what do you use to keep Rats from tightrope waliking your lines ashore

When we had a visit this summer one thing that helped was mothballs, it didn't get rid of the rat but it stopped it going near stuff...wires pipes etc. But I can vouch for peanut butter as bait, the little 5hit loved it.
 
On our pontoon this winter one yacht decided it didn't like our cat and the other two cats on two other boats and moved to the pontoon the other side of the marina , guess what ? A week later they had a visitor , a nice big rat .
I rather a cat then a rat any day
 
Happydaze said:
We purchased plastic dinner size plates from the local supermarket, drilled rope size holes in the middle and then cut from the outside edge to the hole with a hacksaw. This allows them to be fitted after mooring up is finished and kept in position with washing line pegs about 2 feet behind the transom and one slipped on the anchor chain to stop them arriving from the front. I have watched a rat walk up the line to the plate and turn around and walk away again.
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Bet that was funny watching the rat trundelling along the rope until he met the plate,,,Oh BUGGER he said turned around and went on his way....
 
RichardS said:
I don't think that will stop rats I'm afraid - they're cunning little blighters.

After a rat invasion and attack "with bite" in the middle of the night in Meganisi, we threaded on large PET cola bottles and the rats didn't come back. But maybe they had just bitten enough human flesh for one night!

And if you think I'm joking, think again!

Richard
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the beauty of the strips is that they are flexible rats can jump thats why you need a 2-3 foot strip,
 
NornaBiron said:
From personal experience I think that those of you that are using drinks bottles, plastic plates, funnels, plant pot saucers and anchor balls are just lucky. We've seen and used a combination of all those things with little success. One morning in Kapali Bay, Meganisi, every boat (there were 10 of us anchored and tied to the shore) had evidence of a visit from the rats, despite using line protection, except us - our cats kept them at bay.

The best deterrent is probably to make sure that your boat is unattractive to the blighters: no food crumbs accessible, hatches closed etc.
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Yes, it's almost guaranteed. That is why we rarely stop here if we have to tie to the shore and NEVER overnight.
 
KellysEye said:
We used water bottles with a hole cut in the bottom threaded on the warp. In Venezuela it didn't stop an Iguana jumping on board.
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The iguanas that lounged about our marina in Puerto Rico were notorious for getting aboard the boats.

Iguanas.jpg


We had a large sea-snake board in Thousand Islands, Canada. However, it slithered off sharpish when I spotted it, so I didn't get a pic. But here's a bat that took a fancy to us.

Bat.jpg


Monitors may also have a go. Here's one aboard a pedalo that was tied alongside.

Sydney14.jpg
 
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AndrewB said:
The iguanas that lounged about our marina in Puerto Rico were notorious for getting aboard the boats.

Iguanas.jpg


We had a large sea-snake board in Thousand Islands, Canada. However, it slithered off sharpish when I spotted it, so I didn't get a pic. But here's a bat that took a fancy to us.

Bat.jpg


Monitors may also have a go. Here's one aboard a pedalo that was tied alongside.

Sydney14.jpg
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But they're all okay, they eat the mosquitoes and flies!
 
Yes I've had a rat onboard, took over my boat , bit through GPS cable ,so I devised this unit , good for intruders and rodents , and can be moved around the deck , cockpit area is best location.
www.guardianage.com sold by force4 , crew-safe etc,

The rats jump from boat to boat when close together when stern too, also they use the plank if left overnight.
Also keep away from rubbish bins on shore , don't leave fruit out below decks and don't keep rubbish onboard.
Good luck
 
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Ceabea said:
Yes I've had a rat onboard, took over my boat , bit through GPS cable ,so I devised this unit , good for intruders and rodents , and can be moved around the deck , cockpit area is best location.
www.guardiangae.com sold by force4 , crew-safe etc,

The rats jump from boat to boat when close together when stern too, also they use the plank if left overnight.
Also keep away from rubbish bins on shore , don't leave fruit out below decks and don't keep rubbish onboard.
Good luck
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The link does not work for me.
 
Oops can't spell my own name
Try www.guardianage.com

Also we caught the devil with a chunk of twix , left it to roam the boat overnight locked in , being nocturnal creatures , the stillness and darkness did for it , we stayed ashore in a rat free zone .
 
Vonasi said:
We once rescued a cat and had him living with us on board our boat for 18 months. He wasn't particularly effective at keeping unwanted guests off the boat as he used to go out hunting at night and then bring back alive whatever he had caught as a gift for us. Live rats, cockroaches, beetles, cicadas you name it. Oh what fun we had at 0300 every night chasing whatever tonight's gift was around the boat. He now lives in France with my dad!

So I guess that's the cat theory thrown out then.

I have carried a set of plastic dinner plates around for 13 years now with the intention of modifying them to become rat stoppers - but have never got round to it. Once a year I lift them out of the cockpit locker and look at them before returning them to their place unmodified for another year. We've never had a rat on board (except the gifts) so maybe the rats actually like the boats with rat stoppers - the rats like a challenge!
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The cat theory works as long as they stay on the boat! We do get the occasional gift of a bug or bird but not in the middle of the night as they stay below with us. Don't bother with the plastic dinner plates, they seriously don't work!
 
There are places where anti-rat precautions are mandatory - to keep them from going ashore, not coming aboard! South Georgia is one; I think they are also in place for the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica may have such regulations, but rats probably could not survive an Antarctic winter). In such places LARGE funnels on mooring warps are the approved method.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
There are places where anti-rat precautions are mandatory - to keep them from going ashore, not coming aboard! South Georgia is one; I think they are also in place for the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica may have such regulations, but rats probably could not survive an Antarctic winter). In such places LARGE funnels on mooring warps are the approved method.
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Arriving in USVI 20 years ago, one of the questions we were asked was "Are your rats showing any sign of plague".

No right answer!
 
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