www.iFourWinns.com

What do you use to keep the mice out over the winter? I usually buy fresh cab rodent repellent but I don't have much faith since they didn't work in my shed. I have heard dryer sheets or peppermint on cotton balls. I am really worried about them getting into the engine and ruining wiring this year since I am in a different location. I would use traps but I won't be visiting often enough to keep up with them. Do you think dcon will work or will that just attract them.

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--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

It might sound strange, but I hang moth balls all around the trailer from mesh bags. I used to put them inside the boat, but i dont think there is a creature on earth that can take the smell of those things. It takes forever to get the smell out too! I also use the dryer sheet trick on the inside of the boat. Keeps everything smelling clean and fresh.

You could probably put moth balls inside the engine compartment, without too much smell taking over the entire boat. I prefer to keep them on the outside.

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2006 Vista 278
First Boat:
2005 Sundowner 205
Columbus, OH

We use moth balls in the cockpit, in two places, kept in plastic bowls, and then spread dryer sheets throughout the cabin. My previous boat, we kept in a shed, in the middle of a horse pasture, and with this setup, never had a known mouse issue..

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2004 Four Winns 328 Vista
1997 Larson Cabrio 290 - sold
1988 Rinker Fiesta Vee 248 - sold

I am leery on using moth balls, I bought boxes and boxes and put them all over my 2 sheds, garage, and around the house and I still got mice. What made it worse was the mice were attracting snakes.. UGH!! I hate snakes... I didn't put any moth balls out this year and I haven't seen any snakes and very few mice.
I am more concerned with the engine compartment anyways. I don't want moth balls in the cabin they smell terrible. Maybe the combination of everything is the way to go.
btw, birds eat moth ball, I since stopped putting them around outside because it kills them.

_________________
--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

Most commercial rodent killers use a diuretic based poison to kill mice - hence, if you have a water source, you just have lots of well fed mice that pee all over everything. Others use an anti-coagulant that makes the mice bleed to death, so you still have a bunch of dead mice to deal with.

Mice in winter are looking for 2 things: Food and shelter, and will chew their way into anyplace providing them such. Therefore it is best to seal any entrances as tightly as possible with something they cannot chew through. A Wrap may help your boat, but they may just chew through it and have an even better place to sit out the winter.

My best solution to prevent mice in our house and cars was to use multiple items. A battery powered ultrasonic repellent, peppermint oil sprayed near known entrances, and some Evac or Fresh cab pouches scattered around areas they would likely nest. We finally also put a multi trap (traps up to 30 at a time - they go in and can't get out) to get any that made it through to the inside of our truck we stored. With all of that we found one in the multi trap over a 4 year period, and it may have been a fluke because the battery was dead on the repellent and we had a hard rain that washed away the peppermint oil right after we sprayed it.

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2008 Four Winns h180 Bowrider
3.0 Volvo Penta

2013 Dodge Durango HEMI

We had a mouse in our attic; last winter I got it in the end with an old fashioned mouse trap ( my parents had rats in their attic once, due to a botched up house extension/ drains; I had to use a gin trap to get them and had to wire the bait to the pad so they could not remove it). Anyhow, re mice, we bought a couple of ultrasonic mouse repellers; absolutely useless and annoyed the hell out of my wife and 22 year old daughter who could hear them.: ( I couldn't !). The repellers would have been more effective if I'd thrown them at the mouse.

If you have a shed, your best bet is to get an outdoor cat or two. I keep my boat slipped year around but we have a drive-under garage and they always found a way in and even ate the wires to one of our cars one time. I tried everything to get rid of them (traps and poison) and then the wife found three abandoned kittens and after raising them, we put them in the garage (with a cat door to go outside) and no more mice. We even go on vacation for 7 to 9 days at a time and leave them down there with plenty of food and water and they have always been fine.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

I used to pay out the nose for exterminators until I talked to one of their employees. In short, don't ever put poison anywhere you don't want mice or rats. All poisons are bait based and attract them.

Use the outdoor bai stations and place along outside perimeter. Like the restaurants do. They forage daily and it will pull them out of house, storage etc. I live in middle of pasture and crop land and have 8 stations around house, barns and garage. I use the cubes and can get it all at TSC or feed store fairly cheap.

Plus I use dryer sheets inside boat. This has worked for me and I have seen rats that would kill a cat before I started this.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I was worried about the bait in the boat, the outdoor restaurant stations sound like a great idea. I think a combination of dryer sheets and peppermint in the cabin and moth balls in the engine compartment and the bait stations outside would be my best chance. I don't think traps inside the boat will work since I won't visit every week to empty them.

_________________
--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

RE: Cats = bad idea.

Those cats will get into your boat and pee and poop all over everything they can. Rotten filthy animals. They may also decide to reproduce inside your boat.

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2008 Four Winns h180 Bowrider
3.0 Volvo Penta

2013 Dodge Durango HEMI

So far so good.
I put 2 boxes of moth balls in the engine compartment. I happened to find ones prepackaged in little net bags. Like a bag of marbles.
I put dryer sheets and cotton balls with peppermint all over the cabin(smells good). I will check and refresh the peppermint every couple/three weeks.
I also put some bait stations outside not too close to the boat.
I will report back in the spring if this worked or not.

_________________
--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

This is what we have- Our barn is divided. One third is horse barn with a hayloft, the other two thirds is boat storage / workshop. We have three barn cats that the kids love (I can't stand them). They do a good job at keeping mice and other vermin away. Never had an issue in three years with cats and the boat. I'm not sure how they would even get in the boat since they would need to jump about 6 feet to get into it when it sits on the trailer. Boat is covered itself within the barn too. Besides chewing through the cover, the only open access point for a mouse would be through the exhaust- I usually keep a couple plastic bags tied over the prop / exhaust, since that is near the ground in the down position.
The cats are also a great resource to take care of old leftovers! LOL

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-Andrew

1984 Four Winns 225 Sundowner
5.0L Mercruiser, Alpha 1

Cats can jump ridiculously high. I had a 19' that I covered with a blue tarp. I was just a kid and didn't have any $$. The front was open a little since it is hard to wrap and the tarp was not really long enough. It was maybe a one foot opening. I watch a neighborhood cat jump from a stand still up about 8' into the bow through the opening. The boat was on a slope and I had it tipped so the trailer was off the ground in the front about 4 feet. It was amazing and very smelly when I opened the boat in the spring. Stupid cat!!! By the time I saw him do that it was the spring time and he already made himself a home. No mice though.. LOL!

_________________
--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

Yikes! I keep the boat covered with my mooring cover- cats would need to claw their way in! Luckily we have many other spots in the barn that are much more appealing to the cats. I agree that they are a pain in the ass, but they are a good solution for our place (wooded acreage, rural area, horse barn, etc.) If I had a suburban or urban place I may have a totally different opinion.

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-Andrew

1984 Four Winns 225 Sundowner
5.0L Mercruiser, Alpha 1

Just wanted to report back. I saw another post about mice and boats.
I opened the boat up this spring and everything was good. no signs of mice as far as i can tell. No evidence left behind. I looked at the bait traps I left around 10-30 ft in all directions from the boat and a couple had some visits.
I will repeat this process from now on and the boat smelled pretty good when I opened it from the dryer sheets. The engine compartment stunk of moth balls but the smell didn't creep into the cabin.

_________________
--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson