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Keeping the birds off

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Robert
1st Mate

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USA
75 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/12/2005 : 18:48:27

Our marina has a problem with swallows for a few weeks every summer. While visiting my son who is a part owner of Summerland winery on California's Central Coast, I saw the workers as they tied mylar tape to poles in the vinyards. I got the idea that if it worked in the vinyards that it would work on the boat. I went to OSH and purchased some mylar tape that they had in the gardening department. I got the kind that is red on one side and silver on the other. I tied strips that were 18" long to wooden clothes pins and placed them at key points on the rails and lines. My boat was the cleanest boat in the harbor until everyone else started doing it. Evidently, the mylar flapping in the wind resembles fire and they avoid it. Using clothes pins make the easy to remove and adjust.

2WX@55

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simonhayes
1st Mate

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USA
34 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2005 : 23:30:24

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Robert
 Our marina has a problem with swallows for a few weeks every summer. While visiting my son who is a part owner of Summerland winery on California's Central Coast, I saw the workers as they tied mylar tape to poles in the vinyards. I got the idea that if it worked in the vinyards that it would work on the boat.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Interesting idea - I actually have seen a few boat hang up old CDs as they rotate and refract the light and have a similar effect.
I am thinking of doing this on my boat since I came back to discover that a finch had built a nest in the back of my mainsail

Seems like a well furled mailsail makes a nice protected shelter, especially with the cover on. They can fly up between the open folds of the cover and be very hidden until some spoilsport comes along and take the cover off. I am not sure who was more surprised - the bird or me ! I have made sure to tie up the open areas very well since and am planning to install CD/shiny things to deter them.
- Simon

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frankr
Captain

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256 Posts

Response Posted - 07/13/2005 : 12:57:11

This year I tried the CD's hung from cords on the bimini bracket, end of boom, mid boom and off a lifeline between the mast and jib. So far we seem to have a lot less guano on the decks and mailsail cover. Also no swallows have tried to build nests inside the mailsail cover at the boom end.

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Capt. Kurt
Navigator

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185 Posts

Response Posted - 07/14/2005 : 12:37:42

I've heard you can use fake rubber snakes to scare off birds, but after a few days they start to figure it out. You have to move it around every so often.

Kurt
#818 C250WK 'Tortuga'

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Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/14/2005 : 17:47:53

So what do you use to keep the snakes off your boat

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Capt. Kurt
Navigator

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185 Posts

Response Posted - 07/14/2005 : 19:47:25

No snakes yet, but I did find a large scorpion in my boat box! I hope the hull is too slipper for them to crawl up the side and into the boat!

Kurt
#818 C250WK 'Tortuga'

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tmhansen
Captain

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USA
397 Posts

Response Posted - 07/17/2005 : 23:32:07

Robert the mylar tape does give the vineyard an interesting look as all the tapes sparkle in the sun doesn't it.

Speaking of snakes. Two weeks ago we took the kids to a local lake with their Sabot & El Toro. My daughter and I spotted a snake swimming in the water so hoped into her boat to investigate. It turned out to be a rattlesnake with about 8 buttons on its tail. He was shaking it for us but it does not make any noise when damp appearently. We hailed the fishermen on shore in his path and warned them to give him a wide stretch of beach to land on.

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BobKotch
Deckhand

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USA
2 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2005 : 18:00:55

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by tompotter
 So what do you use to keep the snakes off your boat

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

If your boat has dock lines then you can have snakes if they want to come aboard. I had a five foot Texas Rat snake in my mainsail. When I hoisted the main he dropped out on the cabin top. He saw
me and retreated to the cockpit. I was about to let him have a 1983 Catalina 25 went he went overboard. What really bothered me was the fact that I spent the night on the boat and the weather was nice so I left the hatch and the companionway open all night. If that sucker had gotten in that V berth with me I would have either died or wrecked that boat trying to get out of it...

Bob Kotch

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Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/23/2005 : 08:01:16

Your a brave man Bob...

I gotta believe I would have jumped over and let him have her.

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