Dirt Daubers

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

My Onex is waiting for inspection. I visit it every day just to ensure it that everything will be OK. It's that time of year when mud daubers are active putting hard chunks of clay anywhere and everywhere. These critters are interesting to watch but their nests are bad news for aircraft owners.

Here is an excerpt from Texas A&M Ag Extension:
The black and yellow mud dauber, Sceliphron caementarium (Drury), constructs a globular nest containing one cell to several cells, also provisioned with paralyzed spiders.

Today when I visited the Onex I found this on the floor beneath the engine:



Apparently this epic battle ended in a draw.

Question: Does anyone know of a good method to repel Mud Daubers?

Wes

[Area 51%]

I'd say, figure out what kind of spider that is, and start breeding them. Either that, or put a jar full of a weaker variety spiders in your neighbor's hangar.

[inventor]

Smear grease over any area you don't want the daubers to build.

[n502pd]

Here are three images of my solution to mud daubers, that is still in beta testing, as I have yet to have any of them show up. But they will shortly I am sure. I have come to the conclusion that they like to pack their prey into little holes, so I have provided them with some external holes made out of straws, which were wraped in dark tape and cut in thirds on the band saw. Dark tape because I think most of the holes they find are some what short in length and dark inside. I used bailing wire to support them whereever I thnk the bugs will enter my plane, like at the wing end, ele end, engine openings, etc. When I catch several I will update, but I may have too small of diameter straws. I dont know what actual size hole they prefur. Anyone???

The last image of the wingtip mod I did last January is a preflight inspection window of the aieleron counterweight area. I had a flight last fall where after landing, I lost all right aiel control because of a massive, very hard dauber nest came loose on landing afrom the rear side of the outboard spar and blocked the downward motion of the counterweight.

The beta testing now underway will tell me if I need to increase the straw size, or go to plan B, which hasnt been hatched yet!!

[Rynoth]

This looks an awful lot like you plan to launch mud daubers out of your plane like fireworks. I think I like it.

[WesRagle]

Hey Joe,

Not too sure about the straws. That is unless that thing that looks like a string is really a fuse ;-)

I know the smaller black daubers reuse the nests abandon by the black and yellow mud daubers. Not sure the black and yellow ones reuse the nests. So, you may just end up with more black ones :-)

I have a trailer house out in the boonies. We had a bad rodent problem and the guy at the feed store sold us some fox urine and told us to soak cotton balls with the stuff and toss them under the trailer to solve the problem. That and some traps took care of it.

So, if I can get some of them there jumping spiders to pee in a bottle I might have a solution.

Wes

[n502pd]

This looks an awful lot like you plan to launch mud daubers out of your plane like fireworks. I think I like it.

Ha Ha!! dont give me any ideas!. In truth, I am such a penny pincher, I plan to use a hose and just wash them out before any mature.

And, thanks much for the hand holding on uploadng pictures today!!!

[Area 51%]

We have some sort of carpenter/wood boring wasps here. Those little mothers will spend all day making a hole only to lose it to a dauber. They might be contractors.
For the record...I just measured some holes and came up with .3128-.4276.

[n502pd]

that is good info. all I have to do now for REV 1 is find larger dia straws!!TKS!

[n502pd]

short, maybe totally useless, update on -dauber trap; rev one is in testing, at 'straw' diameter id .375", utilizing 2.5 in lengths of clear vynal tubing, to see 1) if the dia of plastic straws disinterests them from making a nest, and 2): if the color...orange/red... keeps them away too. got to give it a week. thanks for any interest!!! Yuall keep smiling out there!!