# mouse eating raft



## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

I seem to remember a thread on precautions for rabbits eating a raft but could not find it when I searched the forums...

Over the weekend I unrolled and pumped up my almost brand new, one time used, RMR raft and to my dismay found a small chew hole in the floor. I patched it on the spot and had a great float from Big Bend to Salida, but now need to deal with storage again. 

There was only a very small hole so the rodent didn't develop a taste for my PVC but I obviously can't let this happen again. I am thinking of making a plywood platform/base to hang from garage ceiling rafters. This could also slide in, to create an elevated storage shelf in my truck cap, but the important thing is protecting from vermin while in storage.

Should I build an entire plywood box to hang/ store the raft in? I am worried that if the raft is just hanging on a platform a mouse could somehow crawl down the rope from the ceiling rafter.

Also, I have never seen a mouse or scat in my garage, so I am not dealing with a major infestation. Although my garage is in a row of 6 individual but attached garage bays and I don't know what the neighbors are up to.

Any advice or insight to safe storage solutions will be appreciated.


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## InflatableSteve (Jun 12, 2013)

There are a few places that make boat bags. here is a link to the ones made by NRS.

NRS Boat Bag for Rafts,IKs and Cats at nrs.com


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## kengore (May 29, 2008)

I hang mine on a rafter suspended platform, as you suggest. I have had no rodent problems in a garage that definitely has mice and squirrels at ground level. I also wrap mine in a heavy oiled canvas tarp which may help.

I installed some well placed eye bolts in the rafters and use a block and tackle to lift the rubber into place.

Mice suck, I've had them eat ski boots, leather gloves and automobile wiring harnesses. Some say that an old tube sock filled with used kitty litter will keep them away.


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## bgarnick (Nov 16, 2006)

*Moth balls*

I have used moth balls to prevent mice damage in different situations...they don't seem to like the smell which suggests they are smarter than we think


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

Nothing on mice I do know that a fellow who showed up late and drunk for a Middle Fork trip spent half the night rigging with the doors open and stereo on in his brand new Yukon. Blackadar picked it up and took it to Salmon. After a week there the car was destroyed inside. A squirrel had found it's way into the rig and spent the week in there eating wiring before dying in the late June heat. Nothing worked. They finally got it hot wired somehow enough to drive. Nothing electrical inside worked. Power seats and windows, AC and fans, nothing on the dash at all, lights were shot. I think the brake lights somehow still worked and that was it. 

Insurance company totaled it if I remember right. 

But that's all I have. You just reminded me of the damage one determined rodent can cause. Good luck with your storage.


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## Stripperclip (Jan 16, 2012)

I had a family of mice living in my down sleeping bag during a time my bag was in my garage...I was so freaking pissed! Also I have a co-worker that had mice eating his wiring in his 2010 Toyota Tundra which his insurance paid for TWICE!!! He put capsin wiring wrap in his truck so far so good. Mice don't like to eat hot stuff. 

I would buy the biggest plastic container and see if the RMR will fit in it or maybe a large garbage can might work too.


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## sauksister (Jul 23, 2014)

Bgarnick's suggestion is the one I would give too. They stay clear of mothballs for some reason. Get a bag for it and throw a few in. That must have been a discouraging sight - glad you had a good trip after getting it fixed though.


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## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks for all the input! I am going to suspend it on a platform and mothball it. 

I don't think I have ever seen a plastic box big enough to fit the RMR unless I learn to roll it better, but I am going to keep that in mind.

Kengore: What do you mean by heavily oiled canvas? I like the canvas wrap idea but what kind of oil do you use/ how isn't that a greasy mess to deal with whenever you want to move it?

Also: to be extra careful with preventing rodents from crawling down the suspension ropes I am going to put upside down (small size) parking cones on the ropes to catch anything that tries to work its way down. Like the dish that prevents squirrels from getting to a bird feeder.


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## GratefulOne (Jun 12, 2010)

just fininshing up a 24 hour shift at work.... im going home to check my boat right now!!!


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## PhilipJFry (Apr 1, 2013)

Stripperclip said:


> I would buy the biggest plastic container and see if the RMR will fit in it or maybe a large garbage can might work too.


not a bad idea.. I store my big PVC above ground pool in one of those large curbside pickup garbage cans. A Raft would fit just fine in there. I duct tape the lid shut (but only because I store it outside) but that would be extra security from the mice.


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## portercassidy (Jun 10, 2010)

The thread title sounds like there is some raft that consumes mice regularly.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

portercassidy said:


> The thread title sounds like there is some raft that consumes mice regularly.



Poverty boats love vermin.


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


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## oarboatman (Jul 20, 2006)

You could find empty and clean 55gal barrels with a removable lid for around $20.


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## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

oarboatman said:


> You could find empty and clean 55gal barrels with a removable lid for around $20.


Like I said before- maybe I still need to learn to roll my 14' RMR better, but I doubt I could even get it in a 55 gallon barrel. But if I could, boy that would be sweet. Imagine just rolling the raft around in a barrel instead of heaving around a giant pile of folded rubber. I am also going to look into the giant trashcan idea, preferably one with wheels for the same reason.

As far as all of this "poverty boat" talk goes, I would consider Maravias Hysides and Aires to be the poverty boats... if I bought one of those I would be impoverished!


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## Schutzie (Feb 5, 2013)

Schutzie had a nasty rodent problem one winter in Portland. By that time he had moved to the dark side and owned a 20' SeaRay, which it turned out, a family of rodents thought would be a great winter home.

Schutzie did not think that.

They ignored his spring traps but ate his upholstery.
They ignored his bait traps but ate his carpet
They ignored his sticky traps but ate his wiring

A neighbor who grew up on a farm in Nebraska suggested bars of Irish Spring bar soap placed in a few spots inside the boat.

I was desperate

But it worked. Apparently mice, at least in Portland, prefer Zest. The entire family packed up and moved out within a day.


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## lodore (Mar 24, 2012)

Anyone have a photo of the damage? We have a great big hole through the tube and I can't tell if it's mice or puncture.


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## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

I don't because I patched over the hole. I could tell it was a mouse because of the tiny teeth grooves. (plus the scat around the garage was a clue) Think about what it would look like if you took a big toothy bite of cheese, and then look for that on a micro scale around the edges of your raft hole. Hopefully that helps.

As a follow up: i cleaned the crap out of my garage. Literally and figuratively. I found a few bags of chips, unopened, with a lot of mouse poop around them. Too bad they couldn't get through and decided to chew on my raft instead.

I also have the raft hanging on two big prussik loops and dispersed an 8 pack of Irish Spring soap around the garage per Shutzie's advice. Since then I have been mouse free. Thanks for all the advice everyone and good luck to those still being chewed on!


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## lodore (Mar 24, 2012)

Thanks for the info. No teeth marks. We don't have mice in our shed but I loaned my boat to someone who stored it for a while in a place that I know to be chalk full of mice. I just can't tell if it was mice or a puncture. Either way I don't float for a while until I get 'er patched up!


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## crjml5 (Mar 23, 2015)

To get rid of mice or mouses or whatever may be around anywhere in your house or garage try this:

Option 1
Peppermint Oil (pure as you can get) put on cotton balls and put in to baby food jars poke holes in the top an set around the areas you want to keep them out of.

Option 2
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint Castile liquid soap
water
mix to your desired consistanccey, mix and put in to a spray bottle and spray everywhere you want to keep those little creatures out of.

Those little creatures do not like the smell of peppermint. I have used it for years all over in my house, garage, shed, pantry and no little rotten creatures buggin. I am thinking that you could wash your boat with the soap and it would help keep them away from your boats.


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## Learch (Jul 12, 2010)

I've heard mothballs work well too. Had a friend with an infestation in his Scout II, a few mothballs got rid of them.


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## DoStep (Jun 26, 2012)

I've never smelled moth balls. Is it best to hold them by their wings or by their feet?


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## joecoolives (Jun 17, 2009)

I Had Some Mice Chew Through My Raft Bag, But Stopped At The Hypolon. Thank God!


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## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

I like the peppermint idea too. When I first came across the issue I used irish spring soap as well as moth balls. The balls made my garage smell terrible so after a week or two I figured they did their job, got rid of them and just keep the soap bars laying around now. And with a raft hanging from the rafters (that's why they call them rafters...) I feel pretty secure.


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

We had a bad mice problem in our garage a couple of years ago. But 2 free cats from the animal shelter have eliminated any sign of them. They live on a shelf and come and go as they please. If the coyotes get them we'll just get a couple more.


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## Whoapiglet (Aug 23, 2010)

I used to store a 14.3' Hyside pro ( bulky) in a used car top cargo carrier I got off of craigslist for $25. Pretty easy to find almost anywhere and already weather sealed and lockable. Left it in a corner of the yard for years with no issues. Mine was an old taller, squarish one (Sears maybe?) so it fit a raft better than the thin new aero yakima style.

Looked like this one

http://boulder.craigslist.org/for/4972877783.html


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## PhilipJFry (Apr 1, 2013)

lodore said:


> Anyone have a photo of the damage? We have a great big hole through the tube and I can't tell if it's mice or puncture.


a puncture would have a flap, and you could pretty much close the hole up. a chewed hole would not. And there would be pieces of the material laying about in a chewed hole.


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## kengore (May 29, 2008)

My tubes are stored in a couple of industrial shipping sacks I found here....
Used Super Sacks and Bulk Bags| repurposedMATERIALS- Repurposed Materials

These are made from a heavy duty fused material like a polypropelene tarp only much heavier. They are normally used to ship loose material like grain and fertilizer. You can get them new for about $40 or used for about $6. I needed to trim off some parts to make it into a giant sack. I double roll the top like a dry bag and close it up with some cam straps.

Also check out the recycled billboard material they sell as tarps. Makes a nice boat cover.


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## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

SKeen said:


> I used irish spring soap ...I feel pretty secure.


Looks like I jinxed myself big time. When I checked my garage the day after my previous post I found that a mouse had chewed on every bar of soap that I had left in the garage. This was the first sighting in a few months. The good news is that this time I haven't found anything else chewed except the soap. (just jinxed it again...)

My goal for the soap was to repel the mice all together instead of draw them in with bait (and risk them deciding to chew on something else while they're at it). But oh well, I finally just bought some kind of poison trap.


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## Whetstone (May 17, 2013)

All these incidents seem to occur with rolled boats as I'm hearing it. Is there any risk with boats stored inflated? Do the little bastards like one fabric over another? PVC over Hyphalon? What about urethane coated PVC (Maravia)?

Crooked River Whiskey. Not for everyone.


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## SKeen (Feb 23, 2009)

My boat is rolled (folded) I just don't have room to store it inflated. Maybe it would be hard for mice to chew the material due to the shape when inflated. I'm not really sure on that.


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