Captain, we have stowaways!

[BearfootBandit]

This is a plea for assistance from all long term survive-aboards. We are in desperate need of your wisdom. We are docked in Texas, preparing for the trip across the gulf to Panama, and we have been infested by little nasty biting cockroaches. We have tried literally every poison available- hotshot to bengal, black flag to raid- we've bombed the boat and we've put out borax and powdered sugar mixtures and borax and peanut butter balls. We're almost ready to burn the boat down, we are so disgusted. Its been two years and nothing seems to be working on them. Its gotten to the point that those little blighters are laughing at us.

Is there any other boater who had this embarrassing problem? If so, how did you get rid of them? We're open to every suggestion. We will try anything. Please help us out!

[micah719]

There is probably some place where the poison isn't getting to, where the eggs can hatch and unleash a new plague on you. You'd probably have to take everything off the boat and clean it/replace it, and get into all the nooks & crannies with something that does them in permanently and completely. How about submerging the boat for a few weeks? Btw, never heard of biting cockroaches before...you sure they aren't bedbugs? Bedbugs can hit anyone, does not depend on cleanliness. CO2 sprayed on them kills even the eggs, but it's a struggle. Miss one egg and it starts again.

[CSY Man]

Huh, ya had these critters for 2 years on the boat..?

It takes only a few minutes to kill 'em for good: Vikane gas.

Seal the boat good, then call your local fumigator, he will insert a small hose in a suitable opening and turn the gas on..Problem solved.

[jeremiason]

We picked up cockroaches in Mexico... We tried all the usual stuff, sprays and cockroach cookies with boric acid/sugar. Nothig seemed to work.

My wife just about earned a PHD during her internet research on cockroaches...

What finally got rid of them was Combat Bait Trays...

Combat Roach & Ant Killing Baits & Gel Products to Get Rid of Bugs

What Lori found was that cockroaches are communial animals, will search out food and then return it to the nest. This is the best way to combat them, short of fumigating your vessel.

So we spread a bunch of those little bait trays around the boat and about a month later no more cockroaches!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by BearfootBandit

This is a plea for assistance from all long term survive-aboards. We are in desperate need of your wisdom. We are docked in Texas, preparing for the trip across the gulf to Panama, and we have been infested by little nasty biting cockroaches. We have tried literally every poison available- hotshot to bengal, black flag to raid- we've bombed the boat and we've put out borax and powdered sugar mixtures and borax and peanut butter balls. We're almost ready to burn the boat down, we are so disgusted. Its been two years and nothing seems to be working on them. Its gotten to the point that those little blighters are laughing at us.

Is there any other boater who had this embarrassing problem? If so, how did you get rid of them? We're open to every suggestion. We will try anything. Please help us out!

I have never heard of biting cockroaches -- I'm so sorry!

But what I used quite successfully (palmetto bugs) was aerial bombs. Set them off and go to a motel for the night -- take any (wanted) "pets" with you.

I lowered one into the lazarette as well.

[jeremiason]

I forgot to mention that when cockroaches lay eggs, they normally don't hatch for 2-3 weeks, depending on the breed....

So any solution you take, remember it will have to last over a period of 4-5 weeks to kill them all.

[capta]

You've got the right product, just not the right method.
Sprinkle the boric acid powder liberally around the boat, in cabinets, under floors etc. & wait. They do NOT eat it, it melts the wax that keeps the moisture in their shells & they dehydrate to death (joy, oh joy). They must run (walk) through it.
Since I've found boric acid powder I have never, repeat never, had roaches aboard even the most infested vessels, after using it properly.
And should you ever get rats; just pour bleach in any standing water that they could drink (bilge water, sumps, etc.) & they will leave! No dead stinky corpses. No poison. No water to drink; they're outa here....

[LongTallSailor]

Store your boat outdoors in a Chicago boatyard for a winter. That'll kill anything.

[xiabbo]

what you need to do is get IGR (insect growth regulator) it is expensive but safe for indoor use. mix a poison like Onslaught with it and spray. The cockroaches will go away. Never bring corrugated cardboard on board. This is where they are nesting. The process will take 28 days but they will all be dead.

[donradcliffe]

Boric acid works, but Borax is not boric acid.

[SunDevil]

Originally Posted by jeremiason

What finally got rid of them was Combat Bait Trays...

Combat Roach & Ant Killing Baits & Gel Products to Get Rid of Bugs

What Lori found was that cockroaches are communial animals, will search out food and then return it to the nest. This is the best way to combat them, short of fumigating your vessel.

So we spread a bunch of those little bait trays around the boat and about a month later no more cockroaches!

I second this suggestion. I used them to get rid of ants and it worked. Just make sure to put them in good places at different height levels and different rooms.

[bstreep]

We've had amazing luck with Roach Pruf (boric acid), and we are just a few miles from you.

As noted, cardboard does not stay on board.

P.S. If they bite, you probably have bedbugs, as noted above. HEAT is their biggest enemy - I'd choose a hot day (we have them now!), bomb it with bedbug bomb, then turn the heat on and close the boat. Get it up to 113 for 60 minutes, and you'll kill even the eggs. Probably does the same for roaches...

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by jeremiason

We picked up cockroaches in Mexico... We tried all the usual stuff, sprays and cockroach cookies with boric acid/sugar. Nothig seemed to work.

My wife just about earned a PHD during her internet research on cockroaches...

What finally got rid of them was Combat Bait Trays...

Combat Roach & Ant Killing Baits & Gel Products to Get Rid of Bugs

What Lori found was that cockroaches are communial animals, will search out food and then return it to the nest. This is the best way to combat them, short of fumigating your vessel.

So we spread a bunch of those little bait trays around the boat and about a month later no more cockroaches!

Memory tells me Combat has two kinds of bait trays. One is great, and one is so so. I do not remember which one is which. I would google that.

[charliehows]

two things you gotta do 1. remove food sources 2.poison. My boat was infested when i bought it, i cleaned it thoroughly and used surface spray with an egg killer, no more cockroaches (took a couple of months)

[Geoff54]

Yup, cockroaches can bite. Your boat is too clean so they need to feed on you.

The solutions talked about here do work but, with the exception of vikane gas, are slow and I bet you want rid of them NOW. I once moved into an infested house and, after trying several other approaches, this is what I found out.

The life cycle from egg to nymph takes about 6-7 weeks so you have to zap them multiple times for about 8 weeks to get rid of them and you need to zap them everywhere. The best thing I found was the Raid Fumigator in the blue and yellow box. The one that you add water too and it then produces smoke (“dry fog” according to them) which gets into all places you can’t see (not the regular bug-bomb which doesn’t). It also doesn’t leave any residue. I did it once a week because I was getting desperate but I bet every two weeks would do. I’d combine it with bait trays and/or boric acid as well because that is easy and will help with new hatches in between . And don’t forget to disconnect your smoke alarms (if you wrap them instead, make sure there isn’t a nest inside your smoke alarm first or you won’t kill them there).

Hope that helps. Of course if it’s something else biting you . …..

Edit: If you can't find the smoke type fumigators in the store, Home Depot stocks them.