How to get rid of bugs and spiders?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Blair, & Bru.

[Siberianhusky]

I've found nothing that will eliminate the Canadian dock spiders.
Has nothing to do with winter storage, I don't find them in the spring, it's after launch when things warm up and the spiders become active.
I remove everthing from my boat in the fall, I really mean everything that can be removed and scrub the interior from top to bottom, clean the bilges with detergent, by June I will be at war with the dock spiders and their droppings.
Those things leave a good smear of guts when you squash them!
I'll take spiders over Canadian mosquitos anyday!

[s/v Jedi]

We did find that spiders come with fresh water areas and are not a problem on salt water.

[Crew of Turning]

Blair we are in your neighborhood, Georgian Bay. Going down the non toxic route, here is what we have tried the past two seasons that has reduced the spider count in our cockpit enclosure. Peppermint oil from the the Bulk Barn. Its about 5 dollars a bottle. We wipe down all the exposed stainless tubing and all the seam areas where the canvas covers the stainless as this is where they hideout. The spiders just dont like peppermint oil and go away. Not 100 per cent but piece of mind.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by SVTwilight

Her fear is not irrational, as most spiders have a toxic bite to one degree or another...

Her fear IS irrational. With only a couple of extraordinarily unusual exceptions, spiders are harmless to humans.

Yes, almost all spiders deliver some venom in their bites. Venom that serves to immobilize the tiny insects that are their normal diet. Just like ants, just like bees, just like thousands of different kinds of insects. The dosage is small enough that it is almost always completely harmless to humans. Ant bites generally result in a worse reaction in humans.

And that's if the spider bites you. Which they rarely do, since they understand perfectly well that a human is not one of the insects that they normally eat.

Are there some spiders whose bite is dangerous to humans? Yes. Of course. In North America, for example, of the several thousand different species of spiders that live here, there are two species whose bite poses significant danger to humans--the black widow and the brown recluse.

For a little perspective, in North America again, you are 8 times more likely to die from a bee sting than from a spider bite, never mind the fact that the average bee sting results in a fair amount of localized pain whereas the average spider bite goes completely unnoticed. Yet, for some reason, few people get as obsessively frightened by bees as they do by spiders. And, of course, you are 5 THOUSAND times more likely to die in a car accident than from a spider bite, so that makes it REALLY crazy to jump out of a moving car in order to avoid a spider!

No, the GF's fear is very definitely irrational. Jumping from a moving car is both irrational and extraordinarily dangerous. This is something that--in my opinion--she really needs some professional help with.

[George DuBose]

Boy...what a lengthy thread about spiders.

They are a nuisance in my Dutch marina. Leave the boat for a week and you can return and sail the boat just with the webs.

The local boat shop sells "Spider Stop". A spray with a strong odor, not unpleasant, but "noticable". Funny enough, but there are NO ingredients listed at all on the bottle.

It does keep the spiders away for a month or more. One is almost forced to use it since if the neighbors use it, all the spiders migrate to a boat that doesn't.

I don't mind spiders that much, except when I am boarding at night and walk into a web. I just really don't like spider ****...it is a green color from eating green bugs, I guess, and it stains...very difficult to remove from gelcoat.

[boatman61]

Remember motoring down the Portuguese coast years back.. flat calm sea's and just a light zephyr from the shore.. as we passed Porto about 7miles out we were swarmed by airborne voyagers.. in less than half an hour we looked like the Flying Dutchman covered in web streamers as the spiders drifted into the rigging..

[ensembull]

Ok Dock spiders, Dryer sheets, Canadian Mosquitoes. Dryer sheets work. Dock spiders are big and ugly. Canadian Mosquitoes... Just when the sun goes down and you want to relax and have a beer they show up. In the early spring when you want to get the boat ready for launch, we have midges, no see ums??? Clouds of them. When you spray for spiders don't forget to spray your docklines too, kill them before they get on the boat.

[George DuBose]

"When you spray for spiders don't forget to spray your docklines too,"

Ha! In The Netherlands, our spiders can fly when they are little and can grow big, fat and juicy within a week.

SpiderStop spray works. They move to the next unprotected boat.

[uncle stinkybob]

I have a sister much like the girl described here. Crazy dingbat never did get the psychiatric help she needed. Much like the bugs she lived in stark terror of, it slowly crept in to all the corners of her life. The problem is not the bug.

[1000 islands]

Originally Posted by ensembull

Hi Blair Welcome aboard. Not sure where you are but my wife HATES spiders. One of the people at or club said Bounce drier sheets worked. They do, life is better now. You have to use actual Bounce sheets, no spiders in the boat and it smells nice.

How exactly do you use the Bounce sheets?

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Blair1

Hello Everyone, I hope you're all well and surviving the winter.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get keep spiders and other bugs off a sailboat - inside and out? My girlfriend has a really bad bug phobia, to put it mildly, and to keep us both sane and happy, I need to figure out a way to deal with this issue or I won't be sailing much this coming summer. She can't see or be near them.

To give you and idea of what I'm dealing with, she once jumped out of a moving car while driving because a spider came down in front of her face. She also screamed and left the room when we watched Harry Potter because she saw a spider on the TV, then had night terrors all night. Funny enough, she is okay with flying bugs, just not the ones that crawl.

I have ordered a new companion way screen and hatch cover. I'm also going to try to seal all through hulls. Do you have any other suggestions? I don't want to use too harsh of chemicals in fear of breathing them in.

Thank you. I greatly appreciate any feedback.

Blair

Please see highlighted, bold, red....

The spiders are there due to the bugs as food. try to stop the bugs from getting onboard and the spiders will eventually leave.

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by 1000 islands

How exactly do you use the Bounce sheets?

Back in the days I logged, (timber faller) we tucked then (bounce dryer sheet's) inside our tin hard hats, kept mosquitos, white sock flies and noseeums off. worked very well, as did Avon Skin so Soft bath oil, rubbed on straight from the bottle. We all would smell pretty too!! LOL I have no idea how well it works with other bugs. spiders don't concern me.

[uncle stinkybob]

Also, when folks use pesticides and chemical's , one should keep in mind many of these will attack plastic's and damage wood finish's as well.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by bru1791

Bug-A-Salt: The Original Salt Gun – Bug-A-Salt

it really works, is all natural and safe, no bug mess, fun, and uses a tiny amount of salt. we have a no-spider-kill rule though unless it's furry in which case we get a leash.

Hilarious!