Wife Hates Bugs !

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by capngeo

I've noticed that slips co-located with a restaurant have more incidence of the little devils. I like these to fog the boat once a month.

Wish I could find those fumigators here in western Med. Tried bringing a few back in checked luggage when we returned from our last trip to Texas, but TSA removed them. We have not had a problem with any bugs but I would like to fumigate the boat once or twice a year just in case. Frankly, weevils are a bigger concern to me. Vacuum-sealing most foods has prevented weevils from getting loose in the boat several times.

Judy

[denverd0n]

First thing is, the kinds of places that are really nice for cruising also tend to have bugs. If you don't see any on the boat, you are pretty sure to see them on land now and then. In other words, your wife really needs to work on her phobia.

Beyond that... keep things clean and use borax. Living in Florida, we have learned that you have to clean up crumbs immediately. You cannot leave any kind of food in unsealed containers. If you are not diligent about this sort of thing then you are going to have a variety of bugs. Some people deal with it by spreading about lots of toxic chemicals. If that's your choice, fine, do what you want. We prefer to keep things clean and then sprinkle just a bit of borax into the corners and crevices where bugs like to hide. It is completely non-toxic to humans (unless you're eating it by the handful, I suppose) but does an excellent job of controlling a wide variety of bugs, including roaches.

We have lived in Florida (probably the bug capital of the U.S.) for a total of 14 years now, and other than the very first year (when we were learning this stuff) we have had no bug problems at all. And unlike almost all of our neighbors, we do not pay for an insect service to come around and bathe our house in toxic chemicals every couple of months.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Clinton

My wife and I are working towards becoming liveaboards. We’ve made a plan and everything is working towards our goal; however, my wife is phobic about bugs, particularly cockroaches. She’s read that roaches can be a problem on some boats. I imagine this has to do with how you’re living, where you’re located and if the boat sits empty for long periods - just like a house.

To be fair to my wife, she’s one of the toughest people I know. If we came onboard to find ninjas or rattlesnakes, she’d be fine. Heaven forbid she sees a roach.

We’ll be in a marina in Kemah, TX. What's your experience been?

Bomb the boat (every spot of it -- I lowered one on a piece of 'chute cord into a very deep lazerette on my boat) before you ever move aboard. Then YOU search the boat for the bodies. If the boat has been "adopted" by the critters (I assume you have palmetto bugs in TX like we have in FL) they will crawl out to die in the most amazing places. Be sure the boat is "bug free" before you move aboard.

Then you do the standard things you have to do in any TX or FL home. Personally I bomb the boat twice a year. Trust me -- I hate those critters as much as your wife does UNLESS it's possible to hate them more, in which case that would be ... me.

There are no bugs on my boat.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Keep a clean boat and you should have no bug problem. This includes not bringing cardboard boxes aboard from unknown locales. We've had maybe 3-4 roaches i'm aware of on as many years. We have had spiders, but that was from hitting a tree.

I'm sorry but this isn't just about cleanliness. This wife is right that boats are more vulnerable. I think it's smarter to assume that all your efforts have failed and bomb twice a year. Spend a lovely night at a nice hotel on the beach.

All foods should be containerized but that's just a good idea on a boat anyway. You don't want a bag of flour to go flying and then burst, and all it takes is one rough tack in a stiff wind. Never mind how i know ...

[rtbates]

I hate em too.

Be very careful bringing any and all cardboard items, paper bags etc. on board..

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by rtbates

I hate em too.

Be very careful bringing any and all cardboard items, paper bags etc. on board..

Yes, one variety of roach loves cardboard boxes and bags, but what I ended up with was palmetto bugs. They fly and they love little cracks, crevices and hidey-holes. Palmetto bugs aren't drawn by food crumbs but they like damp environments.

[zeehag]

i have found there ae fewer roaches in cardboard than flying into your boaat using their wings. also sqame with crawling up yur dock lines. yes i have watched. is why i spray the deck, dock lines, anchor rode, interior and everything well with th stongest and longe3st lating stuff i can find. i am living in roachville--there a re no roacheggies in egg cartons or cereal boxes or in bisquik boxes.
i donot go overboard in keeping cardboard off my boat, but i do so with roaches--they FLY they CRAWL...they find ways into boats INDEPENDENT OF CARDBOARD.

btw -- plmetto bugs are those red roaches that eat candle wax and wiring...and your stores--call a roach a roach and be done with it.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i have found there ae fewer roaches in cardboard than flying into your boaat using their wings. also sqame with crawling up yur dock lines. yes i have watched. is why i spray the deck, dock lines, anchor rode, interior and everything well with th stongest and longe3st lating stuff i can find. i am living in roachville--there a re no roacheggies in egg cartons or cereal boxes or in bisquik boxes.
i donot go overboard in keeping cardboard off my boat, but i do so with roaches--they FLY they CRAWL...they find ways into boats INDEPENDENT OF CARDBOARD.

btw -- plmetto bugs are those red roaches that eat candle wax and wiring...and your stores--call a roach a roach and be done with it.

Zeehag, I agree with just about everything you said except the last part about what palmetto bugs.

That may be what you call what you're describing, but over in this part of the country, palmetto bugs are dark brown. They don't eat candle wax and they don't eat wiring. They're considerably bigger than most roaches (the first time I saw one flying I thought it was a bat). According to the agricultural site I checked, they eat decomposing vegetable matter. But they can go a long time without eating, so they can be hiding for some time on your boat without your knowing.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Zeehag, I agree with just about everything you said except the last part about what palmetto bugs.

That may be what you call what you're describing, but over in this part of the country, palmetto bugs are dark brown. They don't eat candle wax and they don't eat wiring. They're considerably bigger than most roaches (the first time I saw one flying I thought it was a bat). According to the agricultural site I checked, they eat decomposing vegetable matter. But they can go a long time without eating, so they can be hiding for some time on your boat without your knowing.

WHEN i SAILED th GULF OF MEXICO inclusive of loisiana and florida, the boat on which i was sailing was infested with these nasty critters. yes the i DID and do eat candle wax, yes they did and do eat wiring, aand yes they do eat foodstuffs. they nested at base of his keel stepped mast, and were a major beeyotch to rid the boat of. took 3 months with fumigators(didnt work, double strength). traps, sprays. boric acid, which does NOT work in wet bilges, and whatever i could find to kill em with. i finally got the good stuff at home depot in the brown gallon bottle and killed them dead and prevented for the rest of my tenure --one year--on that boat.
go ahead and believe they dont eat what ypu think they dont eat--but THEY DO. they are pestilence an roaches.
i was there--i saw and ikilled em dead. i used good spray.

[s/vPainkiller]

We swear by boric acid, comes in either tablets or powder. Sprinkle around the boat in lockers, etc.

Scott

[Cheechako]

I dislike bugs to, but only strongly about spiders or centipedes.
Step #1: Smash the little sucker with a good shoe!
Step#2: Then get the therapy to resolve the bad Karma issues....
:>)