Rat with a rubber fetish

[Xpat]

Recently a rat managed to get into my kitchen via the hot air outlet of the tumble dryer. It then took a fancy to the rubber hoses on my washing machine, chewed them up and spat them out all over the floor.
It occurred to me that if this particular rodent had got onto a boat it could have sunk it. I am always reading advice on using 2 hose clips of the correct type of stainless steel on through hull fittings but this is not much use if a rubber chewing rat gets at them.
Has anyone heard of this happening? Is this something that rats like to do or was my nocturnal visitor just weird. It died of rubber poisoning by the way. We caught it in a trap the next night and beat it to death with a rubber mallet.
Just kidding, the man from Rats R Us took it away.

 

[DJE]

Sink the boat? Can the rats turn the seacocks on as well?

 

[Xpat]

Only if they have a death wish. Some people do leave their boats with the sea cocks open by the way.

 

[smee]

Never heard of a rat with a rubber fetish before! I had a Golden Retriever with a rubber fetish a few years ago! Nicked anything that smelt of rubber, hammers with rubber handles, the vets door stop, went crazy over new bike tyres! Thankfully he was too big to get anywhere on the boat to damage rubber pipes - but then he spent most of his time sniffing the rubber backed carpet with a glazed look on his face, and trying to find the tool box for the hammer! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I wonder what an insurance company would make of a claim for a yacht sunk by a rubber crazed rat!! I suspect they'd probably smell a rat! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[DJE]

Leave the boat with the seacocks open. Heresy. How do they sleep at night?

(Mind you mine only has 5 seacocks, I know some of these big modern boats have dozens.)

 

[snowleopard]

On my first cruiser, a very manky auld gaffer, a rat occasionallu came aboard when we were in a mud berth. there was only one small hole in the cabin bulkhead but it managed to get in. It left toothmarks in the soap but that was all it found. I like to think it died foaming at the mouth.

 

[mikewilkes]

We had field mice get into the house we had on south loch ness side. They chewed through white plastic coupling on the drainage lines above the study and garage.
Ended up with a new ceiling in the garage and a new computer cos the old one did not like the soaking. Insurance company paid for both.
Could not work out if it was the plastic they went for on the solvent cement. Only seemed to happen on the fittings and not the pipe.

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
Sink the boat? Can the rats turn the seacocks on as well?

[/ QUOTE ] Turn seacocks on? I didn't know one had to turn them off!!
I leave mine open all the time. mind you I am onboard almost every day if on this god forsaken island.
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[graham]

i left a sail in the loft of a barn years ago and a rat chewed holes in it .I have heard of them getting on boats and doing damage to upholstery and electrics.

 

[Das_Boot]

One died in the aircon of my car spent 3 months trying to get rid of the smell. Lucky the bank put me back on my feet and repo'd the car it still smelled of incense and death. I shouldnt jump to conclusions could have been a snake. Mind you it seemed to drive the cockaroaches out. Also, that might have been the 3 tons of incense I burned.

 

[wishbone]

Moved into a rented 200 year old farm house with attached derelict barn we had rats...lots of them in the loft & walls came in out of the cold....bought a plug in rodent repeler seems to be working fine.......saw the buggers with their suitcases making off down the road!

Still got an antique wind up camera with chewed up leather case a big rat did it in a 350 year old farm house in devon......are they following me around!!!!

 

[PhilipH]

On a charter in the Ionian we got a rodent (never saw it - just the teeth marks and droppings) on board at Mongonisi despite shipping the passarelle except when in use. Apparently the little blleder ran up the mooring lines. Defence was to cut off the top part of 2 litre plastic coke bottles and thread them over the lines with the concave part of the cone pointed towards the shore. We didn't seem to get any more after that. Only other alternative is to take a lesson from history and get a ship's cat.