A cockroach lurking in the bananas.

If you cruise, the issue is not IF you will get cockroachs, but WHEN. As they’ve been working on their skills for a couple of hundred million years, the roaches are going to get in a few licks. However, over the past 25 years we’ve learned a few skills of our own, so take heart. There is a way to fight back.

The easiest way to avoid cockroaches is never to bring anything aboard from ashore. Of course after a while you’d starve to death, and then the cockroaches would have won. So, when things are brought aboard there are two issues that to deal with. First are live roaches. Second, and sometimes more difficult, are the eggs which roaches lay. Keep in mind that the eggs have a gestation period of 21 days.

Roaches like dark places. It is common to find them in bunches of fruit (bananas are a favorite hiding place), inside of shells and baskets, even within the folds of a new shirt. They like to lay their eggs in paper products, especially cardboard, and in the glue line between paper labels and cans.

Here are a few precautions: Never bring any paper products or packaging aboard. The best approach is to remove packaging in the store where the item is being purchased. Remove paper labels too. Always inspect and shake out the carrying bags used to bring goods from shore back to the boat.

If you have a box of cereal, for example, remove the cardboard packaging (inner package, as well, if it is paper) and store the contents in plastic.

Roach magnet.

Books and magazines from other yachts or shore are a source of eggs. If these are brought aboard, seal them in a plastic bag for three weeks to be sure no eggs are hatching (or they can be vacuum packed).

Fresh food is always washed on deck in a bucket of either fresh or salt water. Any critters along for ride tend to rise to the surface, gasping for air, and can then be caught and tossed overboard. The ideal situation is to leave a partially filled bucket on deck before you go ashore – so fruits and veggies can be instantly dunked when you come back from town.

Boric acid and condensed milk.

When locals bring foodstuffs or other items to sell or trade, always put the items into a bucket of water rather than allowing them on deck. These items often carry roaches, and leaving them on deck invites unwanted guests.

Sooner or later you’re going to see one of these lovely bugs scurrying on a counter or inside of a locker – probably late at night when you’re getting a snack. The standard ratio of visible-to-hidden roaches approaches 2000-to-one, so even one roach is a call to all-out war – especially if it is a pregnant female!

A variety of roach “hotels” are available. Some you bait, others use sticky paper. While these afford the pleasure of watching your prey squirm and wiggle, the odds are there are lots of roaches left scurrying around out of sight.

The best pesticide we’ve found is boric acid, mixed with something tasty. One approach is to mix boric acid powder and sugar – one part of each, and then spread it around the edges of lockers and shelves, and in bilge areas. A variation on this is to mix boric acid powder with condensed milk. This mixture is doughy and can be shaped into small snakes or balls and then placed in corners, cracks, etc.

Remember that even if you think you’ve killed all the roaches, there are almost certaintly eggs getting ready to hatch – so you need to maintain a war footing for a minmum of 21 days. Happy hunting!