Mud Dauber Nest Found in Garage in Montgomery, NJ

Challenge

During a follow-up visit for mice at a new customers in Montgomery, NJ, we found something interesting on the head jamb of the garage door  — a mud daubers nest! Mud daubers are solitary insects, meaning they are not social and do not live in colonies, that are about ¾ to 1 inch in length and can vary in coloration from all black, blackish blue, or black with yellow markings. The most common mud dauber species found in New Jersey are the pipe organ mud dauber that builds pipe-shaped mud nests in protected areas such as on walls, under eaves, or in attics.

Mud daubers very rarely sting and if they do, their venom is so mild that the sting is hardly felt. They construct their nests out of mud so that the female can lay her eggs and the larvae mature.  The threat of mud daubers is that other more aggressive stinging insects will take up residence in their nests once the mud daubers have left.

Solution

Since the nest was already dormant, we scraped it away, disposed of it, and applied a residual application to the area to prevent reinfestation.