How to get rid of a rat on board

[Squanderbucks]

Don't give up after one is caught. You can pretty well be sure that where there is one there is a group. Depending on how long it was on board before you noticed it is an important factor.
Also if "it" was a female you can be pretty certain that before long you will have more even if she came aboard alone.

I had this problem a few years ago and I had to put stainless steel screens over each air vent hole under the chrome scoops and close up with fiberglass sheet air circulation areas around my aft cockpit. Took a while but has paid off. No rats in years. Used almost all the methods outlined above- sticky traps, electric traps, victor traps -- if you get an infestation any one particular method will only work once or twice - maybe three times if you have a particularly stupid group but your have to play their game and keep using different traps and bait combinations.

Once all were gone and holes closed the entire boat was emptied, all floor boards removed, hatches opened and any insulation with signs that they nested under it removed. You will likely find a few bodies in various states of dehydration if this has been going on for any length of time.
Then with a portable electric compact power washer the inside of the boat was cleaned, flushed and sanitized.

Not a job that wants to be done repeatedly. Need to stay alert and on top of these things at first sign.

[atoll]

tie up next to a super yacht.......the rat will soon leave for richer pickings!

this really happened to us coming up the red sea,after weeks of terrorising this poor rat we tied up in suez on the fore and aft moorings,later in the evening a large expensive yacht tied up behind us.......next morning...no more rat problems,both the rat and the super yacht were gone!

[Capt Jerry]

First you need to know if its a rat or a mouse. Actually rats are pretty smart, and that's why they are hard to catch in a trap. Mice are curious and easy to catch. The large victor snap trap will work with rats, the small one for mice. For rats, bait the trap with peanut butter, but do not set the trap mechanism. Check the trap regularly (once a day) and when the rat has eaten the peanut butter off, bait it again and set it this time. If you've got mice, you don't have to bother with pre-baiting. The mouse's curiosity will be his downfall.

[Lepke]

Best rat trap I've found. Bait lasts 6 months.
https://www.automatictrap.com/shop/a24-kit
Also on ebay.

[LoudMusic]

Originally Posted by Fence Man

Now we're cookin with gas!

I walked through a construction site one time and spotted a few of the guys sitting on upside down buckets staring at a microwave that was plugged into a gasoline generator. Now THAT'S cookin' with gas!