Help ! I've Got Cockroaches !

[rebel heart]

We had some bastard guest aboard that broad fleas with them. Ugh. We had a dog onboard for a year, no problems. Get rid of the dog, some dirt bag guest comes onboard months later, and bam, fleas everywhere. Horrible month.

I'm going to pick up some roach hotels just from watching this thread. I remember living in Boston that you keep roach motels in the house whether you need them or not, and rotate out every few months. Much easier to stop them that way than let an infestation arrive.

I *hate* roaches.

[Hampus]

Originally Posted by frank higgins

they like jam just mix it with valium 50 50

"Hey doc! Gimme one of those prescriptions for Valium. I'm gonna kill me some roaches!"

Yeah, that'll work

/Hampus

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Our three ships cats hunt and kill every roach that dares to come aboard. They pile them up together with the crabs, birds, squid and flying fish they catch and/or bring aboard like a cat supermarket display.

On fumigating/smoke etc. the trick is indeed the repeats to catch the ones crawling from their miserable eggs.

cheers,
Nick.

yep. m backing Nick on this one. Never had a cat and a roach problem at the same time... or not for very long anyhow... Our kitty used to pile them up under the table during the night.

; -P

[frank higgins]

The only sure way to rid of roaches, pied piper style.sink the boat.

[Laidback]

This method is Guaranteed.
#1:- 2 x (1/2'' x 6" x 3') wood planks
#2:- place Cockroach/s on one plank
#3;- with the other plank quickly bring it firmly down on the 1st plank.
Caution :- keep thumbs clear during the operation.
Dispose of squashed roaches in a manner that your local authority has sanctioned.

[Second Wave]

We have had the same results as "yacht planb" when we were infested with roaches while sailing along the north coast of South America. A fellow cruiser showed us how to mix sweetened condensed milk with boric acid to a stiff paste-like consistency. We rolled the stuff up into balls ~ 3/4" dia. and let them harden overnight. we placed a couple of dozen around the boat and miraculously all of the roaches disappeared within 14 days never to be seen again.

[canucksailor]

on a side note - bought the roach hotels, had a half dozen left which I kept well back on the galley shelf - the dog got into them one evening when I wasn't paying attention, she's kinda clever that way....after near heart failure, contacted the company's help line (at midnight) - seems there is only enough poison in even a half dozen hotels to kill cockroaches - the pup suffered no ill effects, although they cautioned me to observe her and take her to a vet if I had any concerns.
Scared the heck out of me though....

[fishwife]

I'd not heard of Palmetto Bugs and looked them up on Wikipedia.

Speedly things they are:

In an experiment carried out at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991, a Periplaneta americana registered a record speed of 5.4 kilometres per hour (3.4 mph), about 50 body lengths per second, which would be comparable to a human running at 330 kilometres per hour (210 mph).

P.

[sww914]

When I lived in Honolulu in condo, there were roaches everywhere. I used Roach Prufe at Paul Harvey's recommendation. It got rid of about 99% of the roaches only little guys around after that. It was almost good enough. I think it's just ionized boric acid so that it will stick to their bodies.
In Hawaii, working on cars for a living, I learned that every single car has roach motels under the seats. Every one.
There's a lot more room between me & the roaches in a house than on a boat. 100% is what I would shoot for.

[OliveOyl]

Originally Posted by SouthernComfort

You say you have a dog, don't leave dry dogfood out in a bowl when you are not cruising.

Cockroaches are there ONLY because there is food for them to eat.

One trick that we've used as far as the dog food goes is this:

Get a plate or other container that the dog food bowl can sit in. Mix some oil (olive or vegetable oil) with water and pour it on the plate, then sit the dog food bowl on the plate. This makes a 'mote' around the food so the roaches can't get to it. They'll try but they won't be able to swim in the oily water and drown. This way your dog won't have to suffer just because of the infestation.

[Irie]

They will eat your boat if you hide the food ....kill em!

[hellosailor]

"Palmetto bug" is just a genteel southern way of saying "AUGH! HUGE ROACHES!"

You know, proper folk just don't have roaches.

Sometimes I think the big ones are better than the small ones: Easier targets. :-)

[Randoneur]

Word is Diatomaceous Earth. That is what is in SHREDDER ROACH KILLER. We bought ours on-line, so search the web for it. It worked, eliminated the roach problem.

[hellosailor]

That's a mild abrasive (used in toothpaste like Crest) which works the same way as boric acid. Except, boric acid is much easier to find (any drug store or pharmacy) and clings to the roaches by static electricity, so it gets trekked into the nest to kill other roaches as well.

The same "death of a thousand cuts" and dessication of the roach in either case. As long as you use it regularly, to kill the newcomers before they lay eggs and to kill the hatchlings before THEY start another cycle, it will work. (Although the roach baits are easier to clean up and won't be inhaled; any kind of "sharp hard particles" are bad for your lungs.)

[zeehag]

i spray the decking of the bot everytime i put into a strange and questionable dock situation--there is a spray to be obtained in walmart that actually kills em dead ----when i am at dock, the kat is on leash and cannot get into the mischief with the spray residue--the residue lasts 3 months for sure altho' the container says longer....