Controlling Pests on your Boat
Many kinds of pest, such as spiders, rodents, insects, and even racoons, can infest your boat and make enjoying your trip more difficult. Some of them can even damage your watercraft. Luckily, there are a number of different things you can do to make your vessel less appealing to pests. This guide from Island Watersports has more information.
A Thorough Clean
Many animals use loose trash and debris in order to make their nests. That’s part of the reason why just keeping your boat clean can go a long way towards helping keep the pests away. Cleaning also removes food traces like crumbs and spills from your vessel. Remember, many pest animals have a very powerful sense of smell, so anything that leaves behind even a tiny food smell can attract them to your boat. This includes activities like fishing and grilling.
Use Scented Deterrents
It’s true that scent can attract pests to your boat, but scent is also a great way to keep pests away. Applying a mixture of cayenne pepper and ammonia to the edge of your boat is a good way to deter pests. The mixture should be kept away from your eyes at all times and reapplied monthly.
If you’d rather not deal with mixing chemicals, you can use mothballs instead. Mothballs can be stored in your boat’s compartments, in sheets of fabric near your boat’s edges, or stuffed into tubes to hang around your vessel. Heavily scented soaps or dryer sheets can be used to deter larger animals like otters and racoons.
Ultrasonic Sound Devices
Ultrasonic devices are a non-lethal, chemical free way to keep animals away from your boat. The best part is that they operate at frequencies beyond human hearing, so they won’t annoy you. Try to find a waterproof model. Solar-powered ultrasonic devices are convenient since they don’t require frequency battery changes.
Covers
Pest animals often use watercraft in storage as a shelter, especially in winter. A good boat cover will go a long way towards keeping these animals out. We recommend going to check the integrity of the boat cover every once in a while. Many pests are talented at squeezing into tiny openings, and a cover that only partially covers your boat isn’t doing its job.
Shop boats at Island Watersports in Fenwick Island, Delaware. We’re proud to serve communities like Ocean City and Salisbury, Maryland. We also offer service, parts, financing, rentals, boat club, winterization, and a pro shop. We hope to see you soon!