Something's Bugging Me...

[zeehag]

i bought one it idnt work, cant use on an anchor4qage...yada yada yada..othrwise they are awesome and i wanted one soooo bad when i didnt have a boat yet...qnd when i was living aboard in lost angeles making 110,000usd annually aand going to every boat show i could find to go to .... BBUUTTT ... i dont use that method of short term food storage for living in my full time cruisie boat.... is a pita. i find ziplock baggies as far as i will go. i keep butter in a glass laura scuddders pb jar in fridge when at dock a and in same glass jar on shelf when i am anchored...
some folks religiously use fancy dancy snaplockwithagasket tops... no biggie iffn ye dont have that...

however it IS a biggie to run out of bisquik.

did i say that out loud...

i have kept for 4 - 5 yrs mixed bean soup in their plastic baggies in plastic baggie in a snaptop not gasket nor lock--no unwanted guests awesome. the one i kept in a hammock developed non rent paying unwanted guests in short order, less than a year. ok so i am impressed.

i have found more insects in fresh veggies and fruits than in cardboard containers.
just sayin.....

[atoll]

bay leaves!

put bay leaves in your airtight plastic containers along with dried goods,the bugs don't like it.

boric acid powder is the other thing you need to control roaches,and other crawling insects
sprinkle in the bottom of lockers,it will clear a heavily infested boat in 2-3 weeks

[model 10]

Originally Posted by atoll

boric acid powder is the other thing you need to control roaches,and other crawling insects
sprinkle in the bottom of lockers,it will clear a heavily infested boat in 2-3 weeks

I put some boric acid in a jar with some roaches and they didn't eat any of it. Lazy bums.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Guy

I put some boric acid in a jar with some roaches and they didn't eat any of it. Lazy bums.

thats great because it is pretty harmless to humans,and is not a poisen as such ,instead it makes the roaches sterile,and the boric acid particles are carried by the live roaches to their nests killing the next generations.

just killing a roach will effectively increase the population,as they will drop their egg pod on death,with 50 or so baby roaches in it,boric acid will ensure that the egg is not fertilised,and never hatches

[terminalcitygrl]

I read somewhere that folks take the labels off tin cans and write what they are in sharpie.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by terminalcitygrl

I read somewhere that folks take the labels off tin cans and write what they are in sharpie.

I think the main reason people do this, is if cans get wet the label turns to mush and contents are then a total mystery .

Although I don't take off labels (none of our cans are kept in the bilge), I do label the tops of cans with a Sharpie (just T for tomato, BB for baked beans, etc and the expiry month and year). The tops of cans are the only thing I see when I open a locker under the settee and it would be a pain to have to pull tins out until I found the one I wanted. The expiry date just makes it easy for me to keep the oldest stuff on top. A couple of times a year after a very big shop I empty each locker and put the newest stuff deepest. Having the expiry in big writing on top helps tremendously.

[John Casey]

Originally Posted by Guy

I put some boric acid in a jar with some roaches and they didn't eat any of it. Lazy bums.

Mix the boric acid (or Borax) with sugar water or honey. You can find a sorts of recipes online. The sugar will attract the critters, and the Borax will kill them.

Works in the garden. Should work on the boat too.

Wipes out an ant hill in 24 hours in these parts.

[Lubber4now]

A Spider can be your Friend

The gals came screeching out of the kitchen BIG SPIDER!!!!! and I was given the job.

One of those "housecleaners" - not only was it big as my hand it was FAST. Each time I slapped at it it dodged and ran, but I finally cornered it and moved in for the CDG. As I raised my hammer for ragnarok, the beast cringed so pitifully I couldn't do it.

I called them in and said watch - and sure enough awwwwww .... poor thing...
gee.. well... and pardon was given. I'm uncomfy with poison in the house and explained it probably was feeding on hidden nasties in the kitchen.

So he crewed on like a topman as pukka family.

We'd be in the LR and it would come thumping in on the ceiling to watch TV-

"Spidey... GIT" handclap and it raced back in the kitchen.

After a few moults Spidey got big as a VW but always had good manners and observed the house rules - and I admit we were a little sad the day I found "his" unshuffled mortal coil.

Names changed to protect the innocent. Any resemblance etc etc coincidental etc.

[emmajayashton]

Thanks for all the advice...as some of you have commented I'm considering it all very much part of the adventure! I've cleaned out the affected cupboards and repackaged everything so that now, skipper is complaining that he needs nothing short of a retinal scan and several access codes to get to the pitta bread.

It really is amazing, and it's made us think twice about hauling the boat out here. I can imagine returning after six months to a small pile of wood shavings with a radar dome on top. Or maybe the radar dome would be gone too.

I don't mind the huge red wasps, I find them quite amusing. They look like they are drunk. And they are big enough to squish...another plus. It's the tiny little b***s that concern me. Well, no weevils spotted for two days now. Keep your fingers crossed. I can spend my time staring in absolute awe at the swarm of jellyfish in the water instead until the next infestation reveals itself...locusts? crabs? Small wild pigs?

[zeehag]

omy emma, i wish these looked dronk--these look determined to swell ye up and send ye to hospital..avispas. 3 inch long, red, attitude. aarrgghhh.. persistent bastids, also.
i have saturated my wood topsides and my cloth covers with a combination of bleach, borax and powdered laundry soap i shoved into my hose and sprayed my boat with .
now we coated with dry soapy residue, and avispas sniff, and hopefully leave for friendlier territories. hope we dont have rain tonight......
oops. now, my hose exploded, and i have no more ammo as i need to buy another hose and more soap and bleach...i did catch one with the hose and mixture full on, and i think it went to sea...not certain, as it went down and i didnt see any smoke nor return of it above deck level.
we could well be in trouble here....will call mexican air force. could be good training exercises for them. only rarely have there beeen fewer than 5 of these airplane sized critters flying around and landing on my ratlines...

even bubba is a lil timid of them, and comes immediately indoors when he sees em.... smart kat...

if you get small wild pigs, send some of those bacon seeds here.. could use one or two....

[dannc]

From time to time we buy food from bulk containers in the store. Years ago in our old house we had an infestation of bugs/moths that we brought home in the bulk food. It took years to get rid of the bugs. They would hatch into little worms and crawl up our ceiling and into all sorts of places before making a cocoon. The worms would sometimes hang from the ceiling by a silk thread. If you were lucky, the worm would drop into your dinner.

Eventually, the cocoons would produce a moth.

At first we did not know how the bugs were getting into the house but eventually the infestation at the store was so bad there were moths flying around the store...

Now when we buy bulk food it goes into the freezer.

Later,
Dan

[zeehag]

we been lucky there so far--- isnt much pre packaged, and some of the repackaging can challenge ones ..... and so far the bin foods have been passable, no sign of flying things or crawly things... so far.... we watchin....

[emmajayashton]

We've just purchased some pretty hardcore ziploc bags and they are forming part of the bread defence league. I also heard that a bay leaf in flour/rice can prevent weevils...is this an urban myth?

I thought you might appreciate this video I managed to catch of a beetle escaping from the tumble dryer in our laundry room...made me laugh with his little fluffy feet!
http://vimeo.com/103470245

[DeepFrz]

Bay leaves definitely work. I spread them around in my kitchen cabinets and haven't had a problem since starting to use them about 6 or 7 yrs ago.

[Ex-Calif]

We just shifted houses a few months back.

As soon as we stocked the pantry armies of tiny black ants appeared. We got the traps and they just rerouted around them.

We got the exterminator and he had this gel that looked like silicon. I have no idea what it was but the ants clearly ate it as it disappeared over a week's time.

Haven't seen an ant in 3 months. This is Asia so I am sure it's a banned substance in the USA - LOL...

I just have to get buddy-buddy enough to get a tube to add to my bottom paint...