squirrels in the mainsail

kmulligan · Post by **kmulligan** » Sep 10th, '07, 11:48

Has anyone ever had problems with squirrels nesting between the mainsail cover and the main? Three sailors with dockside boats on our canal have sustained major sail damage from the varmints in the past year. My CD 28 is the latest victim with a half dozen holes, one my head will fit through.
I'm going to ask the sailmaker who repairs my main if there are any modifications he can make to my Doyle stack pack cover to make it impenetrable at either end. Has anyone ever had any success with repellant-spray, powders, pellets, traps, etc.
A neighbor who lost a new mainsail on his Bristol 34 has declared all squirrels to be members of Al Quaeda and plunks at them with a pellet rifle. I would like to take a more conservative approach. Any suggestions?
Kevin Mulligan
CD 28 # 226, "Skibbereen"
Crystal River, Fl.

rtbates · Post by **rtbates** » Sep 10th, '07, 13:35

good luck with squirrels. I've been doing battle at my house for years without much luck. As for the main sail cover doing any good, it won't. When I block off their path with 3/4 cedar boards, they chew through it in a matter of days. The only thing that I have found that will block their path is wire mesh. And once they find a home they return and what's worse, so will their offspring. A pellet gun is the only defense that I've found that even milding deters them. Maybe a baited live trap left in your cockpit might work for awhile. Unfortunately my experience is that they learn real fast. Rats with fuzzy tails.

jacka · Post by **jacka** » Sep 10th, '07, 14:47

has anyone tried those large blow up snakes?

Joe Myerson · Post by **Joe Myerson** » Sep 10th, '07, 15:12

If the squirrels eat your rubber snake, or ignore it, you might try this:

Once, years ago, after squirrels ate all our strawberries, we scattered mothballs around the garden.

It kept the squirrels away, but the berries tasted like mothballs!

Since you won't be eating your mailsail, and you don't want the squirrels to do so either, maybe you could wrap a few mothballs in the sail or slip some under the cover.

And, it will keep those Dacron-nibbling moths at bay, too.

Good luck.

--Joe

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Sep 10th, '07, 16:03

Yes, mothballs. It works for me, too.

O J

John Danicic · Post by **John Danicic** » Sep 10th, '07, 16:10

I have found that fabric softener tissues, the kind that you throw in the dryer, (like Bounce) keep critters away during winter lay-up. They don't like the smell. It works for voles and mice. Not sure about squirrels but may be worth a try. I hang them all over the boat, in the lockers, cabinets and any openings where the critters might find their way in. A box goes a long way.

Sail on.

John Danicic
CD 36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior

Tod Mills · Post by **Tod Mills** » Sep 10th, '07, 21:13

neck of the woods. Around here, mothballs won't even faze a red squirrel. Those little fellows will chew right through mothballs to get to what they are after, no kidding.

If the critters are chewing sails DURING sailing season then clearly the boat is spending too much time at the dock. If, due to extenuating circumstances, the boat must remain docked, then the squirrels need to be ...er...removed.

During the off-season, everthing on the boat that could be thought of as possible bedding material gets removed and brought into a spare room in the house.

Sea Hunt · Post by **Sea Hunt** » Sep 10th, '07, 21:43

Kevin:

Plunking at squirrels with a pellet gun will have little deterrent effect. I recommend a Remington M700 chambered in .223 Rem. (about 55 grain load should do well but you can go up to about 90 grains if you want to really punish them) with almost any Leupold scope (7x39 mm, 9x40 mm, 9x50 mm).

Any "collateral" holes placed in the main can be grommetted (sp?) and stitched and used as new "reef points".

Fair winds,

P.S. To the "Board":

I sincerely apologize in advance for my belligerent tone toward squirrels if it offends anyone. I just received bad news about two CD 25Ds that I had hoped to look at - one this week in Florida and, if I did not buy her, then one the end of September in New England. One now sold for sure. The other is under contract.

My friend Jack Daniels and I are going to get well acquainted later this week.

Ron M. · Post by **Ron M.** » Sep 11th, '07, 07:36

Sea Hunt,
How big are squirrels in Fla.? jeez.
10 pumps on a Crossman will put a bb completely through a #10 can full of water @ 50 yards......it will also drop a tree rat like a turd.
________
HONDA NSR50 SPECIFICATIONS

Carl Thunberg · Post by **Carl Thunberg** » Sep 12th, '07, 12:33

I really hope there aren't too many animal rights people lurking on this board because of what I might be branded as by advocating this, BUT, it works. Place a 5-gallon bucket in your cockpit. Fill it half full of water and toss a handful of sunflower seeds on the surface of the water. The squirrels are just dying to get at those seeds

rtbates · Post by **rtbates** » Sep 12th, '07, 13:05

build one of these http://www.meshly.com/post/squirrel_slingshot

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Sep 12th, '07, 16:49

Hi all,

Years ago, there was an oft-quoted line "My old man can beat your ol' man", cannot, can too, cannot, can too......

Well Tod, I sez that these pit bull whomping squirrels we have up here in Oswego can lick those wussy, red squirrels that are in Ohio with one leg tied behind their back. I think that ours are on steroids.

Any who, maybe it's a good idea to put the sails, cushions and any other such articles inside in the garage or cellar to prevent any kind of varmint from making a home in them for the winter.

Ah yes, the times they certainly are a-changin'.

When I was a young boy in school, squirrels were considered a nuisance, public enemy #1. Almost all boys, by the time they were 12 years old, were a dead shot with their 22 rifles. Until he reached that age, he was lethal with a sling shot that was homemade from the crotch of a tree branch, rubber bands cut from an old, rubber, auto, innertube and the leather tongue of an old shoe. Yes, we were good shots.

Every kid in the "gang" had a dog, (whether he owned it or not.) Nobody ever trained these dogs, but they knew on their own to run to the opposite side of a tree when they saw a squirrel in it. The squirrel would be flushed out and come around to our side of the tree and get picked off.

Every kid carried a jackknife. The guys in the "gang" had the greatest fun chasing the neighborhood girls with a cut off squirrel's tail. The more they screamed, the more we'd tease them.

We were super cool. We all had a squirrel's tail fixed to each handlebar of our bikes. I even had them attached to my little brothers tricycle handlebars.

Un huh. We were sump'n else. It's too bad we had to grow up.

O J
Maybe next winter I'll tell you about the muskrats.

jacka · Post by **jacka** » Sep 14th, '07, 08:51

Hey! Don't forget about using marbles for ammunition (after marble season, of course)--Now there was some stopping power for those "bushy tails" and the "steelies" were the best.

jacka

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Sep 14th, '07, 09:06

Hi jacka,

Steelies, yeah. As good as deer slugs. Haven't come across that term for a Bowley in years.

Same goes for aggies, pureys or cat's eyes.

Thanks for the memories,
O J

rtbates · Post by **rtbates** » Sep 14th, '07, 14:14

CAUTION: Squirrel lovers do NOT open

Or one of these puppies http://rjdudley.com/media/squirrel_launcher.wmv

The Cape Dory Board

squirrels in the mainsail

squirrels in the mainsail

Mothballs?

Squirrels

hah! you guys must have some wimpy squirrels in your...

Maybe you could use a 20 gauge

Squirrel Control

The Times They Are A-Changin' (Dylan)

don't forget

Steelies For Squirrels