# Help !!!!! Roaches Aboard



## hooligan6a (Sep 9, 2007)

I need help, I have roaches the size of a small dog on my boat. A while back some told me about this magic stuff that will get rid of them, it's called Mau- Mau or Wik-Wikor Mik-Mik or something like that.
Anyone have any suggestions short of blowing my boat up??


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

When I took possession of my boat and our first night sleeping on it... OH MY GAWD! they came out! 
Later when we left it on the mooring I got a few cans of fumigant one is supposed to work I set off 3 LOL and put out boric acid powder and roach hotels. Have never seen another. 

I suggest you try that!


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

+1 for boric acid ... an added bonus is that unlike fumigant bombs, the boric acid isn't poisonous to humans.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

the nice thing was the boat closed up sitting on a mooring made the fumigation work very very well. a week later most of the dead bugs were in the bilge. guess they tried to swim out? LOL


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## garyguss (Oct 9, 2007)

Smoke em if you got 'em


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## tattoosteve (Feb 2, 2011)

garyguss said:


> Smoke em if you got 'em


very funny!:laugher i might also suggest that once you rid yourself of your unwanted guests, never bring cardboard boxes or brown paper bags aboard.


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## SVPrairieRose (Oct 10, 2009)

Rather than poison yourself Michael Greenwald, author of cruising chef would have you get a gecko on board. Stays out of the way and will make short work of those damn things. Good luck


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## MARC2012 (Mar 17, 2008)

What does the chef recommend when the roaches are gone,cook the gecko?marc


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## garyguss (Oct 9, 2007)

MARC2012 said:


> What does the chef recommend when the roaches are gone,cook the gecko?marc


Buy a Mongoose to eat the Gecko ... and so it begins..


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## HeartsContent (Sep 14, 2010)

SVPrairieRose said:


> Rather than poison yourself Michael Greenwald, author of cruising chef would have you get a gecko on board. Stays out of the way and will make short work of those damn things. Good luck


Funny that you say that. When staying in a bungalow by the beach in Thailand, I noticed that there were little lizards running around. I asked the staff about it and they said the lizards eat the roaches and other bugs - free pest control!


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## PorFin (Sep 10, 2007)

Add me as an advocate for boric acid. Worked for us in North FL, where the roaches are sometime known to intimidate small dogs.



wingNwing said:


> +1 for boric acid ... an added bonus is that unlike fumigant bombs, the boric acid isn't poisonous to humans.


Wish my parents had know this detail.

Guess how a 4 year old tells the difference between a Sweet Tart and a boric acid tablet?? He doesn't -- hence one of my numerous trips to the ER as a child. Nothing like memories of having your stomach pumped through a nasal catheter to keep you from making the same mistake twice...


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## WDaniels (Apr 2, 2007)

Paul Harvey use to advertise this stuff: Roach Proof. Stuff is great. Might be boric acid itself. get it at ACE Hardware.
WD


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

i spray the hailout of anything i see walking on this boat that doesnt answer to its name.
there re geckos on the rocks near my boat here in mazatlan. i am plagued with other flying teeth...flies, skeeterz,and such. the ones here seem to be immune to good poisons.


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## theoceanaire (Sep 20, 2010)

When we bought our boat in Miami, it was sitting for a while and had Palmetto Bugs (Florida speak for giant roaches). We tried most of the above remedies, but in the end, after almost a year, we closed it up, bombed it heavily, and went away for few days. We never had a problem since. Make sure you open all of the hatches and cabinets. OH, and it didn't kill us!


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

any time you sit at a dock, cockroaches try to find their way into boat-- they fly, they walk lines, they crawl ..... i spray the lines and deck, then i spray under everything inside--- so far, (crosses fingrs) so good---- i swatted 2 babies that flew into boat when a storm was brewing--- i keep praying to sea gods to keep em out of my boat---- but it doesnt hurt to have good toxic spray on hand.


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## Tim R. (Mar 23, 2003)

SVPrairieRose said:


> Rather than poison yourself Michael Greenwald, author of cruising chef would have you get a gecko on board. Stays out of the way and will make short work of those damn things. Good luck


And where do all those yummy roach bits go after the gecko eats them? Sounds like trading one problem for another. That is what messed up the Galapagos.


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

I've found a duel strategy of boric acid and "Roach Motels" works pretty well. Just mix a little boric acid with sugar water, and leave that in a small open container or two in the bilge. If you put a little chunk of sponge in the container it will be essentially spill-proof (just make sure your pets can't get at them). Then, place a few "Roach Motels" in various spots around the boat. The sugar in the boric acid solution will attract the roaches to it, and alleviate having to spread the powder around. The "Roach Motels" will not only catch a lot of roaches, but will also help you to monitor the boat for any subsequent infestations.


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

my kat would eat the gecko an then i would be in same boat--with cucarochas-- aint happening. cucarocha may inherit the earth, however, it will NOT inherit my boat.. i will go with killemded poison. kat wont touch that. he is gooood.


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## wescarroll (Jan 9, 2005)

I have used diatomascus earth (available at some drugstores, after that you're on your own) with varying degrees of success. I also many moons ago read of a spider that will actually hunt down roaches, but don't know the species or any thing else about them, as I said many moons ago. But, you kind of have the same problem as the gecko when the job is finished. One thing that works very well is wintering in Michigan, they hate the cold, one winter and they are gone.


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## MARC2012 (Mar 17, 2008)

Wintering in Michigan on a boat,afraid would rather fight the roaches.Winter on boats should be done south.Remember salt water freezes at 70 .


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## Zingaro (Apr 1, 2010)

*Warning!!!*

Setting off three bug bombs on your boat can be very dangerous. With that much aerosol in the air any spark from a bilge switch or anything else can blow you boat sky high. A boat is a very small space even one can could cause an explosion if proper measures are not taken to avoid it.

I am sorry I don't remember the name at the moment put they make pastes down that you put down like caulk. Great long term roach control.

No more cardboard aboard ship.


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

cucarochas fly., they fly into boats. is not necessarily cardboard bringing them in. spraying the nooks and crannies works. bombing does not work. borax didnt work. a friend's boat in gulf had em--nasty critters. spray with good poison and having roach motels works. we tried everything before i got the spray and used it--i used it on dock lines, on deck, inside dark places and up into all cracks in the interior. worked great. must repeat 2-3 times, and every 3-4 months.
fumigation fogging will not blow up your boat.


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## bandaidmd (Jul 28, 2011)

Zingaro said:


> Setting off three bug bombs on your boat can be very dangerous. With that much aerosol in the air any spark from a bilge switch or anything else can blow you boat sky high. A boat is a very small space even one can could cause an explosion if proper measures are not taken to avoid it.
> 
> I am sorry I don't remember the name at the moment put they make pastes down that you put down like caulk. Great long term roach control.
> 
> No more cardboard aboard ship.


I own some rental property so sometimes my exterminator really earns his/my money.I believe the paste your referring to is growth regulator and its sort of like birth control for roaches. You might check with a local exterminator i don't know if its available to the general public. One of the things they tell you when using this method is to not kill the ones you see so they can carry it back to the nest.


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