My boathouse is a magnet for Dirt Daubers. There seems to be about 50 that are building their mud huts on the north wall as well as in various crevices on my boat. This north wall is built above ground not water, and what I'm contemplating is spraying pyrethrin lightly on the nest and wall. My concerns are the wasps dying, falling into the water and the bream eating them.
I have also thought about spraying the nest with water, however this would not kill the wasps. Have any of you been stung by the critters? I have not but they are VERY annoying flying into your face etc. What's your ideas on this?
Thank You.

They rarely sting and typically prey on spiders. Their nests are annoying, but I have never sprayed for them. You could possibly knock down the nests and then spray the area in the hope that they would fly away before dying?

I don't have a suggestion for dealing with them, but you wouldn't believe the number of string trimmers I've had come into the shop with a complaint of not revving up, and the reason was mud daubers had stopped up the exhaust outlet.

I had this wierd premonition earlier when this thread popped up that Sparkie would have something interesting to contribute to it, and I'm relieved to find that, while true, it has nothing to do with making any kind of syrup from dirt daubers.

I'm still trying to come to grips with the term "dirt dauber" They build using mud, after all. How do you daub dirt?

I'd just spray a pyrethrin or similar aerosol in there at night. Even those little self releasing aerosol cans would do it. It might take 2 or 3 depending on the building size. They won't fly far in the dark.

See if you can get the foam pyrethrin at 1.8% it will stick around and not wash away right away.

Cheers Don.

Mud dauber is the more common name.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/household_pests/biting/hgic2512.html

Always been dirt daubers in Deep east Texas.Sprkplug, I assume you have a small engine repair shop. I was in that profession for almost 40 yrs. I actually ran the small engine repair shop for the whole Parks and Recreation Division of the City of Houston back in the 70's.There are a lot of city parks and baseball fields in Houston!! Seen lots of things come and go. Can still remember the first gas powered weed eaters and Green Machines! Also remember them catching on fire with them strapped to the operators back. They needed a nascar quick release safety harness!!

X2 on the no stinging and spider eating attributes of the dirt dauber....yeah they're a bit of a PITA with the chunks of mud in various places, but we don't discourage them around here.

It's been my experience (could be coincidence but many years worth of proof) that if I have a good stock of dirt daubers on the dock, the paper wasps/red wasps don't build there. If I knock the dirt dauber nests down I end up with red wasp nests in the next few days, which are MUCH more aggressive.

I'll take dirt daubers over red wasps any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Well now it makes sense...you need water to make mud, and until recently my impression of Texas was one of arid parchedness....of course they would be dirt daubers down there!

Green machines....we've come a long way since then, thank goodness!

say what?

Dry, until this year, isn't that what the general consensus has been?

Google "Birgenair Flight 301" and then tell me about your mud dauber problems.

Yowza....and I thought the occasional clogged up air cleaner on the tractor/ATV was bad....