Muddauber, "Dirtdauber" Solutions

[240da]

Since we all had so much fun with Honda generators I thought I'd try this one.

Here in LA (Lower Alabama) we always have an issue with Muddaubers building nests in the craziest places on our boat: thru-hulls, speakers, and the worst, in the bimini top (folded with the boot around it)!!:smt013 That way when you open it you get red clay all in your cockpit.:smt013:smt013

Anybody got any solutions that have actually worked.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.:smt001

 

[RiverRat]

Get rid of the spiders around your docks... That's all that muddaubers eat. Get rid of the food source and they will also move (for the mostpart)

 

[Matt R]

Maybe you can run a portable generator to keep them away?

 

[Bottom Line]

I have not tried this.....but have heard it will work... around your canvas, stick in dryer fabric sheets at the ends, and this will keep them from entering in around your bimini top.

 

[240da]

I tried using the generator on them but they thrive on all of the CO (the CO2 as well)!!:grin:

 

[chuck1]

I had heard about the dryer sheet, but have not tried. Only a short term problem up here in the mountains.

 

[Uplate]

Here in LA (Lower Alabama) we always have an issue with Muddaubers building nests in the craziest places

No Dobbers at the dock, but I have them damned Red Beasts at the house. You can get a trap that will attract them with a solution like Coke or any sugar based concoction. Works well. The is the only hornet trap I have seen.

Agree with eliminating their food source.

 

[Newbie]

For thru hulls, I use bronze wool stuffed inside. Thats really about the only place that I have issues with them. I actually use bronze wool anytime I'm going to be away for at least 2 weeks, keeps out spiders also. Just make sure you use bronze and not steel or you'll come back to a pile of rust and stains to clean. How about zip tieing a small piece of fiberglass screen around the boot ends when away to keep them out? SB

 

[Nehalennia]

.....what the hell are you guys talking about?

 

[dpvandy01]

.....what the hell are you guys talking about?

I think that's when you stick your arm into a hole in the muddy bank and come out with a catfish attached up to your elbow?????

 

[Groucho]

Move up North...Too cold here 11 months a year for anything to live outside.

 

[240da]

Sorry but no thanks! I can barely handle the winter here in Atlanta.:grin:

For those who are not familiar with "dirtdaubers" they are wasps that, although they do not sting, build mud "clumps" (sometimes up to approx. 3" x 6" x 2") for their eggs to hatch from. They can really make a mess of your boat!:smt013

They are a real problem here in the South -- especially on inland lakes where there is an abundance of "building material".

 

[tmhudson2]

.....what the hell are you guys talking about?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber

 

[fwebster]

Todd,

I'll skip ahead of your next post and just tell you the pay off for putting up with "dirt-dobbers" is we get to boat 12 months a year and we don't have snow up to our asses in the winter.

 

[Kameroo]

Supposedly, they don't sting unless handled or provoked. I've had some mad ones dive-bomb me, but never been stung by the mud-daubers. A garden hose does the trick for removing the nest from canvas.

We also get the other kind of wasps in Kentucky, the ones that build paper nests--they are nasty. They seem to like dock boxes, power pedestals, and cockpit areas. Fun. Unlike the mud daubers, they seem to multiply like crazy if you don't keep them in check. I spray some DW-40 around some of the areas I've had them in the past, and that seems to help.

I have heard that keeping spiders down helps, but it only works if all your neighbors do, too. I've found that just being out there every few days keeps little problems from turning into big ones.

 

[comsnark]

.....what the hell are you guys talking about?

You don't want to know. There are reasons you don't want to live in the south east. This is one of them. Love bugs are another.

 

[240da]

Comsnark:

Please keep telling people NOT to come to Southeast!!

It is terrible here; especially in the briarpatch with all of those "dirtdobbers"!!

 

[Nehalennia]

Todd,

I'll skip ahead of your next post and just tell you the pay off for putting up with "dirt-dobbers" is we get to boat 12 months a year and we don't have snow up to our asses in the winter.

Yeah, I know. That is a good trade off. We're lucky here pretty much. Although this winter has produced a 2 week stretch of Snow and a weeks worth of record rain and flooding, our winters are normally mild and spring and summers have hardly any bug/pests. You guys are lucky to have even warm temps this time of year, and even though we can boat year round, normal temps are mid 40's-low 50's for highs and in the 30's for lows.

You don't want to know. There are reasons you don't want to live in the south east. This is one of them. Love bugs are another.

I remember a couple years ago you guys told me about Mayflies. Whoa.

 

[tmhudson2]

Our current colder-than-normal winter will greatly reduce the numbers of ground-dwelling insects we have to put up with this spring and summer. Here's to Global Cooling!

 

[midway]

You don't want to know. There are reasons you don't want to live in the south east. This is one of them. Love bugs are another.

Nothing personal but, I live in the Southeast and the dirtdaubers, love bugs, several varieties of wasps, yellow jackets, hornets and boating 12 months a year are far better than all that white stuff you have up there. :grin: