Cockroaches on a boat??

[sck5]

After a season in the Caribbean I had a cockroach infestation. I took the total war approach. I didnt try to pick which method worked best. I used all of them at the same time. I bombed. I sprayed. I put out baits. I used boric acid powder. Then I left the boat for a couple of weeks and when I came back they were all dead. A year later they are still all dead.

[barnakiel]

Yours sure died of loneliness, but if it was a she then she laid eggs.

We use a killer gel called locally 'eco-gel'. Tooth-past consistence, I bet something yummie and boric acid inside. It remains wet over time (may be due to some oily additive) - will mark bare wood (you have been warned).

Works very well.

b.

[Celestialsailor]

[QUOTE=zeehag;968031]bombs DO NOT WORKQUOTE]

WRONG!!!...Bombs work great. I lived in Hawaii for a number of years and had to deal with these Island B-52s after some pig tenants moved out of one of my rentals.
The trick is to understand their life cycle and egg cycles. You need to bomb every 10 days, 3 or 4 times. In that particular house. The first bombing left over 100 corpse on the floor. The next bombing around 20 and the third only a few.
There is a white powder (borax I think) that you can sprinkle around to "dry up" any new visitors.

Also cardboard boxes are an excellent way for the eggs to find their way onto a boat. Unload the boxes outside your boat and inspect everything.

[roverhi]

Bombs work on the live bugs but don't kill the eggs. You have to bomb the boat every two weeks or so for at least two sessions, three is better.

Had cockroaches destroy every book on my boat when I left it unattended for several months. The little bastards ate the binding glue and the books fell apart. Had hundreds of them scurrying about. Set off three bombs at two week intervals and all was fine.

The commercial guys have a clear, non staining spray that is long lasting. Will continue to kill bugs for a long time after application. No idea what it is or how it will shorten my life but one treatment worked in our home.

[Celestialsailor]

...yes...I should have added to spray later with a residual spray that kills for months, available at any hardware store in the tropics. Spray in all dark hard to get to places.

[zeehag]

i found wonderful kills everything spray from a powder found in veterinario oficina in mazatlan---awesome stuff--kills very efficiently...i also use the spray from home depot--good stuff.
when i was sailing with a friend on his boat in gulf of mexico , he had a nasty infestation--damn roaches will eat candle wax---so i tried bomb--we placed 6 in a 37 ft boat, bilges and cabinetry and everything-- they didnt work. so i bought the brown bottle of bug kill in home depot an d sprayed EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE.. we lso put out traps--the nest was under his mast--was keel stepped--boa was too wet for borax to work--the spray did great. every time we went to a dock i sprayed boat topsides and dock and lines--we had no return of roaches-he called em water bugs--but they were red roaches--nasty things.
my boat doesnt have a problem since i found the best kill stuff available in veterinario and followed up with home depot spray here... these things fly and crawl lines.
glad ye had good luck with bombs--i never did on boats even doubling the amount.

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i found wonderful kills everything spray from a powder found in veterinario oficina in mazatlan---awesome stuff--kills very efficiently.

Zee does the stuff (powder) you got at the vets have a name/brand? Thanks.

[zeehag]

i dont remember, but it makes a gallon with mix in water, has some yellow on the bag with black writing, and vet helper will give it to ye freely if ye say ye have to mata pulgas en cama del gato ...kills fleas, roaches, spideys, and other nasties and is used in warehouses and schools.
got it in a lil veterinario on a lil off street in mazatlan--old town. not too far from centro mercado--i shoulda saved the wrapper..

[sartorst]

be SURE!! there are no chance of sparks you could blow your boat up ! read the can
i had a sick feeling after reading a story about some one blowing up there house after I had done it many times and made sure I had opened the water heater area to the BOMB

[Wench'sCaptain]

Bombs work great. You just have to get the ones that gets the eggs as well. I learned quite by accident Flea Bombs kill everything. I once used them in the house and did not see any bug for over a year. Just make sure there are NO ignition sources (pilot lights or anthing else that will spark) or you may not have a boat.

[Stumble]

I have had a lot of luck with over-and-out, but it is just a name brand fipronil insecticide. It has very low toxicity to humans and mammals (excluding rabbits), is very long lasting, and is applied like a dust, so you can blow it into small cracks and crevices.

I have been using it for about five years now with great success. When I started, I bought a small bag, and scattered it by hand (with gloves on) into the recesses of the boat. About a year later I did it again since it is supposed to last a year. Four years later I haven't seen a roach, or any other bug anywhere on the boat (every few months I might see a dead one). I am assuming it is from the residual left over from the last two uses.

It is supposed to last about a year when scattered in a lawn (my vet recommended it to get rid of fleas), but I guess in the confines of the boat it doesn't get washed away by water, or broken down by UV. Either way I have finally eliminated my bug problem.

[Mr B]

I mainly have problems with spiders, I live in the hills, I use the bombs,
They kill every thing inside the house,
Make sure all power is switched off, One spark and its Kaboom,

I set off 6 of them at all ends and in the middle of the house, Then go out for the day,
Up to a week later I am finding spiders, scorpions, cockroaches and every other bug and creepy crawly you can imagine lying dead on the floors,

When I come home, I have to open all windows and doors and stay out side for about half an hour while the house airs itself out,

I dont have bugs on my boat, but 4 bombs on it would be enough to kill anything that was living on it,

I also make sure when I tie my dinghy to a dock, that the mooring line is submerged, as the mongrels walk up the mooring lines off the docks which are riddled with cockroaches and onto your dinghy,

[Sailor g]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I also make sure when I tie my dinghy to a dock, that the mooring line is submerged, as the mongrels walk up the mooring lines off the docks which are riddled with cockroaches and onto your dinghy,

UGH never thought of that. Ours ties under our dingy so it's always submerged- but it was just luck.

We have tiny red bugs that are mainly in the head-or they show up against the white better. Anybody know what they are? Also on occasion I see tiny brownish ones in back of one cushion. Are they bad?