Ode to the Mud Dauber

mud dauber

–noun

any of several wasps of the family Sphecidae that build a nest of mud cells and provision it with spiders or insects.

Origin:
1855–60, Americanism

This house has thousands of them.  Mud duabers are harmless....unless, if unchecked, you count the tonnage of weight in dried mud they can add to a place over the years.  I'm surprised the ceiling didn't cave in.....  

The problem will be eliminated when the roof and walls are spray foam insulated with closed cell foam thus sealing out the outside world.  In the meantime, a few pics...

A high rise...

 I found a small hole in the yard and decided it might be fun to fill it in with old nests just to see how tall I could get the pile....

First load

Second load

etc....

 I'll keep updating this page as the mound grows (assuming it doesn't rain and they dissolve away).

4/9/11
The mound continues to grow.....

 Only a small section over the master bath to demo so not going to add any more pics though I'm sure there's another 200-300 nests up there.  Jeesh!