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An earlier thread suggested using moth balls but I found it took much too much time to collect them in significant numbers.

EEk I hate wasps. Got stung in the side of the neck once and that did it for me.

Before launch day, while the boat is in the yard on the trailer, I have to watch out for the paper wasps. I try to keep the shop vac on hand; if wasps are there, I vacuum them nest and all. Let the vacuum run for a couple of minutes after sucking them up, and they're usually dead or otherwise unconscious. (I also make sure that there is water in the vac, too...just for the added insurance that they won't be airborne when I pull the lid off)

After launch day, in the water, I have to watch for the mud wasps. One year, I got "lucky" and never got bothered from a small mud nest I never knew existed (under the side trim in the V berth). I found the nest during my interior overhaul the following spring. The next year, I found a larger nest hanging on one of my window curtains. That one had live larvae in it when I found it (its sentry thankfully gone for the moment), so I ripped the nest loose and threw it in the lake for the fish. No more problems for the rest of the summer.

Maybe a wasp trap is the way to go. Hang one inside the cabin, and if wasps get in, they will likely end up going after the scent from the wasp trap and get stuck inside of it. Or better yet, hang one outside the boat so they hopefully never get inside. Only problem with that is that you might end up attracting them....ugh....I hate wasps.....

I have read that citranella and cat nip are excellent repellents.

JimmyP

We have cats nip in one of the flower gardens, doesnt work. We cant keep the cats out.

On a serious note its way fun to watch the cats when theyre all stoned out.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think I'll try to figure out how to mount a screen that I can attach to the inside of the companionway. If I sew a canvas border to some reinforced screen material, maybe I can attach it with velcro all the way around. That along with mothballs may do some good. Then I can worry about the ones in the mast and the boom.

FYI

The chemical name for moth balls is Naphthalene. There are quite a few "deodorizers" that are basically naphthalene (those disks you see in the bottom of urinals etc.). So if you see a "head deoderizer" for less than a pack of moth balls, check and see if the active ingredient is naphthalene. I've also seen naphthalene disks sold in WalMart as part of a cloths hanger assembly (supposed to deodorize your cloths????). Anyway the previous idea to hang moth balls in panty hose seems like a sound idea.

I've had good luck with moth balls (so long as I remember to restock).

r

I've also seen naphthalene disks sold in WalMart as part of a cloths hanger assembly (supposed to deodorize your cloths????).

I'd guess that it's to keep moths away, first and foremost.

I spray the inside of the hatch and anywhere else they might be getting in with Insect surface spray, the theory is that they have to land or touch momentarily somewhere around the opening as entering and then they die, in practice we have reduced bugs in the boat by approx 90% and no mud wasp or paper wasp nests have been seen inside since we started using the spray.

Glenn

The chemical name for moth balls is Naphthalene.

That explains it. Ill see if i can return the nets and tiny scissors

I think I'll try to figure out how to mount a screen that I can attach to the inside of the companionway. If I sew a canvas border to some reinforced screen material, maybe I can attach it with velcro all the way around.

I think you will still find instructions for an insect screen in the mod section but if not I used some no seeum netting and glued velcro to both sides of the edging and then put the hook velcro right around the edge of the hatches.
I tried gluing the hook bit with different glues but the best way was to use the self gluing type after roughing up the gelcoat and I used 1" wide material eventually.
This works perfectly with our sandflies which are almost impossible to see but they certainly can sting if you leave it open just on dark.
It may also pay to sew in a zipper or a pocket so that the screen can be closed from the outside this has worked perfectly for four years in our tropics now

rgranger wrote:FYI

The chemical name for moth balls is Naphthalene.

r

And all these years, I thought that it was paradichlorobenzene. I set a test tube of that stuff on fire in high school chemistry class.

~Rich

Hamin' X wrote:

rgranger wrote:FYI

The chemical name for moth balls is Naphthalene.

r

And all these years, I thought that it was paradichlorobenzene. I set a test tube of that stuff on fire in high school chemistry class.

~Rich

You're both right, sort of. They *used to* use Naphthalene for mothballs, but that has since been replaced by para-dichlorobenzene.