Mud Dobber Nests

[Jesse 15]

I have searched for mud dobber but could not find anything with the search function. Does anyone have a chemical recommendation for removing the mud haze left behind on EFIS and aluminum soffit? My standard mix is Simple Cherry and 12% using a down streamer on a 6.5 Hydrotec.

There is not a bit of mold - but there are tons of mud dobber nests. I am working on two very large homes 4.5 stories on the lake side and 1 story on the front. As you can tell they are on extremely steep lots (as most are here)at the Lake of the Ozarks.

There is very little room between homes to maneuver my Coress wand so most of it will be done off a leg leveling ladders with a shooter tip. These are also $2 mill.+ homes in an exclusive community so I want to make a great impression as the go-to-guy.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Jesse

[Scott Stone 604]

First, when you are cleaning these, there better not be any birds present. It is against Federal Law to disturb the nest of a migratory bird. I learned, the hard way.

When there are no birds there you should just be able to hit it with soap and pressure to get them off. It has always worked for me.

[seymore 90]

First, when you are cleaning these, there better not be any birds present. It is against Federal Law to disturb the nest of a migratory bird. I learned, the hard way.

So mud dobber wasp are FED protected in Az.? WOW ya'll are tough out there in the desert!!! ;) :D

[Scott Stone 604]

We have birds we call mud dobbers. Imagine a wasp nest, but about a thousand times the size.

[Scott Stone 604]

And, Arizona is not for girly men.

[seymore 90]

We have birds we call mud dobbers. Imagine a wasp nest, but about a thousand times the size.

WOW sounds like a big bird to make a big nest! Well i'm from Louisiana so there is not much about wildlife i haven't tried to hunt or trap :D

[seymore 90]

I came across these little guys one day and thank god i wasn't cleaning or staining the house!

[Douglas Hicks 128]

Sounds as if we have 2 animals with same name. Mud daubers here in Eastern Oregon are wasps, nasty flying things that bite several times and do not pull their guts out like honey bees. They are not protected here, we use the traps to get rid of the nasty biting things.

Then there are the other flying mud daubers. They have feathers and like to build nests on sprinkler heads. They are known as swallows. One of my accounts has swallows who like to build nests on the sprinkler heads. This location is a National Park, and they are not allowed to disturb the birds or the nests. So the maintenance man just gets up early in the AM and pressure washes the siding and the sprinkler heads. The maintenance man also has problems with gophers, and snakes, neither of which he is allowed to trap or kill.

[Jesse 15]

First, when you are cleaning these, there better not be any birds present. It is against Federal Law to disturb the nest of a migratory bird. I learned, the hard way.

When there are no birds there you should just be able to hit it with soap and pressure to get them off. It has always worked for me.

What I am after is the nest of a "mud wasp" that we call mud dobbers. Barn swallows also make a different type of mud and straw nests here; but luckily not on these projects.

We have had problems in the past with mud dobber nests that are to high to hit with a good pressure. Those will often leave a round brown haze after washing the nest off and 12% and soap have worked mediocre at best at those heights.

I have been warned about those migratory birds. We raise prawn (fresh water shrimp) in the Summer and we are not "allowed" to shoot the cranes or storks as they feast on our $14 per pound shrimp..... along with the muskrats, river otters and mud turtles. We can kill the last three but are are "encouraged" to scare off the birds with a loud flare gun that sounds like a cannon.

Thank you for your input.

Jesse