[bristol299bob]

Of course, the best way is to sail often!

These past few weeks, family obligations have conspired against me. Graduations, birthdays, car repairs ... All competing for my precious time on the water.

This weekend I arrived to find tons of spiders, hiding in very possible nook and crany. And kept finding them all weekend long. In the folds of canvas, in lines, tracks of the boom, mast, blocks. Everywhere.

Now I'm no arachnophobe but I got damn tired of killing these things. Any tips or tricks to keep the spiders away?

 

[hellosailor]

Buy geckos.

Or, arachnicide:

Amazon.com : TERRO 2300 16-Ounce Spider Killer Aerosol (Discontinued by Manufacturer) : Insect Repellents : Patio, Lawn & [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ImcTD9%[email protected]@[email protected]@41ImcTD9%2BBL

 

[kentobin]

For spiders I've had good luck with The Ortho Home Defense MAX. No idea how long it will last. Picked up a gallon a Home Depot.

My boat is on the hard in a storage yard by a wetlands area in California and I get inundated with spiders.

Here's a link to the manufacturere's website:
Ortho Home Defense MAX Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer

 

[CaptainForce]

Shrink wrap?

 

[jzk]

The best way for me is to be on the boat in the evening when they come out. Then, I go hunting with a flashlight and a fly swatter. I mostly just knock them into the water to keep from making a mess. In the morning, wherever there are webs is where I need to keep working. Occasionally I will spray if it gets out of hand.

It is so much better having a spider free boat, and not even because they are creepy. They make lots of mess that stains the gelcoat.

 

[H and E]

I have used electronic pest control devices in my shop with good success. If you have 110v available this may work on a boat as well, but I have not tried it yet.

Amazon.com - ET Pest Control (Targets Spiders) - Pest Controlling [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51sqzD7U2EL

 

[AirborneSF]

Then come the dirt daubers, which eat the spiders, and build their nest in ANYTHING on the boat.

 

[Don L]

I didn't realize that spiders were really an issue. I have never seen a spider on my boat so maybe you need a Don

 

[caberg]

Launched on May 12 this year, before the weather had really warmed up, did one treatment with a spray insecticide on launch day in all the usual hiding spots, keep the boat on a mooring or anchor, rarely come into a dock, and we've been relatively spider free this season.

Last season, got a late start launching in mid-June, and we were battling them all summer long. The spiders themselves don't really bother me all that much, but the poop is another story. Sailing regularly did not seem to do anything to keep their numbers down.

 

[jzk]

One time I went aloft for one reason or another and noticed dozens of baby spiders inside the anchor light lens.

 

[SecondWindNC]

Then come the dirt daubers, which eat the spiders, and build their nest in ANYTHING on the boat.

These speakers sounded terrible, I wonder why!

 

[killarney_sailor]

It seems to be regional (or continental). On Lake Ontario the spider battle seems constant. We left our boat for months at docks in Australia and South Africa and on a mooring in Ecuador for a month and nary a spider (probably a particularly good thing in Oz where they have all the dangerous 8-leggers. In fact I can't think we ever had a spider on board in 33,000 miles. I guess they know I had spider spray onboard.

 

[SecondWindNC]

I always assumed it's a freshwater/saltwater thing. Ours is brackish but more fresh than salt, and we definitely get spiders. OP's location in Oriental is similar but probably a little more salty since it's closer to the coast. Seems like a few days out on the coast in saltwater usually clears them out, but it could be that's just because we're on the boat and sailing.

Maybe some posters from saltwater locations can chime in on whether they deal with this as well?

 

[safira]

For the spider problem you can always let momma nature take care of them for you by getting either gecko's or the anole (push-up) lizards onboard ... I catch about half a dozen each year and let them loose onboard and abracadabra spiders, misquito's, gnats and the fly's are kept in check. They are also fun to watch when you get bored.

 

[SVTatia]

It seems to be regional (or continental). On Lake Ontario the spider battle seems constant. We left our boat for months at docks in Australia and South Africa and on a mooring in Ecuador for a month and nary a spider (probably a particularly good thing in Oz where they have all the dangerous 8-leggers. In fact I can't think we ever had a spider on board in 33,000 miles. I guess they know I had spider spray onboard.

After a long battle with roaches when they came aboard first in Bermuda and then Brazil (yes, they do fly to the boat!!), spiders are not an issue at all, and sometimes welcome, given the stuff they catch.... But still needs some kind of birth control - an occasional squish.

 

[Faster]

Maybe some posters from saltwater locations can chime in on whether they deal with this as well?

Can't say we have any kind of significant spider issue, very occasional much as we might see at home.

Thinking back, though, for some years we moored in an old river estuary that was quite brackish, with a larger nearby river laying on a fresh water 'layer' over the sea water for much of the year. While I don't remember chasing spiders, I do recall seemingly indestructable 'free telltales' in the form of spider webs all up and down the rig - so presumably spiders were around.

Haven't noticed the rigging webs so much since we moved to a saltier marina..

 

[PaulinVictoria]

I think you need a bird. Of course you'll need a cat to catch that, then a dog, a goat, a cow and a horse. You won't have any flies though so that's a bonus.

 

[Kenn43]

Bengal Roach Spray. Sprays like a fog so you can get into cracks and crevices. Also kills wasps and mud daubers. Won't spot or mar paint or fabric. Lasts for a long time when used as a space fogger. My #1 go to for critters.

 

[wind_magic]

I know I am more tolerant of spiders than most, but they don't really bother me unless they are large and move fast like a wolf spider. As long as they are small and mind their own business, which they tend to do, I don't mind them.

How to get rid of them ? Don't know. Cats will eat them if they are large enough to be worth their trouble.

 

[Ulladh]

Remove the spider egg sacks (white fuzzy pea size ball) before they hatch in the spring, after that a few spiders on board will take care of any mosquito problem.

My mother would never kill a spider, she would just pick it up and take it outside, I do the same.