Keeping critters out

C

cptvic

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Nov 13, 2017
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C Dory Year
2006
C Dory Model
22 Cruiser
Vessel Name
c-pearl
Anyone block the excess space where wires enter the cabin?
1st time in 30yrs of being a boat owner and in the same marina we ended up with a mouse! We did catch it but am thinking that is an easy access for entry. Thanks cptvic
 
That ended being the mystery portal through which mosquitoes got at us at night - I was up at 2am with a flashlight plugging every hole I could (hawse pipe, below-door bilge hatch, etc.) and getting nowhere until I figured this out. Strategically place tea towel gained us the rest of that night's sleep.
 
Never had the problem myself, but I know some people have used steel wool jammed into the wiring access hole as a way to slow down mice.
 
From my days with tractors and an old beater pickup, I recommend a rodent bait chunks somewhere in vulnerable vehicles. No rodents, no nibbling, they will last for years. In mosquito territory seal them out with whatever, I noticed it had been done in electrical chases from the cabin to cockpit in my boat. It was not a problem on the Puget Sound. When I was backpacking in the Cascades (or when in Alaska), I used pyrethrum spray or Arctic Incense, lit one end of a spiral. Health problems with that, I preferred to facing biting insects in the present.
 
Steel wool will rust. I have used SS (have to check to be sure they are really SS) scouring pads. Also you can foam in the opening with "Great Stuff". (Also used as a temporary patch for a small hole in the bottom of the boat!).

Bronze wool is also a good material, but it is softer than SS, and some times the critters just chew thru it.
 
I had a couple of minks break into my boat in her slip in Sitka, Alaska, one winter while I was out of town for a few days. Came back to a mess—chewed wiring, shredded cushions. flooded cabin from chewed water lines.

Never figured out exactly how they got in but suspected the wiring run. One hunting buddy suggested steel wool. Another suggested steel traps.

I caught them and relocated them without difficulty, but never managed to get them to pay for the damages.
 
I use bronze wool held with duct tape over it. No critters aboard since doing that. I did find that mice can come and go via the hawser pipe (even with the lid down). Bronze wool there too and a closed off anchor locker.
 
I have seen frisbies used on dock lines and shore power cords. Keep boat clean of any lingering food crumbs or smells. I have watched an otter on the swim platform of a fishing boat trying to get up the transom. Wash down and sanitize after a fishing trip.
 
I used the spray expanding foam. (The "Great Stuff" that Bob referred to.) During the winter months, a box of Bounce Fabric Sheets spread around seemed to work. Colby
 
We've spent the last 10 winters in our 5th wheel and have learned that "great stuff" expandable insulation works very well for that. something else that mice will avoid is Bounce Fabric Softener sheets that you throw in the dryer. Just stuff one in areas you think might be an access. Seems weird, but mice wont go near it even with peanut butter next to it. For larger openings I used fine hardware cloth in about 1/4' mesh.
 
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