Rat problem

[tailwaters]

I discovered this past weekend I have a big problem living in my boat, RATS! I was able to kill one using an old fashion spring trap the first night. Since then, nothing. I know there has to be more than just one in it and need to figure out how to eradicate them. Poison is not an option for several reason. The main one being I don’t want them crawling into a drain pipe to die. Mouth balls, sonic noises and scents don’t work from what I’ve read. The only thing that does seems to work is smoke which brings me to my question. How would I go about smoking these vermin’s out? I have a 23’ Grady cuddy cabin boat if that helps. I would assume they are somewhere in the hull, under the floor. Any thoughts?

[FTReelty]

Set multiple traps-use peanut butter as bait, move traps around.

[red_yakker]

Trying to smoke them out seems unnecessarily dangerous and tedious. I've had much better luck with glue traps than spring traps in the past.
Peanut Butter as rat bait = It attracts well, and keeps them there longer, increasing likelihood of success.

[redbelly7]

can you fill the hull w/ water and stomp them when they appear? We used to do that around our grain bins as a kid. Stop up all holes except 2, fill one w/ water and wait for them to come out of the other one and shoot them or hit w/ bats, etc. A bunch of us kids us to gather around for a rat killing. BTW these were warf rats about the size of a small cat.

[Salty Gator]

can you fill the hull w/ water and stomp them when they appear? We used to do that around our grain bins as a kid. Stop up all holes except 2, fill one w/ water and wait for them to come out of the other one and shoot them or hit w/ bats, etc. A bunch of us kids us to gather around for a rat killing. BTW these were warf rats about the size of a small cat.

I like it

[tailwaters]

Thanks for the advise fellas! I've been using traps baited with peanut butter the last 4 days. Just got the one so far. When I opened the compartment under the top that holds my life jackets it was if it started to snow. They crewed up ever one of them.

Filling up the hull with water sounds interesting but not sure if it would work on my boat. My two front seats have several compartments under them giving the rats a place to hide. It would clean out the hull which I know needs to be done.

One of the thoughts I had about smoke was using one of those things bee keepers use. The other is lighting a couple smoke bombs, put them in a kitchen pot and placing it under the deck. Maybe even putting a fan at the other end to suck the smoke through.

I'll probable just use the traps a couple more days to see what happens. Just want to make sure they are all gone. I read 2 rats can become 10,000 within a year. I think I'm going to have nightmares after reading that article.

I also need to figure out where their nest is. I don't want those pieces from my life jackets to clog up my bilge pumps if they are needed some day.

[JIm Smith]

try using the glue traps that's what we have gone to where we store our seeds here at our wear house ,Ramik rat works great

[leonreno]

One trick you can try is putting out glueboards without pulling off the cover on the sticky part. The rats will get used to them and will start walking over them. Then pull the cover off and the next time they walk over it they will get caught.

[GaryDroze]

I wonder how a grilled rat would taste...

[Salty Gator]

I wonder how a grilled rat would taste...

Sewer rat might taste like pumpkin pie, but I wouldn't know cause I wouldn't eat the filthy mfer.


Is there anything you won't eat Gary. You are one hard core dude
Probably taste like squirrel

[onefishtwofish]

I wonder how a grilled rat would taste...

They taste a lot like Manatee. Or Bald Eagle.

[reelsorry2]

Try the "Ketch all rat trap. No baiting, they walk in and get flipped to a holding cell drop in a bucket of water until bubbles are gone will catch 8 to 10 rats at a time. The last on I bought was around 20$ last a life time.

[red_yakker]

I wonder how a grilled rat would taste...

They are not that great grilled. They don't have enough fat, and the meat dries out really quick. I've never tried wrapping it in bacon, but it may be OK.
Eating rat requires a few extra steps.
First, you have to use a live trap. Go to a pet store and buy a hamster/gerbil cage, water nipple, feed bowl, toys, etc...
Assuming you have a jar of bacon grease in the cabinet above your stove, soak some gerbil food in warm bacon grease overnight.
This is what you'll be feeding the rat for the next 6 months.
After 6 months, the rat should weigh between 8-10 ounces. If you can still make out his neck, he ain't put on enough weight yet.
Once your rat has reached full-eatin size, go ahead and put on a pot of water and bring it to about 185°. Rat is best scalded and not skinned.
I built myself a little rat guillotine to kill them quickly and efficiently, but this is where you can get creative and come up with your own method of ethical harvest. (BTW, save the heads for rat head cheese. It is a delicious snack that is surprisingly easy to make!)
Once the rat is scalded and gutted, you are ready to start preparing your meal!
Carefully carve the backstraps and tender-loins from the carcass and set aside.
Either discard the rest of the carcass, or place in the freezer to use later for soup stocks
Carefully slice the backstraps and tender-loins into 1/16 inch slices. Be sure to cut at a 45°angle, across the grain to ensure the steaks are tender.
Bread and fry with your favorite flour mix at 375° for about 4 seconds.
If you don't believe me, try it at Thanksgiving for the whole family. I promise, you will be the talk of the town for years to come

[leonreno]

I wonder how a grilled rat would taste...

They are not that great grilled. They don't have enough fat, and the meat dries out really quick. I've never tried wrapping it in bacon, but it may be OK.
Eating rat requires a few extra steps.
First, you have to use a live trap. Go to a pet store and buy a hamster/gerbil cage, water nipple, feed bowl, toys, etc...
Assuming you have a jar of bacon grease in the cabinet above your stove, soak some gerbil food in warm bacon grease overnight.
This is what you'll be feeding the rat for the next 6 months.
After 6 months, the rat should weigh between 8-10 ounces. If you can still make out his neck, he ain't put on enough weight yet.
Once your rat has reached full-eatin size, go ahead and put on a pot of water and bring it to about 185°. Rat is best scalded and not skinned.
I built myself a little rat guillotine to kill them quickly and efficiently, but this is where you can get creative and come up with your own method of ethical harvest. (BTW, save the heads for rat head cheese. It is a delicious snack that is surprisingly easy to make!)
Once the rat is scalded and gutted, you are ready to start preparing your meal!
Carefully carve the backstraps and tender-loins from the carcass and set aside.
Either discard the rest of the carcass, or place in the freezer to use later for soup stocks
Carefully slice the backstraps and tender-loins into 1/16 inch slices. Be sure to cut at a 45°angle, across the grain to ensure the steaks are tender.
Bread and fry with your favorite flour mix at 375° for about 4 seconds.
If you don't believe me, try it at Thanksgiving for the whole family. I promise, you will be the talk of the town for years to come

That would have been even funnier if I wasn't eating breakfast when I was reading it.

[tailwaters]

Thanks for all the suggestions fellas. Since getting the one the first night I haven't caught one since. The good news is I haven't seen any rat droppings in the boat since. It's hard for me to believe their was only one in their but maybe so. Now let's see if I can keep them out.