Pests We Treat Photo Album: Large Mud Dauber Nest Near the Front Door in Beachwood, NJ

Right in the Doorway

Located in the top left corner of the doorway was a mud dauber nest.

What Exactly Are Mud Daubers?

Mud daubers are solitary insects that are about ¾ to 1 inch in length and can vary in coloration from all black, blackish blue, or black with yellow markings. They create a nest using saliva and mud (hence why they're called mud daubers) where the female wasp lays her eggs.

Dangers of Mud Daubers

The larvae develop inside the nest and emerge as adult wasps. The most common mud dauber species found in New Jersey are the pipe organ mud dauber that builds pipe-shaped mud nests in protected areas such as on walls, under eaves, or in attics. The threat of mud daubers is that other more aggressive stinging insects will take up residence in their nests once the mud daubers have left.

Eliminating the Mud Daubers

For treatment, we used our scraper and removed every single mud dauber nest. Afterward, we treated the areas with a residual application that'll prevent the mud daubers, as well as any other stinging insect, from building another nest.