Cockroaches - What Do You Do ?

[boatman61]

I like the 'Hotels'.... Check in... no Check out.... scatter in the bilges... and round the galley..

[motion30]

A month or so after returning to the chesapeake from south Fl I was ready to turn in for the nite when I spot this black beast about 3.5 to 4'' long all shinny and nasty,. well sleeps out. I manage with the help of a flashite and my topsider to clobber him. After getting help carrying the dead corpse out of my boat I realise there is never just one. Its now midnite and cant sleep so a search and destroy mission insues. Flashite in hand down in the bilge I go, half and hr later and bingo, I find the mate. It was a fight , not sure if I was gonna survive at times I finally did manage to get him down and choked him out Never saw another one So my suggestion......keep you topsiders handy

[zeehag]

boric acid so doesnt work in reality in boats AGAINST COCKROACHES. boats are way too wet f or htat stuff to properly functionand roaches eat it and live.. THEY INFESTED A BOAT I SAILED ON FOR a while-- had to use very very strong spray and roach motels. remember the damn things EAT candle wax and boric acid and survive---was witnessed by the owner of the boat i sprayed the hellout of. you must spray and bomb. they hide in the deepest places and eat the wires and other provisions. have fun. spray at base of mast--if keel stepped they will hide there-- spray into all th e lil hidey holes in the boat. good luck.

[sailinlee]

I went for the boric acid method. Very slow way. You need to keep the boat incredibly clean all the time and put the boric acid dust in all the lockers and anywhere you can. But I think that the number 1 thing is to keep the boat dry. They need fresh water to live. They thrive in dampness. I don't know if the boric acid worked or the North Florida winter did them in. They don't care for freezing cold either. Good luck!!!

lee

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by zeehag

boric acid so doesnt work in reality in boats AGAINST COCKROACHES. boats are way too wet f or htat stuff to properly functionand roaches eat it and live.. THEY INFESTED A BOAT I SAILED ON FOR a while-- had to use very very strong spray and roach motels. remember the damn things EAT candle wax and boric acid and survive---was witnessed by the owner of the boat i sprayed the hellout of. you must spray and bomb. they hide in the deepest places and eat the wires and other provisions. have fun. spray at base of mast--if keel stepped they will hide there-- spray into all th e lil hidey holes in the boat. good luck.

Sorry, Zee, but it does work in boats. Maybe not in Leaky Teakies, but it has worked in our experience.

For severe infestations, one can buy small tactical nukes from surplus stores in Russia, and they are quite effective. Do be sure to wax your topsides before use, though, or else you may experience crazing of the gel coat.

Cheers,

Jim

PS: Didn't know that the Boric acid worked on ants... must it be mixed with some sugary stuff to work on them, or will they be done in by the dry powder?

[zeehag]

jim, dahlingk..i was there--i saw it--i was there, and i am the reasonthe roaches left--i had better spraY-- you have to spray them... and roaches are not only wetlands dwellers -- have ye seen the roaches in th desert yet?? they are much much larger than are wetland roaches....deeesgusstinggg.....and they allll thrive on candle wax and wiring and such lovelies. have fun . btdt, jim cate, sorry. hate to disillusion ye.
btw--wasnt my boat, was a performance cruiser in gom-- mine isnt infested with ANYTHING.... i KNOW how to rid meself of pests. thankyou--leaky teakies are a lot drier than many performance cruisers while under way, especially when the leaky has been taken from the teaky....

[imagine2frolic]

Maybe it was the peanut butter, and not the boric acid that killed them?....hehehehehehe........i2f

[donradcliffe]

We bombed the hell out a performance cruiser 3 times, and the cockroaches raised their young on the fumes. The roach hotels showed us there was a problem, but did not get rid of them all. Finally used boric acid and sweetened condensed milk, and problem solved.

[zeehag]

i spray not bomb--is impossible to bomb a boat effectively with the built in and sdesigned in ventilation.... is why a GOOD spray is usable on lines and in boat. worked well. btdt. dont like it. boric acid isnt fast and doesnt keep away the eggs or babies. spray does. contact spray. not fog .. not bomb.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by zeehag

jim, dahlingk..i was there--i saw it--i was there, and i am the reasonthe roaches left--i had better spraY-- you have to spray them... and roaches are not only wetlands dwellers -- have ye seen the roaches in th desert yet?? they are much much larger than are wetland roaches....deeesgusstinggg.....and they allll thrive on candle wax and wiring and such lovelies. have fun . btdt, jim cate, sorry. hate to disillusion ye.
btw--wasnt my boat, was a performance cruiser in gom-- mine isnt infested with ANYTHING.... i KNOW how to rid meself of pests. thankyou--leaky teakies are a lot drier than many performance cruisers while under way, especially when the leaky has been taken from the teaky....

Zee, I'm not disillusioned... well, not about this subject anyhow. But, just because you had an unsatisfactory experience using boric acid on some boat or another doesn't mean that it does not work on boats in general.

In our "btdt" experience, boric acid in various forms HAS worked on our boats, and apparently it has worked for numerous other posters here. We're trying to help the OP find a way to deal with an infestation on his boat, and to categorically say that the boric acid will not work is a disservice to him.

Cheers,

[keyspc]

We are infested with the lil buggers!
Up here i cant catch any Geckos. only nontoxic thing I've ever found that gets rid of em. last batch got as big round as my thumb eating roachs.
maybe if i get a cat and dont feed it?
The dust does not work for my Lill german roachs. and yes for it to work the boat has to be imaculate and dry. I've two kids and a dog and shower drains in bilge. aint happing.
One time i tried the dust and mollasses/penut butter trick. used cheap dust and the buggers loved it! ate it all up and wanted more.

[SaltyMonkey]

I've used - bombs, boric acid, sterilizing bait trays (so they cant breed) poison traps.

Bombs worked the best. Followed by sterilization. But even these can be amune to some varieties. Never had much luck with boric acid, but I will try sometime the mix method.

Thai cockroaches are the worse I heard!

Agree about killing source of food.

Disagree about eggs and cardboard. Cardboard not only carries cockroaches in cracks, but they DO carry eggs inside. I've seen this many many times.

Cardboard boxes do NOT come on my boats. Moreover, I also take effort to dip produce in bleach solution, and remove labels on all cans etc. For other bugs and varmits

[zeehag]

toxins work. guaranteed.. read bottle of them.. they do work. every time, unlike the allegedly greener alternatives which occasionally function, kinda like lucas items.......and every cucaracha loves a different kinda poison.....

[allanpeda]

Originally Posted by skipmac

When you're off the boat spread boric acid around the cabinets, floors, etc. Much less toxic than a bomb.

Or you could keep a small hammer handy and take them out one by one.

Yes, Boric Acid.

[zeta]

couple of large geckos....