Keeping Pest Out of Your Boat

Pest animals, including spiders, rats, mice, insects, and racoons, can infest your boat and damage it. They can be a real nuisance, ruining what would otherwise be a highly enjoyable boat outing. This guide from Roger’s Performance Marine can help you keep pests as far from your boat as possible.

A Thorough Clean

Pests often use loose materials like trash and debris in order to make their nests. That’s one reason why keeping your boat clean is an easy way to help keep pests away. Cleaning your vessel will also get rid of loose crumbs and food spills. These kinds of food traces can leave behind the smell of food, which tells pests (many of which have very powerful senses of smell) that your boat is a place where food is easy to find. Certain activities, such as fishing and grilling on your boat, can also make it smell like food, so be sure to clean your watercraft after enjoying these activities. 

Use Scented Deterrents

While the wrong scent can make pests flock to your boat, the right one can keep them away. One easy trick to getting pests to stay away from your vessel is to mix cayenne pepper with ammonia and apply it to the edge of your vessel. This mixture is fairly safe (as long as you keep it away from your eyes) and only needs to be reapplied about once a month. 

If the idea of mixing chemicals makes you nervous, mothballs are also effective at keeping pests out of your boat. Store mothballs in your boat’s compartments, stuff them in sheets of fabric near the edges, or stuff them into tubs and hand them around your vessel. Larger animals can be kept away using scented soaps or dryer sheets. 

Ultrasonic Sound Devices

If you’re looking for a non-lethal, chemical free method of keeping pests away from your boat, then an ultrasonic device is the answer. These devices emit frequencies beyond human hearing, meaning they repel pests but won’t annoy you or your passengers. Some models are even solar-powered, meaning you won’t have to worry about keeping the device’s batteries charged. 

Covers

Many boat owners choose to put their vessels away for the winter. A boat in storage is a tempting source of shelter for a pest. Make sure that your boat cover fully encloses your vessel. Pest animals are really great at squeezing into even the smallest of openings. We recommend checking your boat at least once a month while it’s in storage to make sure that the cover is still intact. 

Shop boats at Roger’s Performance Marine in Centerville and Hurricane, Utah. We’re proud to serve communities like Salt Lake City and St. George, Utha. We also offer service, parts, upholstery, and boat storage. We hope to see you soon!