Hello hdanske:
Thanks for the fascinating question.
Not knowing exactly which species of borer is infesting your boat is
going to make the process of finding a way to rid you of these pesky
creatures more challenging. However, there are some general strategies
that I found that should help you regardless of species.
Identification:
***************
The first thing you want to do, however, is try to better identify
your particular brand of pest. I have found the following sites that
may help identify which type of infestation you have. Please read
through them and see whether you can come to any conclusions about
what your particular case is.
CHAPTER 2 - TIMBER STRUCTURES --- SECTION 1. PRESERVATION OF WOOD
URL: http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/armytm/tm5-622/c-2.pdf
Pest of the Quarter - Of Shipworms and Gribbles, Pillbugs, and Pholads
URL: http://www.awpa.com/papers/library/PestAprilMay2000.pdf
Another thing you need to identify is the extent of the infestation
and whether the borers have caused significant structural damage to
the planking of your boat. With many types of borers, there are only
minimal surface holes, but the interior of the boards can be riddled
with deterioration. Again, determining this will require that you do
a close external examination, and possibly remove and cross-section
one of the more heavily infested planks.
If the planks of your boat have become structurally unsound, there is
not much to do other than removing and replacing them.
Treatment:
**********
Of course, the best cure for shipworm is prevention. However, since
your boat is already infested, that won't do you much good. Though, if
you can rid yourself of these pests, you will want to treat your boat
afterwards to ensure that no further infestations occur. (There are
many chemical-based wood preservatives that will help prevent
infestation.)
To kill existing borers, the best advice I could find is to make their
habitat unlivable. Most of these types of parasites are salt-water
creatures. There are many accounts of shipworm dying off when the
vessel is taken from a salt-water environment to a fresh-water
environment. Other ways of making their environment unpalatable
include making it too hot, too cold, or even just pulling the boat out
of the water altogether. Some sources I found for these strategies
include:
Shipworm
URL: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/shipworm.htm
Quote:
"Despite its tolerance of low salinities, Bankia often die off in
years when there is a strong freshet, or when the "host" ship moves
upstream into fresher waters. Shipworms also perish when their wooden
habitat freezes, becomes too hot, or if the hull is hauled from the
water. By then, however, fatal damage to the hull often has been
done."
Fouling up: the trials and errors of protecting ships' hulls
URL: http://www.bayjournal.com/02-07/prolog.htm
Quotes:
"This might include burning — slightly charring the cleaned planks to
dry and kill embedded worms, a process frequently aided by the hot
tropical sun. She was then tarred and/or tallowed and refit for sea."
"Another alternative to careening was to run ships upriver into fresh
water where all marine growth and borers would die in a few days.
William Vernon, a late 17th century colonial naturalist records that
the ship on which he sailed was run up Maryland’s Tred Avon River in
summer to 'avoid the worm.'"
Basically, the idea is to change their preferred environment
dramatically. Since most of these pests thrive on a diet of wood
alone, there is little hope that you will be able to starve them out.
I'm afraid there is little else I can suggest to you unless you are
able to identify your infestation more precisely. If you can, please
feel free to post a Clarification Request here with what you find and
I'll research more specific options for you.
Thanks.
websearcher-ga
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