Rodents

[Dawgmining]

Hoser is right


but they do git hungrry

[Flourchild]

I knocked two golf ball size holes in mine 2yrs ago I sanded around the holes scrubbed with alcohol and used water weld on them I let that dry for 5 days then applied liquid nails to them it took three days for the nails to finally dry but it worked great just and stuck very well to the plastic to my dismay. Giver a try much cheaper than new toons and readily available at your local yocal wally world

[Dawgmining]

rats on a stick over a fire .....taste like gofer

[Rod1874]

I have had the rat problem with dredge pontoons & hoses!
I have thought one way to beat the critters would be to go with Aluminium pontoons, steel power Jet, maybe not store hoses on site over winter?
Precision dredge are coming back to production and thats one advantage of their gear!

Rod

[russau]

i store me dredges in my trailer at home. outta sight,outta mind. plus i can watch it!everything is stored in its own place and i dont have to load anything but me provisions when i go out!

[Plumas]

Russ

Location is remote, trail is long and leg burning brutal and at high altitude. Far easier to set up storage on the claims then pulling everything in and out each season. Hoses store in a large Sears and Roebuck car top cargo carrier, motors and such in a locking 'cross the back of a pickup' aluminum tool box and the rest in a steel barrel with a lid. All well away from the creek for added security.

I worry some about thieves but most folks take one look at my canyon and think forget it. I'll go up and check everything just before the first major winter storm hits then sleep peacefully all winter long knowing the nearest snowplowed road is 15 miles away and rip-offs do not use snowshoes.

I'd be more likely to sell the claims and all the equipment as a package then consider hauling everything out. But... I've learned the hard way that I either need to pack out those rat yummy pontoons every fall or come up with a rodent proof way to store them.

Plumas

[russau]

yep i understand about those remote locations and winter storage of equipment. weld up a metal box for your equipment and have it made so it can be bolted together from the inside and lockable! make this in ez and handy sections. then drag it to your location and put it together there.weld all of the external bolt heads to the container. this ought to slow them down,except for the wacoenviromentalists that come back with the tools they need to wreck everything!

[CalGoldDredger]

Plumas, sounds all too familiar. Flat landers need not understand.

I have always wanted to fly in a shipping container for our storage needs, but have had enough problems with the local Forest Service.

I agree, theives would be hard pressed to try to pack stuff out of the canyon. Not to say it couldn't be done. How 'bout my winch.

If I should need or want to leave equipment on any of the claims, such as a dredge. I would hang it up high away from the bears and the rodents, lesson learned, long ago.
I do always pack motors out regardless, exception would be the VW on the 8". That is where a hired heli air lift comes in handy.

I guess in killing off all the rattlesnakes, we are plaqued with a large rodent population, figures.
Boy and I hate those rattlesnakes! Dang it.

[Plumas]

Russ

I'd love to have a box like that! But been thinking more along the lines of an econo. 2X4 framed box with pre-cut roofing tin sides. Probably use a simple hasp and padlock to secure. Assemble it on site, need little more than the materials and a cordless drill to drive the screws. Maybe make it big enough to store my hoses too and get rid of that cheesy roof-top cargo carrier?

I'm blessed to not have a problem with environuts on my claims. Creek is too small to raft or kayak and the terrain is steep, access difficult. The Pacific Crest Trail runs on the ridge to my south but those people never seem to venture into the canyon.

In fact, the only person over the past six years to walk in on me unexpectedly is my friend Smithsgold who owns the claim above mine. I like it that way!

CalGoldDredger, I not sure if it's a case of we have a lot of rodents because we whack the rattlesnakes or, that we have a lot of rattlesnakes because we have a lot of rodents. But oh man, they are all out to get ya ain't they?

Plumas

[nebraskadad]

I had squirrels tearing up new aluminum gutter until bathed the gutters in WD-40 out of desparation.. Little turds haven't touched it in over a year.