Southerners? Looking for help for what's bugging me ...

[Lyn-Del]

If you live in the south, especially in more rural areas, you're familiar with dirt daubers (aka mud daubers).  They're everywhere.  And making their mud nests in the most frustrating places.  They build mud cities inside the bikes, and it doesn't have to be a bike that's been sitting for a long time.  They'll start a nest one afternoon, and pick up where they left off when you bring the bike back after a ride.

Has anyone found a way to deter these determined little buggers?  They drive me nuts, and the season is upon us.

[Jeff K]

Good grief, I know how you feel. They are everywhere, and they stain my stucco. They are in my shop all the time trying to build nests everywhere. And then, and then, they fill the nests with spiders?? To feed the young mud daubers??? They are a huge PITA.

[lee]

Well you have already figured out they like MUD.  So the first thing you will need is a water hose.
The second thing is a LOPLOLLY.  To make one you will have to take off you shoes and prance
around in some soft dirt while running water in it.  By the way the offical day for going barefoot
in Tn. is May 10th,  but its permitted for short times before that if you got a good reason.  Its
permitted this time of year for dober hunting and emergency runs to the outhouse.  The next
thing needed is BEER.  The amount depends on how close your neighbors are and if they see
what you are doing.  Next is a good lawn chair.  The last item depends if you live in the county
or the city.  If in the city you will have to use a BB GUN.  But if your out in the county you
can use a Ruger 10-22 with a scope.  Place beer on the left.  Distance from chair to LOPLOLLY
depends on how good a shot you are.  Getter Done  

[big turkey]

Iv'e heard a good dose of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid sprayed on items you don't want pests around,

A garden sprayer will do the trick and this workds on any surface wihout damaging it.

Put about a cup full in a tow gaoon sprayer.

It works on Box Elder Beatles that can swarmin the millions.

they wer all over my yard and house , thought it was Armegeddon and End of the world plaugues.



Spray your house or hwatever they take a liking too and most insects hate it becasue it stops

up there air way which is through their exoskeleton.

Snope it, google it or what ever and you will find this works wiht beatles or Daubers as well.

Cheap, non toxic what a way to end a problem.

Gauranteed to work or your money back.

Al

[Lyn-Del]

Surely it can't be a good thing to be spraying up inside the bikes?  Wizard found a huge nest (last year's) literally gluing in the airbox on an Interstate this afternoon. 

[Ghillie]

Permethrin about one ounce to the gallon applied to the sophets and eaves once a month

[big turkey]

Well it rains on Bikes, car washes are used on bikes, mud puddles and the like spray water on Bikes.

Anything to break the chain of activity and hopefully they will move on to greener pastures.

Short term treatment is all that is needed.

Al

[highcountry]

Interesting insects, they paralyze spiders and put them in their nest with an egg.  When it hatches, the larvae eats the spider.  An arachnophobe's best friend.

[R J]

Doesn't look like there is a remedy for them........


http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/bmuddaub.html

[catfish]

We have that problem out in the country.  They stick to the house.  When we built our patio we painted the ceiling a sky blue...for some reason they don't like that color.

[Jabba]

I find that an old badminton racquet, tennis racquet or racquetball racquet does wonders on them.  Or a baseball bat if you get bored with the racquets. 

Hell, that was a GAME when I was a kid... hand around the barn and sheds with your buddies... keeping score with ball bats.

It makes hitting baseballs during baseball season feel like hitting watermelons.

Maybe that's why I had a batting average of .740 when I was in little league... or maybe it was because I was 6' tall and weighed 250 lbs when I was 12.  Either way, a good time for a kid.

Jabba

[Daniel Meyer]

I find that an old badminton racquet, tennis racquet or racquetball racquet does wonders on them.  Or a baseball bat if you get bored with the racquets. 

Muhahaha! I do that to carpenter bees!

[roboto65]

Man thats a big sucker !!!

[Hoser]

Just knock em off and go on, ya can't win, I find one or two everytime I take the tank off.  hoser

[Don07tncav]

I load up black powder and cream of wheat in my reenacting pistols and blow them out of the air. Fun shooting....

[hotglue #43]

shoot a BUNCH of Ether into yer carbs......pull all the plug wires.... turn on the key.... crank the engine over for 28 min.....reconect plug wires..... shoot more ether into the carbs..... turn on the key... and get one of your enemy's to try to start the bike....should take care of the mud daubers... ..  

don't really do this........



or just run each of the bikes at least once a week... ..

[Lyn-Del]

Riding the bikes doesn't seem to stop the building, apparently it just kills any pupae in the existing part of the nest, so they add on.   One of the places they like to build is inside the mirror (usually the right mirror) on the GoldWing.  I've taken the bike out for a ride, hosed out the nest to the best I can without disassembling the mirror, returned home after the bike was dry, and found the wasps crawling in and out of it the next morning.  

They seem drawn to wiring ..... kinda like fire ants are.

[Valker]

Easy fix...IF you have your bike in an enclosed space. Just get some old fashioned, cheap moth balls. The kind that are 99+% naphthalene. A couple of those around a one car garage or several if it's bigger, will keep out those, many other bugs, and cats.

[Lyn-Del]

Garage is 30x50, doors open much of the day, windows (barred for security) open most of the time.  So no, not really enclosed.  Will try some thing with mothballs though.

[Super Santa]

Hang a garland of mothballs around each bike. 

<duck>