Beware of mud dauber wasp in Florida

[CHM]

Had my boat in the yard for several months for several projects. Launched it yesterday. I thought i had everything planned well tonfind out these wasps plugged several thru hulls. Its been a lot of fun trying to clear these thru hulls over the past couple of days. Lesson learned to insure they are open and clear beforehand. I focused on the seacocks and never imagined this was an issue...

 

[sailaway78]

Not just Florida

Here we call them dirt dobbers. And they stop up a lot of stuff. With the boat in the water, they can't get to the thru hulls, but they can play hell with a vent. Same results.

 

[Ross]

Re: Not just Florida

There are many species of "potter " wasps. They almost all eat spiders. Some of them are smaller than houseflies and some are as large as the wasps that make the big paper nests, almost all are non aggressive. I have never figured how they choose a nest site.

 

[Ray Bowles]

When we had our boat on the hard we taped over all the through hull fittings, exhaust ports and fuel vents with blue painters tape. No problems.
Ray

 

[anchorclanker]

Well, just be careful. over my life I been stung over 25 times by wasps, a few times by bees, never anything that was a real bother. Then this copper colored wasp with blue wings stung me on my left little finger.

Ive read that in most cases wasps give a "warning" shot, just enough venom to make you leave. In rare instances, if the feel threatened they for example, they can give a "fatal" injection.

My hand swelled to twice its size by the next day, then the fevers and chills started. I was sick over a week. About a week after I was feeling okay, I happened to be massaging my finger in the area I was stung, and it was like being stung all over again. Another couple days of sweats and chills.

Got a whole new level of respect for them now I tell ya.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I took off my sail cover the other day, as the boat had been sitting for a while, and there was a wasp nest in it. Needless to say, those b@stards walked the plank and they are no more! I was surprised that they decided to make a nest there.

None the less, I have discovered that they will nest build anywhere. I imagine that it is not uncommon for them to build nests in through hulls etc. if you aren't around much.

I guess it is Someone's way to let us know that we need to use our boats more! LOL.

 

[Merlin Clark]

I use a piece of hose long enough to reach above the waterline when made off to the seacock and a short section of plumbing snake to clean thru hulls with the boat afloat. In some cases, like with a strainer positioned above the waterline, you may be able to just disconnect the in hose from the strainer and shove the snake down it.
Works for biological fowling as well as trash that might get sucked in by an engine or genset intake.

 

[rgranger]

This probably won't be the last time I expound on the virtues of MOTHBALLS. When I know I'm not going to use my boat for a few weeks, I open a jar full of mothballs and leave them open in my boat. It keeps out the spider, ants, wasps etc and it is a very efficient killer of mold spores.

When I want to use the boat, I just close the lid on the jar, open the hatches and the smell is cleared out by the time I drive to the launch ramp.

 

[Merlin Clark]

This probably won't be the last time I expound on the virtues of MOTHBALLS. When I know I'm not going to use my boat for a few weeks, I open a jar full of mothballs and leave them open in my boat. It keeps out the spider, ants, wasps etc and it is a very efficient killer of mold spores.

When I want to use the boat, I just close the lid on the jar, open the hatches and the smell is cleared out by the time I drive to the launch ramp.

I'll give that a shot, thanks!

 

[Benny17441]

Seems like another long winter and off season as a mud dauber nest would not normally gather more attention Than a pick to break it up.

 

[dscribner]

On the hard, stuff in a piece of foam, leaving some hanging out, enough to pull.

I have problems with hornets' nests. Every spring I have to yank a couple out of the salon. I have a large chunk of foam stuffed into the end of the mast. And when I step the mast, they often come out of my roller drum.

 

[CHM]

Thanks for the suggestions and experiences. I only have one through hull left to clear. Aft head toilet intake. I will have to get it by diving i think.

 

[Wanderer138]

Seems like another long winter and off season as a mud dauber nest would not normally gather more attention Than a pick to break it up.

What if the nest were still occupied? I'm having a hard time figuring out how I'd get away from a bunch of angry wasps that I had stirred up on my boat.

 

[rgranger]

What if the nest were still occupied? I'm having a hard time figuring out how I'd get away from a bunch of angry wasps that I had stirred up on my boat.

WD-40 and a bic lighter...

 

[Chris Patterson]

A dirt dauber won't ordinarily hurt you. Kind of like a hard-core biker, they just look bad, but not very dangerous. I've knocked down hundreds of these nests, and have never been hit by one. (This is the dirt dauber nest I'm referring to, not the biker nest, as the latter is a lot larger, and smells very, very bad. And the occupants generally being too addled and/or stupid to know you're a threat).
If you want to kill them, brake parts cleaner. Put the little straw on the tip, and just a little wisp, and them suckers are dead before they hit the ground. Nothing can survive it, for the exception of the aforementioned biker, which seems to be resilient to most things, chemicals, gunfire, etc...