Carver Owners Forum

Yes there are spiders on boats and lots of them if not controlled. Rick recently posted his shopvac solution to eliminating spiders and figured it is a great topic so here we are.

let's hear your solution.

I have used several spray products over the years. When I leave the boat I lightly spray the dock lines and fenders in hopes of keeping the critters at bay. The trick is finding the right product. I came across it, called Bugtek. https://ca.binnacle.com/p13290/Bug-Tek- ... _info.html

Water based and once hit they die in seconds. My technique is to go out with my flashlight when it's dark as this is when they spin their webs and await their pray. A little shot of this stuff is all it takes. Along with treating deployed dock lines and fenders and spider hunting a couple of times at the beginning of the season, I normally remain entirely spider free for the rest of the season.

That being said, the spider issue is always outside. I have seen a spider once in a blue moon inside the boat but definitely not an issue.

A little about Bugtek. It is water based as mentioned, does not leave any trace after spraying anywhere including windows, gelcoat and canvas. Spray it on your hands and no residue or sticky feeling, just as if you sprayed water. Saw the product on demonstration several years back, salesman claims it is non toxic so he sprays it into his mouth and swallows. I would never do that but I swear this is what he did. I use it quite often on plants around my home to control insects especially all the indoor plants. Great product.

.....I have used Bugtek, seems to work fine....interesting active ingredient ( Permethrin )....read about ( google ) , it has quite the history as for it's uses.

Thanks Bud37,

Just bought some super concentrate which is a heck of a lot cheaper. The Bugtek has 0.25% Permetherin. The concentrate is 37% which leads me to belive I can mix about 45 gallons. Will ship to the US and eventually bring home. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Permethrin-SFR ... 0005.m1851

Midnightsun wrote:Source of the post Thanks Bud37,

Just bought some super concentrate which is a heck of a lot cheaper. The Bugtek has 0.25% Permetherin. The concentrate is 37% which leads me to belive I can mix about 45 gallons. Will ship to the US and eventually bring home. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Permethrin-SFR ... 0005.m1851

Just read the warnings if you have cats....

Thanks for the heads up as we do have cats but not at the boat. When used at home it is not sprayed all over the place, just on infected plants and will make sure the cats cannot get to them.

Found this.

Permethrin SFR is safe around children and pets as long as they are kept out of the area during the application and they do not return to the area until it is dry. Permethrin SFR should not be used in an organic garden because it is a synthetic product and it is not labeled for use on most types of edible plants.

Been using Bugtek and some of their other products for a few years now. Good stuff.

Sounds like you may have been talking to Peter, he really knows his stuff and is a great guy too.

Permethrin update......... Holy Cow is all I can say. While on the hard the boat was infested with webs and spiders. I used a fogger and treated the entire boat, within minutes all the spiders were dropping dead, I kid you not. Once at the dock I sprayed the dock, the lines and the PWC with a simple spray bottle. Not a single spider, bug or web to be found. 1 oz of permethrin in 1.5l of water. The fogger really works well and will most likely bring it back to the boat on the next couple of weeks for another shot as it shoots pretty far and I can easily get to the arch and its equipment which alway seem to be a preferred nesting area for spiders. A fogger is by no means required as a spray bottle will easily do the trick. https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/46396024275

Slight odour to the product but completely disappears after an hour or so. No residue, no streaks or funky stuff going on, in fact no different than spraying the boat with water. Two thumbs up for sure.

Personally I do not have a problem using chemicals outside but I shy away from using them inside. Just not sure how harmful they could be to me or my family. The shop vac does a pretty good job inside. Knock on wood the spiders have not been bad at my dock or boat so far this season.

Just for clarification, I do not use this inside the cabin however I did do the cockpit hard top area and canvas.

Midnightsun wrote:Source of the post Just for clarification, I do not use this inside the cabin however I did do the cockpit hard top area and canvas.

That makes more sense. And probably much safer too.