How to Prevent Barnacles from Building Up

Barnacles: if there’s a more tenacious pest than these, we definitely don’t want to meet it! These marine creatures attach themselves to almost any surface that gets covered by water, such as boats, pilings, docks. And once they’re on, they’re not going anywhere. They stay permanently affixed to these surfaces unless you put in a lot of elbow grease scraping and scrubbing. The best way to fight the problem is to keep barnacles from building up on your boat or floating dock sections in the first place.

We all know barnacles can cause significant damage to boats: not only do they increase fuel costs and decrease speed/performance by creating excess drag, they can also attach themselves to underwater components, like your propellers or raw water intakes. This can lead to serious issues with the engine. On a dock, barnacle build up results in excessive weight, which can cause some docks to buckle, break, or collapse.

There are chemical barnacle repellent products on the market – but do you really want to introduce toxic ingredients to the water and marine life? There is a better way to keep these buggers off your dock. AccuDock’s floating dock sections are made of EPS foam, which is fully encapsulated by recycled HDPE flat sheets. The surface is highly resistant to marine growth – acting as a safe barnacle repellent.

In the (very) unlikely event that a barnacle does become attached to any of your floating dock sections… are you in for hours of scrubbing, scraping, and swearing? Nope. Just give it a quick blast from a pressure washer. Barnacles do not adhere strongly or permanently to the HDPE surface, unlike wood, metal, and other surfaces.

Barnacles may be part of the tidal landscape, but they don’t need to be part of your dock. Your AccuDock is the best barnacle repellent around! For additional tips on maintaining the appearance of your floating dock click here.