a boat with termites...what to do ?

[Muskrat]

Want to hear a boat owners worst nightmare ? My boat has...termites. Yes...termites. A swarm of what we guessed to be 500-1,000 termites flew all over us and the boat today. Here's the kicker -- it stays on the water. It even gets better...someone stole my trailer two weeks ago ! I already had fears of it sinking just from being on the water for the last 5 years and being 27 years old. It's got a double-whammy now...termites. Are you kidding me ? It's a fiberglass boat with a minimal amount of wood. The only thing I can figure is that they came from some of the wooden pleasure boats around me. A couple have even been abandoned and one close to me hasn't had anyone on it for 5 years. I don't why HBSP doesn't auction off these boats or remove them -- but that's another story. Can someone give me some advice as how to maybe remedy this problem ? I have an idea of some of the responses like...

A. Get rid of the boat and buy another one Muskrat
B. You've got two boats - one is enough
C. Borrow a trailer and move it before it sinks you dummy

Is their a D...E...or F ? Can I treat the boat somehow and kill them with something ? How do I locate them ? Would it probably be under the flooring of the boat ? Any advice would be appreciated -- thanks.

 

[churly]

If HBSP acts like a land lord that you rent from, they should be responsible for maintaining the facilities. I'm not an insect guy, but I bet every boat in close proximity that has any wood has the termites as well. never heard of termites in a boat

 

[Jmax]

Get you an ant eater, they love termites, chain it up in your boat overnight, they will be gone in the morning. emoBigsmile Jmax

 

[Muskrat]

churly - 4/17/2017 4:01 PM

If HBSP acts like a land lord that you rent from, they should be responsible for maintaining the facilities. I'm not an insect guy, but I bet every boat in close proximity that has any wood has the termites as well. never heard of termites in a boat

I've been doing some quick reading on termites and it's fairly common on boats especially at marinas. They are drywood termites instead of subterranean termites. All I know is that they don't eat as much as house termites but that still doesn't make me feel any better. I'm sure some of the wooden boat owners around me are going to be very interested in this news.

 

[Muskrat]

Jmax - 4/17/2017 4:18 PM

Get you an ant eater, they love termites, chain it up in your boat overnight, they will be gone in the morning. emoBigsmile Jmax

Yeah...I've seen them wipe out termite hills on wildlife shows. Good idea - thanks. I'll check into it.

 

[EricM]

emoDoh

 

[spnplgr]

There's a product called "Tenino" that contains Copper naphthenate. Copper naphthenate will soak through and through lumber after you brush it on the surface of wood. I have seen it soak through a 1 inch board in 24 hours (it is green and easily identified). If you can get to the wood that contains termites, one coat and they're dead. Although it is not considered an insecticide, it will kill termites in lumber..

 

[Smalliefan2]

You might try one of the exterminators locally. The challenge is the bottom side of the deck, nearly impossible to get to. I think , from the photo's, yours is an old Dynatrak. Had one the same vintage, '86, and there is a lot of wood in the old boats. After 27 years, I wouid look for newer, one of the all fiberglass models

 

[Muskrat]

I've been researching it quite a bit and yes more wood on a fiberglass boat than you might think including the trim and plywood core. A local exterminator would probably tent it and fumigate it with Vikane gas. A very pricey way to go about it. I have found a non-repellant insecticide made by Bayer. It's an odorless...colorless...tasteless foam that kills rather than repels termites. The exposed termites remain unaffected for a few days before sudden death occurs. The termites are able to spread the Premise chemical to unexposed termites when they feed or groom other termites resulting in a domino effect wiping out the colony. It's inexpensive and a 7 year guarantee after you use it that no termites will return. We'll see ? I sure don't plan on keeping this boat more than another year or two if that's even possible now. It's the ugliest boat on the lake anyway. It been first start dependable 12 months out of the year for five years though. Debbie has been bugging me about updating so it might be something like this that does the trick. Thanks for the info and help.

 

[Muskrat]

churly - 4/17/2017 4:01 PM

If HBSP acts like a land lord that you rent from, they should be responsible for maintaining the facilities. I'm not an insect guy, but I bet every boat in close proximity that has any wood has the termites as well. never heard of termites in a boat

Churly...I went into the park office today just to make them aware that my boat had termites. It was just a "heads-up" for them as I mentioned if my small fiberglass boat could become infested with termites some of these large wooden boats around me would have to be at risk. I said that the small abandoned houseboat across from me and other wooden boats near me could have some termites. Don the ranger who I usually at least try to be friendly with starts brushing me off and telling me that I can't prove anything...that he's never heard of termites on a boat...and all about how they need mud tunnels to travel. I told him these are drywood termites and they propagate when they swarm the one time a year in the spring. If you aren't on your boat at that time you probably aren't going to even be aware you have termites. I said they are common at marina's and can infest many boats. He just brushed me off and shook his head. I told him I'm not here to prove anything. I'm making you aware of what's going on. Once again - he just brushed me off. That's not a good thing to do to someone that pays a lot for a boat slip. They don't want to dare mention this to any other boat owners either. I got about as much satisfaction and interest from the office when I had hundreds of dollars of fishing gear stolen off of my boat.

 

[jimwarden]

Sorry for your termite problem, but did you say your wife was "bugging you"? Kinda thought that was a little humorous. I apologize in advance.

On a side note. The green Ebbtide Dynatrak boat with the 115HP Mercury motor was my all time favorite TWRA patrol boat. The hull design was so good at any speed, and that boat was FAST!

 

[occasionalfisher]

I think putting up a sign saying that some of the boats might have termites on the docks might be a good idea. If they give you any problems after the sign, then call the Free Press and let them know what is going on.

 

[Muskrat]

jimwarden - 4/18/2017 10:37 PM

Sorry for your termite problem, but did you say your wife was "bugging you"? Kinda thought that was a little humorous. I apologize in advance.

On a side note. The green Ebbtide Dynatrak boat with the 115HP Mercury motor was my all time favorite TWRA patrol boat. The hull design was so good at any speed, and that boat was FAST!

Ha ! I didn't realize that at the time - that is funny. emoLaugh

 

[Muskrat]

occasionalfisher - 4/19/2017 12:43 AM

I think putting up a sign saying that some of the boats might have termites on the docks might be a good idea. If they give you any problems after the sign, then call the Free Press and let them know what is going on.

That exact thing crossed my mind. As a matter of fact I contacted the local field office of the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation here in Chattanooga with a detailed e-mail last night. They have a state parks division. I didn't file a complaint but I gave them a lot of background information.

 

[Muskrat]

I've got to move on from this thread and concentrate on fishing. I'm taking my "termite" boat out in a little while. I forwarded an article from termites.com to the park office and here's just a little bit of what it said. By the way - it's actually the subterranean termites found in homes that are also in boats.

Many termite species thrive in warm, humid areas where boats are common. In fact, subterranean termites are active around all of the lakes and rivers in the U.S. Wooden boats offer ideal conditions to termites - wood for food and shelter from the elements. Boats in the water also have the moisture termites need to survive.

Termites can cause extensive damage to water vessels. Boating magazines have reported that termite infestations are the probable cause for several boat sinkings in recent years.

*** Something else that I thought about was because of our drought if that didn't maybe bring termites to docked boats giving them ample moisture ? Something to ponder -- just sayin' !