Spiders

[tollycraft]

Never was a big problem before where I am but is now. I tried to search a thread on spiders but didn't see a lot of comments, perhaps I missed and didn't search enough. If someone can direct me to a thread dealing with this issue that would be great. If not, any suggestions on how to keep them at bay, I seen dryer sheets seem to work best, is this true? I did spray earlier this year but we have had a lot of rain. I will spray again but, is there anything else I can do. Thanks all.

 

[Dancin Dave]

What are you spraying?

 

[gredmer]

We have a few dryer sheets in the cabin and never see any spiders. hen again their food source is outside and they sure come out from the canvas after dark.

 

[JYurgo]

I use Ortho Home Defense Max. I spray everything that touches the boat and connects to land(dock lines, power cord, ...) I keep a bottle in my dockbox and spray once a week. I have noticed a big decrease in spiders compared to my neighbor who is out as much as I am. My other neighbor just started using the samething and he has seen a decrease also. You have to spray once a week if you wash your boat at least once a week. Good luck...

 

[tollycraft]

Couldn't tell the name off hand and my boats 2 hours away. I believ its just regular garden spider killer.

 

[tollycraft]

Thanks guys, I'll try a combination of your suggestions, should resolve the problem.

 

[CoralReefer]

I heard something crazy from a local but anything is worth a shot...LISTERINE in a spray bottle. Apparently there is something they don't like (not to mention humans) but it's supposed to work. I'll try and let you know how it works out.

 

[Dancin Dave]

Spraying an insecticide dockside is not the best approach for spider control on a boat. The active ingredient in the ortho product(permethrin) is very toxic to aquatic organisms(fish). I'm sorry to say that it is a bad recommendation to use such a product against label instructions near any natural bodies of water.

Try the listerine.

 

[JYurgo]

I guess my spider treatment earned me a red dot... Oh well, at least I don't have all those little black dots all over my boat from spider poop...

 

[Turtlesboat]

I leave a half used cigar in the cockpit when I leave. No spiders this year.

 

[ANYTIME]

I tried the dryer sheets....didn't work too well, went through a lot of them.

Tried a spider spray, it just seemed to piss them off!!

Tried the "No Pest Strips" and no more spiders. I just hang one of them from the cockpit overhead. They really work great.:smt001

 

[firecadet613]

I second the no pest strips, they work great! We keep a large ziplock bag on the boat, and put it in there when we are on the boat, and back out it comes when we leave for the day.

 

[RiverRat]

From all of the flooding this year we got hammered with all kinds of insects, spiders being the worst. Everyone on my dock got together to have an exterminator come out and spray the docks. We are going to have him come out every couple of weeks till they are back under control then go to a once a month treatment. It ended up only costing each of us $12.00 per application.

 

[Jack380AC]

I second the no pest strips, they work great! We keep a large ziplock bag on the boat, and put it in there when we are on the boat, and back out it comes when we leave for the day.

At the previous marina, we had tons of spiders. We did exactly the same as Firecadet (no-pest-strip, stow in zip-lock) with great results. We sprayed only where we saw signs of spiders on the boat such as gaps in the canvas and corners.

 

[firecadet613]

Walmart has them, most grocery/hardware stores should also. I picked up three, they say they last four months....

 

[Pakmule]

I tried the dryer sheet thing and have not had a lot of luck with it. Maybe I'll try the no pest strip thing. Thanks.

 

[sbw1]

We use the dreaded pesticide around aquatic life twice a year and I've not noticed any dead fish on our beach or around the slip. Sprayed our entire dock in May with Bug b' Gone and used Home Defense in lockers and in all the places spiders like to hide after detailing the boat in April. We had no spiders until we left for northern Lake Michigan in June and returned home in August. We picked up tons of spiders at the various marinas we visited while cruising and brought many of them home. After returning home, I resprayed the dock and soaked the boat with BBG using an applicator attached to a garden hose. Let everything sit for two days and then washed the boat. There is not a living insect to be found on the dock or boat and this will be the case until we pull the boat in mid October. Since boats are stored close together during layup and we have a neighbor's anchor that usually overhangs our cockpit, I spray that as well as any obvious spider webs with Home Defense which controls the spiders during layup. While the label does not recommend use around lakes, having a clean spider free boat is more important to me than what appears to be a minor threat to the environment.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Holy dead Cow.

 

[AndersonAcres]

I don't like to use poisons. IMO even taking something like pest strips down leaves a residue. Also, not seeing dead fish doesn't mean there's not a downside to BBG.

We've made a tea of bay leaves and sprayed it on the dock and boat with good success against spiders and ants. It's water soluable so reapplication after rains is necessary.

 

[sbw1]

Each to his own. BBG is approved for spraying on vegetables and Home Defense is approved for use inside homes. Spiders are not approved for boats or docks.