you can borrow a certified ratter (which in Anglo-Saxon England was worth sixpence).
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Sixpence! Dick Whittinton’s cat Tommy went for a lot more :rolleyes:
 
Whatever you do, don't corner it or it will go for you. My grandfather cornered one when he was a boy and it bit his leg so badly that he had a scar for the rest of his life.
 
Minn said:
You have my sympathy.

Dead rats stink, but they don't gnaw the insulation on the electrics or the water and fuel piping. Or your clothes and bedding. Or you. Cats don't work reliably with rats - they tend to ignore each other - unless you can borrow a certified ratter (which in Anglo-Saxon England was worth sixpence).
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When I was a teenager my folks had a cat that was a most aggressive ratter. We’d had big male cats for ten years and there were always mice getting into the house because they were only interested in the local rabbits. Along came a small, female, black stray kitten and in her 12 years there was never a mouse or rat within a hundred yards of the house, she killed absolutely everything and ate most of it.

Dunno how this would work on a boat unless you just shut the cat in there for a period of time. Suspect baited trap or poison and dig the victim out are the only realistic solutions.
 
Traditional wooden spring traps baited with Nutella worked well for me when looking after my parents’ unoccupied house. One rat’s head exploded a bit when hit, which was messy to clean up, but it was otherwise easy and straightforward.

Pete
 
prv said:
...One rat’s head exploded a bit when hit, which was messy to clean up, but it was otherwise easy and straightforward.

Pete
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Put the trap on some newspaper to reduce that problem.

Chocolate does work, e.g. bits of mars bar.
 
Minn said:
You have my sympathy.

Cats don't work reliably with rats - they tend to ignore each other - unless you can borrow a certified ratter (which in Anglo-Saxon England was worth sixpence).
Click to expand...

Mine is a good ratter (and mouser plus good at clearing nests of fledglings). Sixpence will show me a capital profit as he was free but won't recoup 7 year's food, vets bills and cattery fees when away sailing.

Cheaper to buy a trap and a bag of peanuts. With a bit of luck there will be nuts left over to go with the beer to celebrate the rat's demise.
 
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