spiders
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Simple, Rick...
Go Sailing! Seriously, we're plagued by spiders at some marinas on the Chesapeake Bay. A good brisk wind and an uphill run usually blows the Windex and annemometer cups free. The inventor in me wants to build a tool that will hold a can of bug spray and can be hoisted up the mainsail track and triggered by a solenoid. Down lower, at night, I take a flashlight and can of flying insect spray and hit every web crawler I can find. A wisk broom takes off the webs and the boat is still spider-free in the morning. By next weekend new little pirate buggers have boarded and need to be attacked again!
Go Sailing! Seriously, we're plagued by spiders at some marinas on the Chesapeake Bay. A good brisk wind and an uphill run usually blows the Windex and annemometer cups free. The inventor in me wants to build a tool that will hold a can of bug spray and can be hoisted up the mainsail track and triggered by a solenoid. Down lower, at night, I take a flashlight and can of flying insect spray and hit every web crawler I can find. A wisk broom takes off the webs and the boat is still spider-free in the morning. By next weekend new little pirate buggers have boarded and need to be attacked again!
and mor spiders
We have spider problems here also. I have had to climb the mast to clear some very strong spider webs from the windex. We take a can of insecticide to the top and spay every crevice we can find. We also use the same procedure on the boat. That holds them for a while anyway.
We have spider problems here also. I have had to climb the mast to clear some very strong spider webs from the windex. We take a can of insecticide to the top and spay every crevice we can find. We also use the same procedure on the boat. That holds them for a while anyway.
Spiders Everywhere!
Rick, they are terrible at my dock. I've tried most everything and cannot get rid of the little critters, all I can seem to do is keep them at bay. Once a week I spray the rub rail and dock lines with Spectracide insect killer. The product is colorless, odorless and comes in a plastic pump bottle. Seems to have cut their numbers quite a bit but by no means gotten rid of them. At least now they don't wake me up rummaging through the galley at night. Good Luck!
Rick, they are terrible at my dock. I've tried most everything and cannot get rid of the little critters, all I can seem to do is keep them at bay. Once a week I spray the rub rail and dock lines with Spectracide insect killer. The product is colorless, odorless and comes in a plastic pump bottle. Seems to have cut their numbers quite a bit but by no means gotten rid of them. At least now they don't wake me up rummaging through the galley at night. Good Luck!
This is news to me
Wow this is INCREDIBLE. I have had my boats at several different marinas and I have never heard of people having this problem. Judging by this forum it is not limited to just one area. I see people haveing this problem in MS - MD - TN - AL. Rick I see you are in Alabama I am not sure where in AL but I am guessing I am less than 100 miles from you. I have never heard of suck a problem. I do know spiders don't travel far, I think I would find a dingy and go under the dock. I would bet you will find some even larger webs there. I would also check with your dock mates to see which ones are having the same problem, it might give you a better idea where the main nest of them are at.
Wow this is INCREDIBLE. I have had my boats at several different marinas and I have never heard of people having this problem. Judging by this forum it is not limited to just one area. I see people haveing this problem in MS - MD - TN - AL. Rick I see you are in Alabama I am not sure where in AL but I am guessing I am less than 100 miles from you. I have never heard of suck a problem. I do know spiders don't travel far, I think I would find a dingy and go under the dock. I would bet you will find some even larger webs there. I would also check with your dock mates to see which ones are having the same problem, it might give you a better idea where the main nest of them are at.
SPIDERS--EEEK!
Ya'all come on up north and we'll show you some spiders! Ours lay eggs in the sails and on vertical surfaces in covered areas. A few also will find their way into the cabin. They are not much of a problem until July when the knats get very active, then the spiders get into their obese mode. They get to about 1" in diameter, are light brown and if squished leave a powerful stain of the same color, very difficult to get out of sail cloth. I love swishing them off of the boat, the Bluegills and Crappies go into a feeding frenzie. I use a pole duster to collect them and their webs when we come aboard and in the the morning. When the Barn Swallows are nesting under the docks, it is not unusual to have a dozen or two swooping in and out as the cleaning operation is in progress, quite an aerobatic show. There are a few more sophisticated methods: the non-ecofriendly variety of flying insect sprays, a spray intended just for spiders, don't remember a name, but found in hardware stores. In the cabin, a few sheets of "Bounce" left around on leaving the boat will give you a spider free cabin by the next weekend. Good Hunting!
Ya'all come on up north and we'll show you some spiders! Ours lay eggs in the sails and on vertical surfaces in covered areas. A few also will find their way into the cabin. They are not much of a problem until July when the knats get very active, then the spiders get into their obese mode. They get to about 1" in diameter, are light brown and if squished leave a powerful stain of the same color, very difficult to get out of sail cloth. I love swishing them off of the boat, the Bluegills and Crappies go into a feeding frenzie. I use a pole duster to collect them and their webs when we come aboard and in the the morning. When the Barn Swallows are nesting under the docks, it is not unusual to have a dozen or two swooping in and out as the cleaning operation is in progress, quite an aerobatic show. There are a few more sophisticated methods: the non-ecofriendly variety of flying insect sprays, a spray intended just for spiders, don't remember a name, but found in hardware stores. In the cabin, a few sheets of "Bounce" left around on leaving the boat will give you a spider free cabin by the next weekend. Good Hunting!
Just in freshwater?
Are most of your boats in freshwater lakes? I've never seen anything around the gulf but an occasional jumping spider on my boat, and we let them roam to kill any dirt daubers that come around. Don't know how hard it is to clean up spider poop, but if it's anything like seagull shit or puke I feel sorry for you guys. Nothing makes my day like getting to the boat and finding some intelligent gull chewed up a whole crab and then yakked it up right in the cockpit. The stuffs like scraping off barnicles.
Are most of your boats in freshwater lakes? I've never seen anything around the gulf but an occasional jumping spider on my boat, and we let them roam to kill any dirt daubers that come around. Don't know how hard it is to clean up spider poop, but if it's anything like seagull shit or puke I feel sorry for you guys. Nothing makes my day like getting to the boat and finding some intelligent gull chewed up a whole crab and then yakked it up right in the cockpit. The stuffs like scraping off barnicles.
Essex, CT - brackish but still high salt content
On the CT river, the water is brackish that far up the river (about 5 miles). And there are plenty of them. At that point of the river, the water is basically still salty, but it is somewhat cut by the river content. The CT river is 50 miles west of me (Narragansett Bay) and I have never heard of a spider problem here - or in the area. I guess the conditions are not right here.
On the CT river, the water is brackish that far up the river (about 5 miles). And there are plenty of them. At that point of the river, the water is basically still salty, but it is somewhat cut by the river content. The CT river is 50 miles west of me (Narragansett Bay) and I have never heard of a spider problem here - or in the area. I guess the conditions are not right here.
I have spider colonies
On my new Hunter 25, I'd swear Hunter designed the area under the rub rail as a spider recreation area. The only way I can keep them off and out of my boat is to use the spectracide product mentioned earlier. I do recommend coming to the boat in the evening. That will give you direct access to some of these creatures as they definately come out at night.
On my new Hunter 25, I'd swear Hunter designed the area under the rub rail as a spider recreation area. The only way I can keep them off and out of my boat is to use the spectracide product mentioned earlier. I do recommend coming to the boat in the evening. That will give you direct access to some of these creatures as they definately come out at night.
It seems to me.................
If you have recessed areas that the spiders like to call home the best thing to do is to eliminate these places. For instance the previous person to make a post states they live under the rub rail. I think I would get some tape and RTV sealant and fill the open gap there or atleast block off the area.
If you have recessed areas that the spiders like to call home the best thing to do is to eliminate these places. For instance the previous person to make a post states they live under the rub rail. I think I would get some tape and RTV sealant and fill the open gap there or atleast block off the area.
Please do not hurt spiders...they have rights too.
They keep other pesty insects away...please don't hurt them, they need our love too just like every other little animal on our planet. abe
They keep other pesty insects away...please don't hurt them, they need our love too just like every other little animal on our planet. abe
Millitant spiders
After having this problem for several years I have come to realize the following: Spiders spread by parachute (Airborne Rangers or Special Forces types from birth) They will set up shop anywhere you don't disturb at least once a day. Your neighbors spiders are yours and yours his. Spiders eat other bugs (some of which I like even less than spiders) Once a marina has a spider problem, the only thing that will eliminate it is a really cold winter. Soooooo Your boat is being invaded by an elite force of "tough as nails" bugs that don't know the meaning of "quit". They are mindless bloodthirsty killers that will neither take nor give any quarter. They don't sleep, are patient in the extreme, breed prolifically, and don't care one iota about the mess they make in the process. Let them live in the corners and eat the bugs cause you can't get rid of them for any length of time.
After having this problem for several years I have come to realize the following: Spiders spread by parachute (Airborne Rangers or Special Forces types from birth) They will set up shop anywhere you don't disturb at least once a day. Your neighbors spiders are yours and yours his. Spiders eat other bugs (some of which I like even less than spiders) Once a marina has a spider problem, the only thing that will eliminate it is a really cold winter. Soooooo Your boat is being invaded by an elite force of "tough as nails" bugs that don't know the meaning of "quit". They are mindless bloodthirsty killers that will neither take nor give any quarter. They don't sleep, are patient in the extreme, breed prolifically, and don't care one iota about the mess they make in the process. Let them live in the corners and eat the bugs cause you can't get rid of them for any length of time.
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