I was up cleaning the boat on Sunday and ended up finding that several colonies of wasps had colonized my boat. I tried ignoring them, but then found huge nests in the cockpit cut outs, boom cover, etc. I'm a softie and hate killing things ... is there any way to discourage these little creatures from colonizing my boat?
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That's sailing in the South! 
I sail lake Texoma too, Brad. I grew up sailing here in Oklahoma, where the mud-dauber wasps are always thick. Do you have a screen over any vent-type opening? I mainly only worry about them getting inside the boat (screens stop that) & pluggin up my vents (I found out last weekend that my disel-tank vent was slow, but it has a sreen, so it wasn't the mad-daubers.) I've plugged up the end of my boom to keep the mud-daubers (& the birds!) from colonizing it, & plan to add a permanent custom plug as was suggested here last week. My real gripe with them is that they can really stain a sail! Sail often & you'll find the nests before they get to big. That being said, on a previous boat, I've personally cleared out pounds & pounds of mud-dauber nests after an extended away time. (at least they sink!) -- Craig Coffman S/V "Winds of Change"
I sail lake Texoma too, Brad. I grew up sailing here in Oklahoma, where the mud-dauber wasps are always thick. Do you have a screen over any vent-type opening? I mainly only worry about them getting inside the boat (screens stop that) & pluggin up my vents (I found out last weekend that my disel-tank vent was slow, but it has a sreen, so it wasn't the mad-daubers.) I've plugged up the end of my boom to keep the mud-daubers (& the birds!) from colonizing it, & plan to add a permanent custom plug as was suggested here last week. My real gripe with them is that they can really stain a sail! Sail often & you'll find the nests before they get to big. That being said, on a previous boat, I've personally cleared out pounds & pounds of mud-dauber nests after an extended away time. (at least they sink!) -- Craig Coffman S/V "Winds of Change"
Fast sailing....
When I first sailed my boat it had a wasp nest under the boom. After getting out of the harbor they started buzzing all around. I found that after knocking the nest off and sailing in 15 knot breezes they seemed to get the hint. Good luck! Chris
When I first sailed my boat it had a wasp nest under the boom. After getting out of the harbor they started buzzing all around. I found that after knocking the nest off and sailing in 15 knot breezes they seemed to get the hint. Good luck! Chris
Question for Craig
What do you sail? What marina are you at? You can contact me direct at belbein@ftc.gov
What do you sail? What marina are you at? You can contact me direct at belbein@ftc.gov
knock'em off
I just knock their nest down, after a couple times they get the hint and move. Try that little trick when they make a nest on the mast head. I even sail my boat several times a month and they made a nest up the mast.
I just knock their nest down, after a couple times they get the hint and move. Try that little trick when they make a nest on the mast head. I even sail my boat several times a month and they made a nest up the mast.
If you're referring to "dirt (or mud) daubers"--
--the kind whose nests aren't "paper" but "adobe"--the good news is, they're non-agressive and don't sting unless you actually sit on one...but the bad news is, they'll build a nest anywhere they find an opening or a hollow tube--including your vent line thru-hulls. Right after I bought my boat I discovered they'd even built a nest in the venturi in my gas grill that completely plugged it! They're annoying in sail covers etc, but they don't do any real damage, but it's absolutely essential that you check you fuel, water and holding tank vents every time you come to the boat.
--the kind whose nests aren't "paper" but "adobe"--the good news is, they're non-agressive and don't sting unless you actually sit on one...but the bad news is, they'll build a nest anywhere they find an opening or a hollow tube--including your vent line thru-hulls. Right after I bought my boat I discovered they'd even built a nest in the venturi in my gas grill that completely plugged it! They're annoying in sail covers etc, but they don't do any real damage, but it's absolutely essential that you check you fuel, water and holding tank vents every time you come to the boat.
wasp discourager
When you get ready to put on your sail cover on at the end of your sail, slip in a "No Pest Strip" Place it on a piece of old cloth or cardboard to keep it off the actual sail
When you get ready to put on your sail cover on at the end of your sail, slip in a "No Pest Strip" Place it on a piece of old cloth or cardboard to keep it off the actual sail
wasp hater
Brad, I almost ended up in the hospital last year due to a wasp sting. After I recovered I was in the boat (Catlina 22) flat on my back under the cockpit running wire for the fish-finder when I was nose to hive with a huge nest. The boat was on the trailer in the driveway and I decided wasp spray was the cure. I opened the lazaret hatch, hung upside down, and hosed the bastards down with spray! Boy did they come out pissed!!! I missed the ladder and ended up hanging upside down by the lifelines six feet up in the air by my sandle screaming like a little girl!!!! When I got my foot loose I hit the driveway (gravel of coarse) still screaming. My wife thought I cut off a limb and came running to be a witness for the insurance company, only I passed her like a freight train going downhill with out brakes!!! The moral to this story is to kill them then remove all traces of their nests with diluted bleach water or cleanser to remove their scent. That is what brings them back. Good Luck, Jay
Brad, I almost ended up in the hospital last year due to a wasp sting. After I recovered I was in the boat (Catlina 22) flat on my back under the cockpit running wire for the fish-finder when I was nose to hive with a huge nest. The boat was on the trailer in the driveway and I decided wasp spray was the cure. I opened the lazaret hatch, hung upside down, and hosed the bastards down with spray! Boy did they come out pissed!!! I missed the ladder and ended up hanging upside down by the lifelines six feet up in the air by my sandle screaming like a little girl!!!! When I got my foot loose I hit the driveway (gravel of coarse) still screaming. My wife thought I cut off a limb and came running to be a witness for the insurance company, only I passed her like a freight train going downhill with out brakes!!! The moral to this story is to kill them then remove all traces of their nests with diluted bleach water or cleanser to remove their scent. That is what brings them back. Good Luck, Jay
Jay is Right...
I nail the dead nests with bleach and that seems to keep them out. The scent of bleach alone seems to keep them away. Peggie - my dad and I had a mud dauber build a nest in the Pitot tube of his old taildragger airplane. We didn't realize it until we were airborne (about 10 feet) and checked our airspeed for climbout. Came back around the pattern (pretty nervous), landed, and guess how we got them out? We had to have an A&P mechanic disconnect the pitot from the wing and blow a cylinder full of compressed air through it. The grossest thing was that one of us had to hold our hand in front of the pitot in order to collect the blockage so we could anaylyze it. Pop's hand got nailed with bug guts at about 60 miles per hour. Pretty damned funny! Rob
I nail the dead nests with bleach and that seems to keep them out. The scent of bleach alone seems to keep them away. Peggie - my dad and I had a mud dauber build a nest in the Pitot tube of his old taildragger airplane. We didn't realize it until we were airborne (about 10 feet) and checked our airspeed for climbout. Came back around the pattern (pretty nervous), landed, and guess how we got them out? We had to have an A&P mechanic disconnect the pitot from the wing and blow a cylinder full of compressed air through it. The grossest thing was that one of us had to hold our hand in front of the pitot in order to collect the blockage so we could anaylyze it. Pop's hand got nailed with bug guts at about 60 miles per hour. Pretty damned funny! Rob
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