Mud Daubers

If it flies and looks like a wasp, it most often is a wasp. However, mud daubers are just a little bit different. Unlike paper wasps and yellow jackets, mud daubers are not known to sting. If you disturb a mud dauber it is more likely to move its nest to a different location. Simply put, mud daubers are not that aggressive. They can make the outside of your home look less inviting though.

How to Identify

The mud dauber itself looks like a wasp, except that it has a long and slender, thread-like waist. While there are some mud daubers that have the yellow and black color pattern, there are many more that come in far different varieties. For instance, one of the most common colors for mud daubers is a shiny metallic black. Sometimes they can even have a bluish black coloring. Their wings are usually clear or slightly darker color. Mud daubers main prey species are small spiders or caterpillars. There are some mud dauber species that will even seek out and destroy black widows. The female mud dauber will sting the prey and cause it to go into hibernation. One that is done; she will fly it to her nest and lay her eggs on it, and let the hatchlings devour the incapacitated prey. Mother Nature is not very kind.

The Signs of an Infestation

The biggest sing of an infestation are the mud dauber nests. Like their name suggests, they use a lot of mud in which to create their nesting area. They take mud, mix it with saliva and create insect cement. The nest often looks like hollow mud tubes. Sometimes they will be arranged together in a flute or organ pipe look. The mud tubes are resistant to water. The tubes will be section off into rooms, where new larva will develop. If the mud tubes have holes in them, that means the new larva have already matured and left the nesting tubes. Mud dauber love building their nests on the sides of your home, under your eaves, on sheds, and even on fences. Sometimes they will build the mud tubes inside of wall voids or other voids. Pretty much, if you see mud tube nests, then you have mud daubers.

Treatment

While it is true that if you disturb a mud dauber nest, it will decide to move to a new location, that new location is often just a bit higher up on your home. Biologists consider mud daubers to be beneficial insects. They eliminate a lot of pest species. Still though, having a mass of mud tubes on the outside of your home will not make it look very pretty. If you are having issues with mud daubers and you want them off of your home and out of your yard, you can count on Pointe Pest Control. If your cabin is being overrun with mud tube nests, Pointe Pest Control has the experience and tools needed to eliminate mud daubers. When you want real solutions to pest problems, you need Pointe Pest Control.