How to get rid of mud daubers

Susie
10/10/2020 08:00 AM (update 08/09/2023 05:40 PM)

ByGuestColumnistDougCarter Muddaubers,alsoknownasdirtdaubers,areanuisancebutarenothardtogetridof. Theybuildtheirhomeawayfromrainfallinplacelikeunderoverhangs,hollowtrees,andontheundersidesoflargetreelimbs. Muddaubers,ofcourse,alsobuildtheirhomesundercarports,attics,patios,aswellasundercoveredareashousingautomobiles,boats,andotherequipment. Muddaubernestsareveryunsightly,andthemudcanstainwallsandceilings. Evenworse,muddaubernestsbuiltinthewrongplaceonaninfrequentlyusedmachine,suchasthemufflerofanoldATV,cancausealotofmechanicaldamage,whenthemachineisused. Thenestsoforganpipemuddaubersareeasytodistinguish,fromnestsofblackandyellowmuddaubers. Organpipemuddaubersnestsaremudtubesuptosixormoreincheslongandareorientedvertically. Blackandyellowmuddaubernestsareblockierinshape,onlyacoupleofincheslong,andusuallyorientedhorizontally. Bothspeciesfillthecellsoftheirnestswithspiderstheycaptureusingapreciselyplacedparalyzingsting. Asingleeggisdepositedineachcellbeforeitissealed,andthedevelopinglarvadinesonspidersuntiltheyarelargeenoughtopupate. Oncemature,theyoungwaspexitsthenestbycuttingaholethroughtheside. Whentheyarenothaulingmudandbuildingtheirnests,femalesarebusyhuntingspiders. Themale’sjobistoguardthenest. Therearespeciesofwaspsthatspecializeinparasitizingmuddaubers.Therearetiny,gnat-sizedwasps,Melittobia,thatlurkaroundtheentrancewaitingonachancetodartinandlaytheireggs. Anotherofthese,isthesmall,metallicgreenwaspknownasthecuckoowasp. Malesmustguardagainstrivalmalesandotherfemalesthatmighttrytostealspidersortakeoverthenest. Youmayobserveanestunderconstruction,andyouwillprobablynoticethemalerestingjustinsidetheentrance. Youmayevennoticeoneormoreoftheparasiticwaspswaitingnearby. Folkshaveasked,“Domuddauberssting?” Yes,andthestingsareverypainful,howevermuddaubersarenotaggressiveanddonotdefendtheirnests. So,stingsarerareandonlyoccurswhenafemaleistrappedsomeway,againsttheskin. Asforascontrollingmuddaubers,thereisnosimple,once-and-donemethod. Thebestwaytolimitthenumberofnestsunderyourcarportorporch,istokillnestingfemalesassoonastheyappear. Youcanuseaflyswattertoapplymechanicalcontrol,orspraythem,ortheentrancetotheirnest,withacanofwaspspray.Becarefulwiththisbecausesomesprayscontainpetroleumproductsthatcanstainwalls. Someaerosolinsecticidescomewithaspecialstrawthatmakesiteasytosprayintothenestentrancewithoutgettingmuchsprayonwallsandceilings. Nestsareeasilytoremove,justbyscrapingthemoffandusingawetclothandaspraybottlefilledwithwatertoremovetheremainingmud. Keepingmuddaubersoutisthebestwayofpreventingmuddaubersnestsinatticsandmechanicalequipment. See:$1offFireTVEditionSmartTVs

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