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flpnhndl



Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:18 pm    Post subject: This is a first Reply with quote

Went out to sail on Christmas Eve. 70 degrees, west wind 18-20. Pulled out the 6.0, pulled it out of the bag and a RAT had eaten up the luff sleeve in several places!!! Of all the crap that is stored in the garage the rat decided that the sail would be the best meal. I'm really pissed. I hope the little bastard dies a slow, painful death. I break gear, gear wears out, stuff happens with gear, but a rat eating your sail??? WTF?
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wynsurfer



Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 940

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rats, and mice don't eat the stuff, but shred anything up to make their nests to keep warm. We had dozens of volumes of books totally ruined by mice. Durring renovations, we found the nests, and there were the shredded books! I guess I,m lucky, If it was one of my sails, I would have been pissed! Got 2 cats now, no more mice. Also theirr front teeth never stop growing, they have to gnaw on things to wear them down.
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beaglebuddy



Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 1120

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There have been rats everywhere I have lived, I've tried traps with little effect. Now I always keep poison bait, it's in a plastic holder thingy so the pets can't get to it.
Poison is the only thing that works.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been happenning since the advent of sailboat sails.
Rats need a warm fuzzy shelter to live.
Your's is the 102,000 millionth time.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our pack rats in NM were a mixed blessing. They kept our yard picked free of huge dog logs and small prickly pears -- we never had to pick up after the 140-pound pooch or her 70# mate. No complaint there. HOWEVER, the entangled nests built of their prizes completely and densely packed the engine compartment of any vehicle not used almost daily, right up to the contours of the hood. Worse yet, they often added electrical wiring insulation to the blend, preferring fuel injector wiring. One guy had to have his Lincoln rewired twice at $5,000 a pop because of the bastards. I saw one rat run out of my garage dragging a mid-sized shiny wrench in its jaws. Annnnnd, or course, our local mice there carried the deadly hantavirus. Double whammy.
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geohaye



Joined: 03 Apr 2000
Posts: 1437

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I concur, these beasts seem to be really "into" working with your under-the-hood wiring. Car's right headlight failed AGAIN? Might not be the bulb.. Ahah! The wires have been gnawed into near-non-existence. And the telltale mini-poops are everywhere, of course.

I have never loved cats.
But even old, nearly-blind cats are quite effective hunters.........
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flpnhndl



Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The guy I was sailing with that day is an electrician and he said they crave salt, which would explain the $400 meal he had in my garage. Apparrently, the insulation in wiring has some salt content. He said when he has to do re-wiring for the above reasons mentioned, he notices they chew through the outer rubber coating and appear to go for the insulation. I agree on the poison route. "Tomcat" seems to work best.
Still pissed. Any end of seaon sales going on?
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jse



Joined: 17 Apr 1995
Posts: 1460
Location: Maui

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

beaglebuddy wrote:
There have been rats everywhere I have lived, I've tried traps with little effect. Now I always keep poison bait, it's in a plastic holder thingy so the pets can't get to it.
Poison is the only thing that works.


Unless you live in a wasteland, that is a very bad solution. I have found dead owls on my property, a result of them eating disabled rats and ingesting the poison that had disabled the rats they ate. I had one owl sent to a local wildlife agency for an autopsy and they confirmed that it had rat poison in its system. Rats that eat poison die a slow death (not that I mind that), but that leaves them vulnerable to predators like owls, cats, snakes, etc... And this usually spells doom for the predator. I personally think rat poison should be outlawed, but that's not going to happen. So education is the next option. Consider yourself educated. Alternatives to rat poison are the aforementioned traps, cats, owl boxes (very effective) and if you are fortunate to live where you can fire a gun, 22 caliber subsonic shells work and provide for your own entertainment. Just make sure you are aware of what's downrange.

Steve
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bred2shred



Joined: 02 May 2000
Posts: 989
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As said above, you're certainly not the first person to have a sail damaged by rats/mice.

If you store your sails in a garage, basement, attic, or shed, then you definitely need to protect them from mice. Keep your sails up off the ground and place some traps around the perimeter of the room (mice tend to travel around the edges of rooms). The same goes for any other soft gear like wersuits or bags. Mice love to chew up expensive equipment.

sm
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

flpnhndl wrote:
Any end of seaon sales going on?

Yes. My wife's cat's yours for the shipping. Wink
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