Stupid problem... HELP!

[_brad_]

I have a stupid problem. I just bought a 1971 Startcraft 17' with a 1977 Evinrude 70 from a guy down the road. He said the boat has always been stored outdoors uncovered. Well, surprisingly the interior is still good, however, I have been blessed with buying a boat which includes a wasps nests somewhere inside.

I have yet to find it; and frankly cant since I am seriously allergic to bees.

I cant spray the nest since well, I cant see it! Any other thoughts how I can kill off this nest? I was thinking about flooding the boat with a garden hose and then draining it a few hours later??? But I don't know if that would be a good idea since the floor is all wood...

HELP!

 

[thumpar]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

I would cover it and set a bug bomb inside before flooding it.

 

[_brad_]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Ahhh I like that idea! I'm gunna look into bombs right now.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

that's not a stupid problem. might even be a common problem. at least i've experieced it before too. nasty little critters got me whilest i was tryin to put the steering wheel back on dads pontoon boat one year. casued me to jump overboard. only problem was the pontoon was on land. caught my foot on the rail and fell head first on the beach....at least my head didn't hurt to much for being stung a few times.....

i'm with everyone else. a bug bomb....go get em and be carefull if yer allergic to them bees. one sting as ya know can be dangerous for you......i was glad it was me that year that got stung as dad was allergic to bee stings too.....

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

I have a 16' Starcraft closed bow. When I bought it it had been sitting outside uncovered for YEARS. Fortunately I didn't have any active nests to deal with but you would not believe how many nests I pulled out of that thing. I don't think 50 would be an exaggeration. There were a ton up under the closed bow, and all along the gunnels. Even now that the entire interior has been gutted and replaced one will still occaisionally fall out of somewhere. Kinda funny.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Throw a tarp over the boat. Toss in a bomb or two and go have a couple beers. If you don't have a shop vac, you will need one to clean up the bodies.

 

[rndn]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Tarp and bug bomb is the best solution. Afterwards just allow it to really air out as I'm told some of the bug bombs vapors can be flammable.

 

[Scout Sport Fish]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Bug bomb seems the way to go. Not to sure what kind of boat it is. (Not to familar with the make) but Just place a tarp over the boat and let a bug bomb or 2 go off .

 

[croSSed]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Bugbombs work really well, but don't use the kind that sprays a mist. Get the kind that you put in a tiny bit of water that actually put out a type of "smoke." They are best at penetrating crevices, etc.

TG

 

[_brad_]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Wow this is all great information! Thank you all!

Bug bomb it is! I'm going to go and get one this morning.


Thanks to all!!!

 

[_brad_]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Well I went and bought three canisters of bug bomb which stated it kills cockroaches, flies and spiders.

I covered the boat with a tarp, tossed one in the floor, one in the stern, and one in the center of the boat. The directions stated to use one canister in no smaller than a 5x5 room so it was thick. Waited 2 hours per the directions and...

All dead; laying there on their backs.

So for everyone, bug bombs DO work.

Thanks to all who helped!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Good idea! I never even thought about using a bug bomb, I've always just ran a hose to my truck exhaust and let it run a while pumping carbon monoxide either under the cover or into the room where I parked the boat or car or what ever needed exterminating. It works on moles and gophers too. (Try getting a family of pissed off critters out of the close quarters of a cuddy cabin). I did the same thing to an old van I just bought, it had a half dozen nests inside, I just opened the window a bit, slid in the hose, started the truck and sat and watched them fall. If your problem is furry critters, you may just want to leave an exit path so they don't die in some inaccessible corner you can't get at to remove them later, it's easier to let them move out on their own.

Up until this year I've had a real problem here with bees, but luckily I'm not allergic. the exhaust method sure work better than the weed whacker and smoke method, there's no swarm after the fact. This year there hasn't been a one, even the farmers are complaining that there's a problem. There's plenty of wood borers and wasps though, and hornets too. I took a 24' paper football full of them out of a trailer last month.
The exhaust works great, I was able to go in and cut down the nest and bag it for trash with not a single one moving. (make sure you use a gasoline engine vehicle though, older the better, the newer ones burn too clean to do the trick quickly, and diesel soots up the place too much and isn't as lethal or as quick).

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Give the neighborhood 10 year old 20 bucks, and a shopvac. Tell him to beat the deck and such until the bees come out. Then, catch them in midair with the shopvac. When you get done, a can of raid or other bug killer, ironically, plugs the hose perfectly. Leave them in their for about 2 days, and dump out all the dead bees. It is actually kinda fun to suck up bees with a shopvac.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

If you do all these things at Night,............. The YellowJackets will Not leave the nest,........

I Don't think I'd try the Shop-Vac at night,....... But a Hornet Spray Bomb works Real Well........

 

[Coors]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

I detest yellow jackets; At night, sneak up behind the guard at the entrance; hit him and the nest with 4 gallons of gas, out of a 5 gallon bucket; you need it all real fast.Then torch the place.

 

[F_R]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Just a bit of amusement here about flooding them out. A friend of mine was out of town and we were being approached by a hurricane. So my friend called his dad and asked him to go out and put some water in his boat (on a trailer) so it wouldn't get blown away. Well good old dad went out and filled the boat slap full of water. Busted the boat from all the weight. But it didn't blow away.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Stupid problem... HELP!

Give the neighborhood 10 year old 20 bucks, and a shopvac. Tell him to beat the deck and such until the bees come out. Then, catch them in midair with the shopvac. When you get done, a can of raid or other bug killer, ironically, plugs the hose perfectly. Leave them in their for about 2 days, and dump out all the dead bees. It is actually kinda fun to suck up bees with a shopvac.

Tried the shop vac routine before, wasn't too successful, too many bees and only one hose. The gasoline trick works better. I use a coffee can for small nests either late at night or early in the morning when their all in the nest. I fill a coffee can about half way up or so, sneak up on the nest, cover the nest and slide the can sideways breaking the nest free dropping it into the gasoline killing all the bees and removing the nest. There's no need to even light the gas, but I usually do just to be safe. I stripped and salvaged an old cabin boat a while back that was loaded with bees, I took one of those old water and air pressure fire extinguishers and filled it with gas and pressurized the thing using it to spray the nests. (I used the stale gas from the boat, which was cheaper than bee spray). A few refills and the boat was all clear.
I stripped what I needed and finished the rest of the boat off with the front end loader.