When Mike and Debbie Morgan woke to find signs of a rodent stowaway on their boat, they quickly and decisively acted to capture the furry intruder.
“Rat in My Kitchen,” a classic by UB40, took on a entirely new significance during their sailing trip in Greece this year. While cruising through picturesque anchorages, basking in stunning sunsets and breathtaking views, thoughts of a rodent infestation were far from my mind. However, our tranquil journey was soon disrupted by the arrival of an unwelcome new crew member.
Sailing from the TRNC (Northern Cyprus) to Montenegro were my wife Debbie and our good friends Peter and Carol. After a lovely sail across the Cyclades, we took a shortcut through the Corinth Canal into the Gulf of Corinth en route to Corfu.
Before leaving the Gulf, we decided to stop at the charming town of Messolonghi – a place Peter had visited previously – situated on the Gulf’s north side, accessed by a channel about three nautical miles inland. At the end of the channel, a bay opens up with a marina to the port and a town quay to the starboard side.
We always anchor, but for the first time on this trip, we decided to dock at the town quay and carefully motored Spirit, our Bavaria C57, alongside. Once our lines were secured and the customary “arrival gin and tonics” were enjoyed, we ventured into town looking for traditional Greek cuisine and to soak in the ambiance.
Little did I know, while we savored the local dishes, a stowaway stealthily made its way aboard. The following day, we departed for Lefkas, unaware that we had an unexpected guest, to drop off Pete and Carol, who were flying back home to Cyprus.
It was the next morning our suspicions were aroused upon finding a half-eaten apple in the fruit bowl. Puzzled, we speculated that perhaps small birds boarded and feasted on the fruit.
That was wishful thinking. The next day revealed more chewed fruit, along with several rodent droppings on the galley counter. My heart sank; I had read about the significant harm rodents can inflict on a boat’s wiring and dreaded what could be next. We were now anchored in Nidri Bay on Lefkas and needed to act.
After extensive internet research, we developed a battle plan and headed to the local garden center to acquire rat-catching supplies. While humane traps were preferred, my Buddhist principles had to be sidelined for this mission as our only pest-control options were various forms of poison.
I purchased their entire stock.
Back on board, we widespread the poison throughout the boat, not only inside the cabin but in every bilge and crevice we could access. The next day, we found more fruit had been consumed, along with droppings spread all over the boat.
Further urgent action was required. A friend was flying in the next day to join us for a couple of weeks, so we requested she bring some spring traps in her checked luggage. It was a peculiar request, but she didn’t question it.
We set the traps and went to bed. The next morning, we awoke to discover our unwanted guest dead, right in the fruit bowl he had been enjoying for a week. The spring trap had done its grim duty.
The rat was quite sizable, measuring about nine inches from nose to tail. We took him outside and, with a few fitting words of acknowledgment and sorrow (as I truly dislike hurting any creature), we laid him to rest with a sea burial off the boat’s stern.
Our minds, however, were still not at ease. Our concern was that he might have had friends aboard. For the next few days, we watched the boat for any signs of continued trouble. It appeared the issue was resolved, and we were content. But not so fast.
We intended to leave Nidri the next day to meet friends in a bay on the Greek mainland, and upon trying to power up my electronics, I found something was amiss. While we had power, there were no data readings – nothing at all. No compass, autopilot, or wind instruments expressed anything but error messages. Clearly, our furry friend had caused some damage before his untimely end.
I spent the next several hours searching the boat for damaged wiring. Amazingly, I discovered a chewed cable belonging to the gyrocompass under one of the aft cabin bunks. Thankfully, the marina nearby had an electrician who specialized in repairing Bavaria yachts and who was knowledgeable about our B&G Naviops electronics. The next day, he arrived aboard and got to work repairing the damage. An hour later, we powered up the systems and breathed a massive sigh of relief as everything functioned once more.
We were ready to continue our journey; however, we soon discovered that our fuel gauges were not registering and one of the galley fans was malfunctioning. I decided to live with these minor issues until our next haul-out.
Overall, I consider myself fortunate there was not greater damage – I shudder to think about what he could have done had we not eliminated him. Now, I take rodent infestations very seriously. It was a lesson in boat management I never thought I would need. Consider yourselves warned.
Regarding prevention – if a rodent wishes to visit, I’m unsure how much you can do to stop it. I’ve even heard that prevention discs on mooring lines won’t deter them. My new approach is straightforward and rigorously followed, whether at anchor or docked.
Close all hatches and platforms when leaving the boat to ensure every hatch is secured, the companionway is closed, and the transom platform is raised if applicable.
If you possess a passerelle, devise a pulley system to elevate it off the dock, regardless of whether you’re on board or ashore.
Ensure internal bins are emptied each night and dispose of trash either ashore or in a sealed bag in the cockpit if at anchor.
Always keep food sealed and stored in lockers, using containers for items like pasta and rice.
Do not delay washing dishes until the next morning; always clean up and sanitize surfaces thoroughly before turning in.
At night, we always keep mosquito nets drawn over open hatches and the companionway closed.
Boats are typically watertight and should be rodent-proof. If a rodent does manage to get onboard, it will likely only access the deck, which I check before opening up, especially in marinas or at town quays.
If you spot signs of an unwelcome visitor, address the issue immediately. Ensure you have a range of traps and pest-control products ready on board.
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