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I have been fighting mud dauber wasps for years here in Oklahoma, and they can make nests really quickly- does anyone know of a good trap for these things?
I got one trap from Walmart here locally- but it says it’s for hornets and paper wasps, and in 2 weeks of being out, hasn’t caught a single one.
Does anyone know of a good trap for these things I can put in my hangar? I fly regularly, but these things are persistent!
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While they sell traps, I don't think they are particularly effective. You can discourage them if you treat the area with cypermethrin at the right times of years. Otherwise, your stuck with just getting rid of the nests when you find them. I just hit them with the garden hose. They aren't particularly aggressive and often the nests are empty anyhow (warning, some more aggressive wasps have been known to move into abandoned dauber nests).
Also, regular wasps area a peril! During the rebuilding of J3 wood spar wings, I encountered compression struts packed with wasp nest residue that looked and smelled like used chewing tobacco. They had entered through the unused holes on the bell ends. I had to make a jig and replace several tubes as the wasp moisture had eaten through the tubing When I rebuilt the wing, I plugged the unused holes.
Spray a little Tempo as directed.
They are picky. You can have a pile of spent brass shells with one nest, and they will build a nest in the air intake on your air impact or a coil of break line or the ground plug on an outlet.
I've found a nest "hanging" from a rudder cable in the tail and they do return to the same spot year after year. I once read mud dauber's did not like the smell of cedar ... I tried hanging a few bags of cedar chips in the interior but to no avail.