Banderas Bay, MEXICO. Scared of cockroaches. Marina recommendations.

[SubmarinerDan]

Hi,
My first mate and I sailed into Banderas Bay yesterday aftrenoon from Chacala. Anchored at Punta de Mita right now. We are looking to stay in a marina here for two weeks while we re-provision and rest before sailing towards Zihuatenejo.
I have heard that cockroaches can be a real problem in this area. As we plan to leave for the South Pacific in March this year we would hate to see the little buggers get on board.
So if anyone has any recent information on which marinas to avoid as well as different ways to prevent an infestation that would be great.
Thanks in advance!
Dan
sailordan | My sailing and travel adventures
We don't normally stay in marinas. In the past three and a half months we have spent nine nights total in a marina. Four nights in San Diego and five nights in Ensenada.

[SubmarinerDan]

Never mind.
Staying in Paradise Village Marina. Seems fairly clean and the rates are pretty fair. Provides access to all resort facilities for no extra charge.
I thought this was a cruiser forum. It seems half of nearly all posts are written by people asking "What's it like to be a liveaboard?". With the majority of answers coming from armchair sailors and people who have probably never been to sea in their life.
End of thread.

[highseas]

Never bring cardboard aboard.Avoid marinas.

[Benz]

This is a bit ungracious, Dan. You come onto a forum asking a question about marinas, despite the boast in your signature about how infrequently you use them, and then decide that it is beneath your dignity to speak to anyone who is obviously not as seamanlike as yourself. Internet forums are usually a mixed community of people, and the larger part of them are dreamers, and certain of them are blowhards, but quite often on this forum you can find the information you seek. Why the nose-in-the-air dismissal? What will you do next time you have a question? Among the armchair dreamers and blowhards on this forum are hidden depths of experience that should not be overtly despised.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

[Stu Jackson]

Gee, Dan, time for a Fosters?

[SubmarinerDan]

I'll say Stu. Hot and bothered here. A Foster's sounds great. Thanks also to highseas for the tip about the cardboard. We're going to have to watch everything we bring on board.

[richard_wb]

Paradise Village is a great place. You'll enjoy it. Be sure to take a dinghy ride up the river to look for crocodiles and iguanas.

The only bugs we brought aboard in Mexico were in some bulk whole wheat flour that we bought at a health food store in La Paz.

You always hear that you should never bring cardboard aboard. I suspect that the warning should actually be to not bring corrugated cardboard aboard. It's pretty obvious that bugs or bug eggs could easily reside inside the corrugation. But I wouldn't worry about most food packaging that's made of thin flat cardboard.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by richard_wb

Paradise Village is a great place. You'll enjoy it. Be sure to take a dinghy ride up the river to look for crocodiles and iguanas.

The only bugs we brought aboard in Mexico were in some bulk whole wheat flour that we bought at a health food store in La Paz.

You always hear that you should never bring cardboard aboard. I suspect that the warning should actually be to not bring corrugated cardboard aboard. It's pretty obvious that bugs or bug eggs could easily reside inside the corrugation. But I wouldn't worry about most food packaging that's made of thin flat cardboard.

Its not the places bugs can hide its where the eggs were laid and often this goes right back to the packaging. The glue in the cardboard is where the bugs like to lay their eggs because the glue is food for the new bugs. If you are in the tropics try not to bring cardboard on your boat. We also kept a pail of water and bleach and dipped all the fruit and vegetables before carefully drying them and storing them. If you do get them on the boat they are a real pain to get rid of, the old standby is to mix some boric acid with milk or cream and make little balls that you put into corners and out of the way places. Roaches will often lay their eggs if they are being poisoned but boric acid simply dehydrates the little buggers until they drop dead. If you use a Roach bomb you have to repeat it 3 weeks later to get the new crop that is hatching from the eggs laid when their parents were bombed.

[SubmarinerDan]

Thanks Richard. This is a great place! The first mate and I took a walk around the resort and we're quite glad to have a rest and be out of the rolly anchorages of Pacific Mexico.
We asked around the docks when we got here and nobody had any problems with cockroaches. Someone we met a few anchorages back warned us that one of his friend's boat was infested in this marina last season.
If we had have seen any we would have headed back out to the anchorage in La Cruz.
Good point about the corrugated cardboard. So far we haven't brought any unwelcome visitors on board. But we'll keep a lookout and be careful.
Robert, boric acid and milk. Cheers. Not quite sure where to buy boric acid but I'll check online. I was thinking about putting the boric acid mixture on docklines and around hatches. Do you think that would have any effect? I have to tell you that I am quite worried about getting them on board. I can only imagine how hard they would be to get rid of.
Dan

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by SubmarinerDan

Thanks Richard. This is a great place! The first mate and I took a walk around the resort and we're quite glad to have a rest and be out of the rolly anchorages of Pacific Mexico.
We asked around the docks when we got here and nobody had any problems with cockroaches. Someone we met a few anchorages back warned us that one of his friend's boat was infested in this marina last season.
If we had have seen any we would have headed back out to the anchorage in La Cruz.
Good point about the corrugated cardboard. So far we haven't brought any unwelcome visitors on board. But we'll keep a lookout and be careful.
Dan

Keep in mind that they can fly

[autumnbreeze27]

Originally Posted by SubmarinerDan

The first mate and I took a walk around the resort and we're quite glad to have a rest and be out of the rolly anchorages of Pacific Mexico.

Do you have flopper stoppers?

[SubmarinerDan]

Originally Posted by autumnbreeze27

Do you have flopper stoppers?

I normally tuck my jeans into my socks.

[autumnbreeze27]

I checked out your blog. We're heading your direction so thanks for sharing.

[TacomaSailor]

I spent many months spread over several years at Punta de Mita and La Cruz and never heard a word about cucarachas.

But, I had a boat full of crickets because I was told they eat the cockroach larvae and will keep the boat really clear of cockroaches. Seemed to work 'cause in three years of Mexican cruising, with no special cockroach precautions, I never saw a cockroach on Mirador.

[darylat8750]

Boric acid is available at pharmicias.