Rat Guards on shore lines

[lenseman]

Can anyone give me an idea about the size of a circular rat guard fitted to shore lines?

Is there a minimum size that works or do they have to be over a certain diameter, size?

 

[Sandyman]

Remember the ones we used in Mombassa years ago were about 3 foot David.
Made no difference. The buggers couldn't get up the lines so they just came up the gangway instead

QM & BM were issued with air-rifles

 

[sarabande]

those wonderful engineers in Ningbo, C****a, suggest that a dia of 600mm is the standard size, but you should take into account that the guards are probably made of sub-standard cast tin foil, rather than hand-polished welded stainless.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/490741385/Rat_Guards.html

 

[dmmbruce]

Cheap but effective were plastic bottles. The biggest you can get. Cut off the lower half. Thread the rope through the top so that it is 'pointed' toward the quay. Push a stick or nail through the rope so the thing won't slide down.

The crucial thing is that it is completely loose on the rope so that it will spin! If the hole where the cap was is too small for the rope, we used to cut the threaded bit off too, but it was less robust then.

A really good rat could get past one of these. But it was very rare. Squirrels or similar will jump them however!

Mike

 

[binch]

King Rat

Three feet diameter of galvanised light steel.
That was the pusser version.
However, these were not adequate for the Persian Gulf sea-snakes.

 

[curlysue]

Another vote for the plastic bottles, but as mentioned, they must spin. Nothing is totally rat proof but we did actually witness one of our furry friends lose its footing on a spinning bottle and fall in the drink when we had lines ashore in a bay on Meganissi. Shame they can swim tho', it swam off !! We always put three on each line.

 

[NornaBiron]

the plastic bottles didn't work for us, the only foolproof deterrent seems to be the other furry friend - the cat!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It's worth bearing in mind that there are parts of the world where rat guards are mandatory - to stop rats getting ashore! South Georgia, for one.

I understand that conical guards are preferred in sensitive locations, rather than flat discs.

 

[Happydaze]

We have 10" soft plastic plates which we keep in place with clothes pegs on the ropes and just slot in a link on the chain. I have watched a rat walk the rope up to the plate and turn around and walk away but if it were starving i'm sure it could jump it.

 

[jacaldo]

As already mentioned, plastic bottles, but we cut about 10 slits from the bottom up about 6 inches then curl the fingers out to form a kind of BILL & BEN hat. This has worked for us in the known rat spots in Greece.

 

[lenseman]

Remember the ones we used in Mombassa years ago were about 3 foot David. . . . . ..

So I will now need to buy a load of dustbin lids!!

 

[Gypsy]

We used plastic funnels with the spout end trimmed to fit the size of the mooring line. One disadvantage is the line needs to be theaded through the funnel but slicing down the length would allow it to be added after the moor an it would probably still hold it's shape.

We bought some in Corfu after friends had a 'boarder' from Paxoi which ate through various electrical cables. The supplier, a general kitchen/cleaning/hardware shop opposite the old harbour, had a big range and knew exactly why we wanted them after we started getting fussy about sizes.

 

[RichardS]

Another vote for the plastic bottles, but as mentioned, they must spin. Nothing is totally rat proof but we did actually witness one of our furry friends lose its footing on a spinning bottle and fall in the drink when we had lines ashore in a bay on Meganissi. Shame they can swim tho', it swam off !! We always put three on each line.

The only time we have ever had rats on board was anchored in a bay on Meganisi! The rats there are obviously a cut above the rest!

We were awash with the bu**ers and one of our flotilla was bitten on the thigh. Women (and men) were screaming - what a night!

After the attack we got the plastic bottles in on the lines about 2:00am but there was no sleep after that for anyone.

Richard

 

[djk]

We had a rat on board on Meganisi in Abelike bay last year around 2 in the morning. Wife heard it chewing thru an empty plastic water bottle left in the cockpit. Luckily we managed to chase the blighter off the boat, he was as big as a squirrel!
We now anchor away from the shore so don't need shore lines.

 

[dslittle]

We had a rat on board on Meganisi in Abelike bay last year around 2 in the morning. Wife heard it chewing thru an empty plastic water bottle left in the cockpit. Luckily we managed to chase the blighter off the boat, he was as big as a squirrel!
We now anchor away from the shore so don't need shore lines.

Rod Heikel mentions the rats at Pera Pigadi. We stupidly thought better and even with bottles on the lines had visitors overnight. They were all over the saloon but we got off lightly with only exposed food nibbled. Next time we will anchor off as it will still be a must visit anchorage...

 

[Csail]

Not sure which ship i was on and didn't pay much attention but they sprayed some chemical on the ropes which seemed to work? Problem we get are mink.
Suppose for free you could try these guys
http://www.stoprats.org/kits.htm

 

[djk]

The size of rat we had on board would laugh at an empty water bottle and just climb over it!
A possible cheaper alternative to a funnel as a rat preventer:
Buy a large round plastic flower pot tray. Drill a hole in the middle to take the rope. Drill a small hole on the edge of the tray and attach a piece of string tied to a water bottle full of of water.
The weight of the water bottle prevents the tray being pushed over if or when a rat decides to invade your boat!
Saw this rig on a German yacht and seemed pretty good.
Nobody has mentioned the anchor chain? Rats swim but seem to take the easy route via shore lines but I'm sure they could climb up the anchor chain!