# Those darn mud daubers...



## tcweb (Dec 23, 2020)

We just moved to the KC area (out a bit from all the crowds), and built a nice pole barn. I'm working on walling off a nice shop area.

I was about to hookup my compressor, when I noticed that the evil mud daubers had built some nests in the motor.   I'll have to pull the cover off the motor and hope they didn't do any real damage.  

For the most part, they haven't done too much damage - but I don't have a ton of equipment in the barn yet. 

Seems as if they like the cooler steel on tools, but not the steel skin on the pole barn. Probably temperature related.

So WHAT are other people doing to protect their motors (and anything with a hollow cavity) from these critters?

-Tom


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## Flyinfool (Dec 23, 2020)

Another place to look for those devils is the nozzles of you fire extinguishers. Learned this one when a fire broke out and the first three of the extinguishers would not fire, the 4th finally did and put out the fire. Later we found the nests in the nozzles. In the heat of the moment it was not something that was thought of.

We now have a cotton ball lightly pressed in each nozzle to keep them out and it will blow out if needed.


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## Dave Smith (Dec 23, 2020)

they are a real problem, and the dirt they use for their nests ruins a lot of motors. a fine screen over openings will keep them out.
mice and other bugs can also be a nuisence because they can carry small stuff in and make a huge nest inside. red squirrels are my main problem in my Minnesota shops


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## john.oliver35 (Dec 23, 2020)

Keep a can of that 20' wasp killer spray in easy reach in the barn and kill the little devils whenever you see one!  I have stalked them for a long time watching where they go then spraying the opening!  I suppose they fill an important role in the ecosystem somewhere, but I haven't discovered it yet.


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## brino (Dec 23, 2020)

Here they build every where in the warmer months.

I have them in the ground hole of power outlets inside the shop and outside, when I picked up my mill they had filled every oil tube with grit (I spent many days cleaning those out!), I even caught one once flying in with a little green caterpillar, she stuffed into the clamp hole of a vee-block that was laying sideways on the band-saw table.....they provide food for the egg they lay on/in it. Gruesome!

Winter seems to stop them for a while......

-brino


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## Nutfarmer (Dec 23, 2020)

I hear you. Paper wasp too. Second the can of wasp spray. The only thing worse are the mice and rats eating the equipment wiring and hoses. On second thought I haven't been bit by a mouse or a rat yet, but the wasps will nail me several times every summer. Have not found any better control than the can of wasp spray ,but by then the damage is done. The revenge is nice though.


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## MrWhoopee (Dec 23, 2020)

I have mud daubers, paper wasps, bald-faced hornets and yellow-jackets (meat bees). Never had a problem with any except the yellow-jackets. I stepped on a nest and got hit 3 times right around one eye. I was miserable and out of commission for 3 days. They paid dearly once I recovered.

My daughter's late-model Mercedes was recently hit by rats in Sacramento. $14,000 and who knows how long to replace the entire wiring harness.


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## Ed ke6bnl (Dec 23, 2020)

I couldn't get my boys motorcycle running, they plugged the exhaust. Can't hang my air tools by the quick connect, they will all be plugged up, on and on and on


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## markba633csi (Dec 23, 2020)

Meat bees eh? That's a term I never heard before.


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## Downunder Bob (Dec 23, 2020)

Never heard of meat bees, but we get regular honey bees and a large variety of native bees some of them also produce honey, but the big pest in recent years has been the European wasp, they also like meat and have a fondness for getting inside a beer or soda can when you put down. I haven't been stung by one yet, but apparently they sting something fierce. 

We keep them under control by putting out traps for them every spring through summer. We also hear every now and then of a mouse or rat destroying the wiring in a car.


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## MrWhoopee (Dec 23, 2020)

Downunder Bob said:


> , but the big pest in recent years has been the European wasp, they also like meat and have a fondness for getting inside a beer or soda can when you put down. I haven't been stung by one yet, but apparently they sting something fierce.



This is what we call a meat bee.  There are several species, including the western yellowjacket and German yellowjacket. They generally nest in an abandoned burrow in the ground. They can both sting and bite. Sting when angered or threatened, bite when hungry. They are attracted to sugar early in the season, then meat late in the summer. They can make a barbeque quite unpleasant.




This is one of my favorite videos on the subject


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## hman (Dec 24, 2020)

I used to find frequent yellowjacket nests in my yard while I lived in Oregon - always in the ground.  If you can identify one, it's very easy to get rid of.  Wait until night, when they're inactive, and pour a full teakettle of boiling water down the hold.  The end.


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## Liljoebrshooter (Dec 24, 2020)

I found 8 yellow jacket nests in my field this summer when I was mowing with the brush hog.  3 were found the hard way after getting stung several times.   The old 8N couldn't go fast enough. 
Within a day or two the nests were all dug up by some type of animal. Still not positive what animal would do it.  Here is the aftermath of one. 

Joe


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## Txturbo (Dec 24, 2020)

tcweb said:


> We just moved to the KC area (out a bit from all the crowds), and built a nice pole barn. I'm working on walling off a nice shop area.
> 
> I was about to hookup my compressor, when I noticed that the evil mud daubers had built some nests in the motor.   I'll have to pull the cover off the motor and hope they didn't do any real damage.
> 
> ...


Easy fix. Go to a farm supply an buy a box of medicated ear tags. Hang them in your barn/shop. Keeps flying pests away.


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## twraska (Dec 24, 2020)

Find some farmer to get you some permethrin and spray your place.  Should have a label for fly control, use that rate.


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## Buffalo21 (Dec 24, 2020)

john.oliver35 said:


> Keep a can of that 20' wasp killer spray in easy reach in the barn and kill the little devils whenever you see one!  I have stalked them for a long time watching where they go then spraying the opening!  I suppose they fill an important role in the ecosystem somewhere, but I haven't discovered it yet.




Best bee killer I ever found in the CRC red can brak-kleen, with the 1-1-1 trichloroethane, they drop mid flight when hit


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## Twirpunky (Dec 24, 2020)

I have never heard of a mud dauber.  Is that a bug or a bird?  We have mud swallows that build nests out of mud under overpasses and bridges.  

  We have hornets and bees and such, just never seen a dauber.

D


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## MrWhoopee (Dec 24, 2020)

Twirpunky said:


> I have never heard of a mud dauber.  Is that a bug or a bird?  We have mud swallows that build nests out of mud under overpasses and bridges.
> 
> We have hornets and bees and such, just never seen a dauber.
> 
> D


They are a solitary member of the wasp/hornet family. Their nests are a single gallery (one tube) made of mud.




Correction: the nests can be multiple side-by-side tubes of mud.


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## hman (Dec 24, 2020)

Buffalo21 said:


> Best bee killer I ever found in the CRC red can brak-kleen, with the 1-1-1 trichloroethane, they drop mid flight when hit


Any chlorinated solvent will do a great job on insects.  But they're getting harder and harder to find.  I'd be willing to bet our California members can't find ANY.


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## Txturbo (Dec 25, 2020)

Any fast evaporating liquid will kill them. But with that method you have to be there to see them before they start building. The medicated ear tags keep them away 24/7 without you doing anything.


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## 7milesup (Dec 25, 2020)

Liljoebrshooter said:


> I found 8 yellow jacket nests in my field this summer when I was mowing with the brush hog.  3 were found the hard way after getting stung several times.   The old 8N couldn't go fast enough.
> Within a day or two the nests were all dug up by some type of animal. Still not positive what animal would do it.  Here is the aftermath of one.
> 
> Joe



Most likely a skunk.


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## 7milesup (Dec 25, 2020)

I got into a yellow jacket nest when I was clearing some brush with my Kubota.  I first knew I was in trouble when I had a yellow jacket crawl behind my glasses.  It got real bad real quick after that.  As @Liljoebrshooter mentioned, my tractor would not go in reverse fast enough.  After it was all done, we counted at least 17 stinks on me.  It was not fun.  Had the worst headache that night.
Bald face hornets are freaking spawn of Satan with wings.  If you get stung by one of those, you will know it.  My wife got stung last year while working in her garden.  A rash ended up covering nearly her whole body.  Took her days to get over it.  I ended up taking her to the ER right after it happened.


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## Flyinfool (Dec 25, 2020)

I found out the hard way that I am allergic to yellow jackets. Bees don't bother me but wasps and/or hornets sure do. I just keep my distance from anything that has a stinger.


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## tcweb (Dec 28, 2020)

Txturbo said:


> Easy fix. Go to a farm supply an buy a box of medicated ear tags. Hang them in your barn/shop. Keeps flying pests away.



This is a new one...I can go check out Tractor supply, or some other local places, but what is the intended use?  Keeping insects away from livestock?


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## tcweb (Dec 28, 2020)

twraska said:


> Find some farmer to get you some permethrin and spray your place.  Should have a label for fly control, use that rate.



I have used permethrin spray for clothes (mainly socks and hats) to keep ticks and chiggers away in the summer.  I wasn't aware it would work on larger pests like wasps.


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## tcweb (Dec 28, 2020)

hman said:


> Any chlorinated solvent will do a great job on insects.  But they're getting harder and harder to find.  I'd be willing to bet our California members can't find ANY.



I have used WD40 to kill (almost instantly) the carpenter bees.  (the one's that chew perfectly round 1/2" holes in any untreated wood).

It's sad to have to kill them, as they are pretty docile (as are the mud daubers), but we have to have boundaries...

WD40 should be readily available everywhere.   I have not tried it on a wasp.

-Tom


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## 7milesup (Dec 28, 2020)

tcweb said:


> I have used WD40 to kill (almost instantly) the carpenter bees.  (the one's that chew perfectly round 1/2" holes in any untreated wood).
> 
> It's sad to have to kill them, as they are pretty docile (as are the mud daubers), but we have to have boundaries...
> 
> ...



Don't try it on a bald face hornet.  It will just **** off the spawn of Satan and then it will welcome you to he!!  LOL


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## tcweb (Dec 28, 2020)

Txturbo said:


> Easy fix. Go to a farm supply an buy a box of medicated ear tags. Hang them in your barn/shop. Keeps flying pests away.




Something like this? 

Y-TEX Python Insecticide Cattle Ear Tag, Pack of 20 at Tractor Supply Co. 

How many would you use for a 45x75 pole barn?  concentrate them near the entrances? Hang from rafters?

-Tom


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## Txturbo (Dec 28, 2020)

tcweb said:


> This is a new one...I can go check out Tractor supply, or some other local places, but what is the intended use?  Keeping insects away from livestock?


Yes


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## tcweb (Dec 30, 2020)

I took the motor apart, and carefully broke up the mud nest, vacuumed up what I could, and used some light solvent to remove as much of the mud trace as I could.  It's a GE motor that was surprisingly easy to get apart.

The mud nest was mostly just behind the centripetal switch, so doesn't look like there is any wire damage.

Only thing left to do is hook up the motor and see if she still works.   

Tom


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## Janderso (Dec 30, 2020)

MrWhoopee said:


> This is what we call a meat bee.  There are several species, including the western yellowjacket and German yellowjacket. They generally nest in an abandoned burrow in the ground. They can both sting and bite. Sting when angered or threatened, bite when hungry. They are attracted to sugar early in the season, then meat late in the summer. They can make a barbeque quite unpleasant.
> 
> View attachment 348462
> 
> ...



We had meat bees in Paradise. I've come to hate the bastards.
When you disturb a nest in the ground and they come after you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ouch++


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## Tim9 (Dec 30, 2020)

Mud daubers  are a pain. I now also chase them with the can of hornet killer. First year I ignored them and nests were everywhere. I do think knocking them down every so often helps.
Also have most other varieties. In fact, this conversation reminds me I need to get a can of hornet killer for my house. I have a mailbox on the porch which is just for show but occasionally someone does put a letter in it. Last time I went to check it, there was a wasp nest the size of a golf ball. Luckily it was late in the evening and they were kind of dormant, otherwise I would have been slaughtered.


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## Janderso (Dec 30, 2020)

I know they die out during winter, if, we have a long hard freeze or plenty of rain. If we had a mild winter =look out the next summer.


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## hman (Dec 30, 2020)

I once had a "pet" goat.  Before I could build a proper pen, I used to tether him to one tree or another.  One time, he stepped on a yellowjacket (ground) nest.  When they attacked him he tried to run - round and round the tree, winding the rope up until he was hard against it.

I had to borrow a bee suit from a neighbor so I could rescue him.  Carried him to my pickumup, where my SO held him steady as I drove to the vet.  The vet gave him a shot (adrenaline?) and he recovered.  I got real busy building the pen later that day!

HATE them durn critters!


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## mcostello (Dec 30, 2020)

Wife had a horse killed from Them. It was tethered out by a nest of They and They stung it under it's tail.


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## brino (Dec 30, 2020)

two things....

First, I saw these wasps a couple years ago digging in the yard.
What caught my eye was the blue wings and orange body.
I have no idea what kind they are, and I did not get close enough to get a venom sample.......

There are (at least) three burrows and two wasps in this picture:









They would disappear into the holes and there would be a "rooster tail" of dirt being flung out.
They were interesting to watch.

-brino


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## brino (Dec 30, 2020)

thing number two......for those that like to see wasps tortured.......
I caught a praying mantis having its way with this unfortunate wasp.

This was on the soffit of my house right near my front door where the wasps seem to gather in the fall.
Those with an aversion to insecticide should not look!
There is extreme inter-entomological violence.

View attachment 1.mp4
























View attachment 2.mp4























Yes that off-colour orange stuff is polyurethane foam meant to keep them out of the attic.
The  has since been cleaned up a little.

-brino


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## hman (Dec 30, 2020)

Mother Nature - red of tooth and claw!


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## 7milesup (Dec 30, 2020)

That is pretty wild Brino that you were able to catch that on video.
This past summer I was on my Kubota doing some work when a Dragonfly landed on my arm.  It had some sort of beetle in its mouth and it literally chewed the head of the beetle off, spit it out and continued to devour the rest of it.  Both fascinating and horrifying.  LOL.


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## 7milesup (Dec 30, 2020)

Brino, I think those might be rusty spider wasp, or maybe blue wing wasp.  Might be the same thing actually.  Not an entomologist.
If they are, they either go into spider burrows to immobilize them and then lay their larvae in them, or they might be digging for grubs (like June bug type of thingies) and again, lay their larvae on/in them.  Either way, they are actually beneficial.  I am not sure if they would sting you or not.


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## brino (Dec 30, 2020)

<deleted double post>


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## brino (Dec 30, 2020)

7milesup said:


> I think those might be rusty spider wasp, or maybe blue wing wasp.



Thanks! I'll look those up.



7milesup said:


> they might be digging for grubs



We have plenty of those; but they'd have to fight the skunks for them!

-brino


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## Tozguy (Dec 31, 2020)

One of the best ways to get rid of a football sized wasp nest that is too close to the house is to spray it with a garden hose. Wait until dusk or dark, use a jet spray so you can hit the nest from a distance and blast it until it drops its contents. You don't get attacked because the wasps can't figure where the rain is coming from.

Otherwise, there are lots of bugs out there that we need to protect and leave them be (no pun intended). Since we have put up a wild bee house like one in the following link, we have had fewer mud daubers fouling up our door latches and such.








						Bee Houses for Native Solitary Bees
					

Learn how to maintain a backyard bee house for native, solitary bees—like mason bees—which can improve your garden's crop and flower yields significantly.




					www.almanac.com
				



There is also a multitude of bees that dig individual burrows into the sandy lawn beside our patio. They come in early spring every year and buzz around near the ground for a few weeks then are gone. While they are here we can walk right over their burrows and not be attacked. Friendly little buggers who never complain and keep coming back every year.


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