Rat plate
A rat sheet or rat plate is used in seafaring so that rats in the harbor cannot come on board a boat or ship via a mooring line . It is often a circular sheet with a diameter of about 1 m and a slot from the edge to the center so that the sheet can be placed on the mooring line. After attaching the slot points downwards. The sheet metal is somewhat conical and is attached with the cone point towards the ship. Rat plates are usually placed near the ship's hull, less often near the bollard .
Since rats can also get on board by other means (e.g. via cargo), in addition to prophylaxis using rat plates, from an epidemic hygiene point of view, further control measures (e.g. fumigation of the holds with hydrogen cyanide ) may be necessary.
On yachts, a plastic bottle cut open lengthways is often used as a substitute, which is placed on the mooring line and rotates around the rope when a rat jumps on it.
