Mud Dauber Wasps
Mud daubers are a long, slender wasp, usually black with some orange or yellow. They have a definite “wasp waist” – a filament connecting the thorax and abdomen. They can sting, but are not aggressive and rarely do so unless handled.
Mud daubers are solitary wasps. Each fertilized female builds a small nest out of gathered mud, which is attached to an exterior surface, or in an attic, crawlspace or other enclosed area. She lays 8-12 eggs in the nest, which become larvae and then pupate in the nest, emerging the following spring or summer. The nest looks like a mud tube, usually about 1 inch wide by about 2-3 inches long. If the nest has holes in it, the new wasps have already emerged and flown away.
Mud daubers may be treated with a residual spray and then scraped or knocked off. Preventative treatments are usually effective if repeated at the lifetime of the product used (see “Polistes Wasps”).
