Yuuk Florida cockroaches

[Canuck Dennis]

So, not too familiar with these things, where do they come from, the Marina is all concrete, very clean and I use the "bomb" thing every 6 mos, how do they get on the boat |???

 

[madhatter1]

Wings!

 

[captainwjm]

They lay their eggs in paper bags and cardboard boxes. Remove all the packaging you can onshore. You'll still get them, but not as often.

 

[Walter P]

Also along dock lines....

 

[Angela]

No matter what you do...if you are in Florida, you can't get rid of them. I HATE them. I saw a dead one today that surprised me, and I busted my butt as I leaped backwards and nearly fell into the bar sink on the aft deck. I hate to tell you, but there doesn't seem to be any way to get rid of them completely. You can bomb, spray, tent, and what not, but you're only beating them down. They come with the territory (or latitude). I hate to say it...but I've tried everything. Rarely do I ever see a live one, but I do see the poops that show me where they've been. And when I do see a live one, I think the whole dock knows it. All I can say is that you better not be in my exit path because I will mow you over getting away from that thing - it's a self-preservation thing, I guess.

My neighbor has had a few incidents of them crawling on him while he was in bed. That happened to me ONCE back on my other boat when I lived in Georgia. I couldn't go back to sleep there again, so I removed everything (I mean everything - the dock looked like an eviction had occurred - if it wasn't glassed in, it was sitting on the dock) from the boat and set off 3 whole house bombs in a small 33' express cruiser. I won the war for a little while, but they always come back.

 

[Genesis]

They fly.

And they're at least somewhat intelligent.

I have caught them sitting near a closed door in my lanai waiting for you to open it. He got smushed; they not only fly, they think. And I hear they'll survive a nuclear war.

 

[carolinacoast]

treat the dock lines, particularly when you have a good weather patch. boric acid works for a long time if it stays dry. gels, traps etc all help. no cardboard onboard ever!.

 

[pizzazsdaddy]

Thankfully, with due diligence, I've never had a "Palmetto Bug" "problem". (Florida's kinder word for big roaches). I've had more "issues" with ants and termites over the years. Everyone is correct here. Keep everything super clean. No paper or cardboard on board EVER! Often, they make it on to your boat, and into your home directly from the grocery store. You can only keep them at bay.

 

[Bill Herrin]

When we lived in a bus and travelled all over Mexico we had good luck using boric acid. Sprinkle it all over the floors and behind everywhere you can get it and let it sit for a day or two, we then swept it around for a few days before taking it up. It usually worked for months at keeping them from hanging around. It has the advantage of not being toxic to people or pets. I am a cancer survivor and my wife is a nazi about toxins in our environment.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

I fully agree with carolinacoast post.... I use to have frequent problems with "those things" till I started treating my dock lines.... I also have no cardboard boxes onboard

 

[Angela]

When I had a covered slip, I had success with treating my dock lines, but here in South Florida where it rains almost every day, it doesn't do much for me. Yesterday, I put out a little tray of poison that looks like peanut butter after finding evidence of where one had been. This morning, I could see where the big goon had been all in that stuff and a chunk of it was gone. Bon appetit.

 

[Tim Powell]

I keep my boat parallel to a lean to where there is a eating place for all. Crums always droped ant and as you say florida roach problems. I use the the aspren spray from home depo just attach to hose and let it go. It takes about 5 min to do it i spray dock lines dock and all about twice a week seems to work. Or a least works as long as i keep it sprayed down the produck says 6 months but that is incorrect i have to use it at least once a week.

 

[Ross Macdonald]

After 4 eight month trips to Mexico cockroaches were a problem. We emptied everything out of the bags and boxes on the docks and wiped it all off. A pain in the butt. Still got some. A local at the marina in Cabo said sprinkle boric acid in the back of all of the cupboards in the galley. The explanation was they get this stuff on their feet and they ingest it and it kills them. It takes longer but eventually they were gone. I don't know about Florida but Mexican cockroaches are bullet proof. But the boric acid method took about 3 weeks and as been stated, it's not toxic. Hope that helps.

Ross

 

[ratdog]

Not shore but I know a funges that kills ants and the like . You might look into a fungal repellent . Just a suggestion as I'm into funges and have grown oyster mushrooms . I will bet contact with a university near you that has a mycology department will open a new avinew for eradication .