cruising with roaches

[magnawake]

First let me say I dont have roaches. I listen to fellow cruisers and try to get ideas and advise. I dont know everything to say the least. Seems like everyone is trying to give their two cents and come up with different and strange ways of doing things, some good, some bad. Couch cruisers seem to be the worst at advise. Arm chair sailors, monday morning quarterbacking what ever you call them. Anyway, I keep hearing that cruisers should take no cardboard boxes or paper. They have roach eggs and your whole boat will be full of roaches in no time. People are even taking labels off cans and disolving the glue to kill roach eggs. Mostly people in sail boats but some in trawlers too say this. I always have thought this was nonsense. If this was true our whole house (on dirt) would be full of roaches. We bring the same packages home just the same. I have lived on our boat for the better part of 5 years cruising and working at power plants. I have had never had a problem with roaches until we were docked in a marina with a restaurant. They would wash their kitchen mats off every night on the dock. At night the roaches came out to feed. We ended up getting a few roaches on our boat which we put bait out and eventually moved marinas and the problem was solved. I should have done something with the ropes and ladder. As far as cruising with boxes, I can see transferring them to tupperware containers just to save on trash or keep things dry on a long cruise. I cannot understand the roach theory. We buy stuff from the same walmarts and grocery stores either on the boat or at the house. Are these people just trying to reinvent the wheel or sell books with the lastest and greatest ideas? Maybe in third world countries it might be a good idea, but in America I havent seen anything that would lead me to believe this roach problem is real problem. Any thoughts?

 

[Avenger]

Must have been a great restaurant. Even the roaches didn't eat there.

Not me, but an employee told me of a job at a previous employer who was doing a standby generator install at a restaurant and they had left the boxes for the parts in the room with the gen when they went home. They got a frantic call from the owner saying that if a health inspector found cardboard or wood in the building he would be fined because they harbor insects. They had to go back that night and remove all the cardboard.

 

[Boatsb]

Must have been a great restaurant. Even the roaches didn't eat there.

Not me, but an employee told me of a job at a previous employer who was doing a standby generator install at a restaurant and they had left the boxes for the parts in the room with the gen when they went home. They got a frantic call from the owner saying that if a health inspector found cardboard or wood in the building he would be fined because they harbor insects. They had to go back that night and remove all the cardboard.

Good thing they don't allow cardboard boxes in supermarkets, food distributors or bars. That cerial box is actually carbon fiber.

I believe the rule ( I've been out of the food business 25 years) is more about storage over longer periods and of course boxes that are soiled.

Way back when we used wooden cutting boards. They had to be cleaned well. Today is must he a plastic that is easier to clean. I'm not saying easier to clean is not better but it's no longer a cboice. Maybe it's because the new $15 per hour employees at mc barfalots can't be trusted to clean to old style wood boards.

 

[bigbill]

people have soooo many theories about this kind of stuff. i have a friend that wont drink out of a can because he says that rats and roaches can run and urinate on the tops of the cans when they are in warehouses.he only drinks out of glass or plastic bottles because the part that the drink touches is covered.

 

[Avenger]

Well, I relayed the story to the Admiral who is a bug-o-phobe and it was very helpful getting her to take things out of Amazon boxes and toss the boxes. Our storage space has almost doubled.

I agree there's a lot of kooky ideas, and most of them are exactly that. Kooky. I can see where corrogated cardboard makes a great bug-house. And cucarachas are known to eat glue. Probably the old flour and water wallpaper adhesive type glue, but I can see where the can label connection comes from. Even though the few paper can labels still in use are only held on with a few dots of chemical adhesive.

That being said, we still toss the cut-down cardboard box outside as soon as the Chinese food containers come out of it.

 

[Walter P]

Years ago when I made my annual runs between NJ and FL roaches on a boat were a concern. First of all which species of cockroach are we talking about? The two most common are German Cockroaches (smaller variety) and the American Cockroach, better know down South as Palmetto bugs. Just like any other living thing, roaches need three things to flourish -- food, water and shelter. Corigated cardboard provides great shelter for eggs in the galleries between the 2 layers. The adult females carry an egg case which holds hundreds of eggs and needs to be placed in a reasonably protected place to hatch..the inside galleries of cardboard boxes and other small spaces. Good practice on board boats dictates that cleanliness is imperative. Clean up all crumbs of food and spilled drops of drinks (which usually contain sugar) so as to deprive them of a food source. An excellent idea (mentioned in the post earlier) is to transfer food items from boxes to Tupperware or similar sealed containers. Follow these simple procedures and your roach problems will be almost non existent. The possibility of bringing them on board with packages from food stores, liquor stores is still present but of course if you deny them food and shelter, they should be minimal.

A problem with the large American roaches (palmetto bugs) is that they actually come aboard from docks by way of dock lines and ladders. I used to apply an insecticide to the dock lines and electric cords, water lines etc. to stop them from coming aboard.

My experience over the years as a professional exterminator helped me do pest control effectively on my boat. The presence of roaches does not necessarily mean that one is a poor housekeeper but as the old adage goes "cleanliness is next to Godliness" is very helpful in preventing a full blown infestation.

Walt

 

[oscarvan]

I used to apply an insecticide to the dock lines and electric cords, water lines etc. to stop them from coming aboard.

Did it work?

In another life I'm an RV'er, and ants are a constant battle. (Fire ants down south) So I spray the jacks, water supply and the power cord. So far so good.

 

[krush]

Way back when we used wooden cutting boards. They had to be cleaned well. Today is must he a plastic that is easier to clean. I'm not saying easier to clean is not better but it's no longer a cboice. Maybe it's because the new $15 per hour employees at mc barfalots can't be trusted to clean to old style wood boards.

It's actually a myth...wood is generally safer.

Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts.

Although the bacteria that have disappeared from the wood surfaces are found alive inside the wood for some time after application, they evidently do not multiply, and they gradually die. They can be detected only by splitting or gouging the wood or by forcing water completely through from one surface to the other. If a sharp knife is used to cut into the work surfaces after used plastic or wood has been contaminated with bacteria and cleaned manually, more bacteria are recovered from a used plastic surface than from a used wood surface.

http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

 

[Boatsb]

Wood needs more care. Oiling it prevents the absorbtion of the contamination. You can't just nuke it with bleach.

 

[Bob Bradley]

Well, there's one advantage to living up here in New England. Roaches cannot survive the freezing temperatures and will not make it thru the winter on a boat unless it is heated.

 

[sweet red]

I wondered about this exact same logic myself. We were live-aboards on our 46 Convertible in NorCal prior to cruising to Mexico, and heard a lot about the suggested preventative measures to minimize bug problems down south. I am a HUGE germ/bug-phobe.

For about 6 months prior to the cruise, we lived at Jack London Square Marina, Oakland CA. (if EVER there was a town one would suspect of having a roach problem......) Great spot with direct access to 3 restaurants just outside the dock gate. Never saw a single bug onboard. Granted, we live with a cat, so perhaps she contributed to our success.

That year in Mexico, we were careful not to bring packing boxes on board (you know, the kind you get at Costco) and offloaded everything from the dock cart while still on the dock. I never removed items from their original packing, though. Dry, boxed goods went right into the galley. We spent more time in marinas than at anchor, and never treated the dock lines/cords. But I watched. Like a hawk. And we kept everything regularly clean. I removed the garbage daily to the trash bins at whatever marina. NEVER left dirty dishes in the sink, food on the counters, or crumbs in the toaster oven. Zip locked all open containers of things like cookies, crackers, etc...

Never saw a single bug. Perhaps I should give our cat more respect.....

 

[sweet red]

YIKES! Thats HUUUUGE! Sorry, guys.

 

[Bob Bradley]

Just be thankful it's not really that big...

http://97x.com/your-house-cat-would-kill-you-if-it-were-bigger/

 

[rsmith]

Years ago when I made my annual runs between NJ and FL roaches on a boat were a concern. First of all which species of cockroach are we talking about? The two most common are German Cockroaches (smaller variety) and the American Cockroach, better know down South as Palmetto bugs. Just like any other living thing, roaches need three things to flourish -- food, water and shelter. Corigated cardboard provides great shelter for eggs in the galleries between the 2 layers. The adult females carry an egg case which holds hundreds of eggs and needs to be placed in a reasonably protected place to hatch..the inside galleries of cardboard boxes and other small spaces. Good practice on board boats dictates that cleanliness is imperative. Clean up all crumbs of food and spilled drops of drinks (which usually contain sugar) so as to deprive them of a food source. An excellent idea (mentioned in the post earlier) is to transfer food items from boxes to Tupperware or similar sealed containers. Follow these simple procedures and your roach problems will be almost non existent. The possibility of bringing them on board with packages from food stores, liquor stores is still present but of course if you deny them food and shelter, they should be minimal.

A problem with the large American roaches (palmetto bugs) is that they actually come aboard from docks by way of dock lines and ladders. I used to apply an insecticide to the dock lines and electric cords, water lines etc. to stop them from coming aboard.

My experience over the years as a professional exterminator helped me do pest control effectively on my boat. The presence of roaches does not necessarily mean that one is a poor housekeeper but as the old adage goes "cleanliness is next to Godliness" is very helpful in preventing a full blown infestation.

Walt

Hate to tell you but Palmetto bugs fly. Roach infestations on the boat and the house in So Fla is just a way of life. If you've never slid into a pair of topsiders and squished a palmetto bug between your toes you haven't been here long enough. The only thing I've found that works is bombs.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Beautiful cat, though.

 

[magnawake]

Did it work?

In another life I'm an RV'er, and ants are a constant battle. (Fire ants down south) So I spray the jacks, water supply and the power cord. So far so good.

I did that to my RV jacks and it seemed to help a little but it didnt cure the problem. I had trouble withose little fast moving sugar ants. I used thee liquid "Terro" and they would eat it like candy then go back to where ever they go and tell the others. Seemed work great for a while.

I can see dock lines getting rained on and washing the powder off. I stayed at another marina with a restaurant in Ft Pierce and we didnt have any problems what so ever. Its was just that one restuarant that washed their mats out on the dock every night. We came home from work every morning and walked past the Rest and it stunk. We never ate there either.

I really think people who cruise a bunch and blog try to find ways to sell "A better Way" of cruising. They come up with strange ideas that show that know everything and you dont. People have jumped on this roach band wagon for some reason that all paper and card board needs to stay off the boat. But at your dirt home it doesnt apply for some reason. We shop at the same places. However, if I where paying to throw away trash I would try not to bring it with me. When we were on a mooring for a month in Boot Key, we went to the Pulbix, took a taxy ride back, threw the groceries in the dinghy and went out to the boat. So when was I gonna take the paper off? Or the cereal out of the boxes? It just dont make sense.

 

[krush]

I bought this off amazon. works well around the house: Suspend Sc Insecticide -(1 Pint) Flea Tick Roaches Ant Professional Pest Control Product

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002Y57MGE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

 

[oscarvan]

If you've never slid into a pair of topsiders and squished a palmetto bug between your toes you haven't been here long enough.

I have a habit of standing mine straight up for that very reason.