what insect likes to plug holes with mud?

[coppercone2]

What the hell is plugging holes in my garage with mud? Its not sealed and there is all types of shit in there but I tend to keep a toxic environment with pesticide.

Anyway, over a decade or so, certain things did not get used for various reasons and I noticed that there are many screw holes and plumbing fittings (thank god for mesh screens on welders) that are packed with I hope is mud. Like those holes you are given the option of fastening equipment down to tables with.

Is this the work of wasps? Or another critter? I.e. most of the older welding equipment I had to actually disassemble and clean (regulators etc), but it appears that this critter only likes to plug maybe 1/2 a cm deep in most cases.

What the hell is it attempting to do? I mean, it knows its a blind hole covered with a stainless steel mesh inside. Why is it packing it full of mud? Or is this shit? Why would you start a hive in a 1/2 inch deep cave? It might fit like 1 bug. Usually you would think the bug would check to make sure there is room for a hive before starting to bring sealing materials in?

[Stray Electron]

   Dirt Daubers or Mud Daubers. They look very similar to wasps but aren't aggressive and I don't think they sting. At least I've never had one sting.    They'll plug the bottom of a hole, lay their eggs in it and them plug the top of the hole. If you dig them out you can often find the larvae under the top layer of dirt.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=pp0OXYO3C5GqsgXZ146gAQ&q=dirt+daubers&oq=dirt+daubers&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1316.5684..6017...1.0..0.335.2237.0j12j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0.-5_ZaHfvgR4

[coppercone2]

   Dirt Daubers. They look very similar to wasps but aren't.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=pp0OXYO3C5GqsgXZ146gAQ&q=dirt+daubers&oq=dirt+daubers&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1316.5684..6017...1.0..0.335.2237.0j12j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0.-5_ZaHfvgR4

Why are they plugging essentially blind holes that have no capabilities for a hive? Fun?

[sokoloff]

Several bees and wasps do this. Mason bees seem to like to nest in my brick walls. Mud daubers love to plug pitot tubes.

[coppercone2]

Several bees and wasps do this. Mason bees seem to like to nest in my brick walls. Mud daubers love to plug pitot tubes.

But why?? Are they paranoid and think something might come out?

[coppercone2]

It's like if I decided to clog sewer grates or vents for no reason at all.? I can see them building a house, but why plug a blind hole??? Are they trying to limit space for spiders or something like establishing a perimeter? Some kind of tactical military bug landscaping (i.e. no tall trees near army base fence?)\

Glad its just wasps at least they look tolerable.

Is it a art project for them? (they do a better job then most manufacturers because those holes are fucking useless most of the time, god forbid they install a plug for 10 cents). If they fired the material to make ceramic plugs I would fucking pay them in sugar unless its gas equipment.

Maybe you can train them to fix shitty chassis? Like give them special mud that can be cured to a paintable surface or something.

[Stray Electron]

  Lots of water with a little soap and a test tube brush will usually clean the holes right out.

[bsudbrink]

Several bees and wasps do this. Mason bees seem to like to nest in my brick walls. Mud daubers love to plug pitot tubes.

But why?? Are they paranoid and think something might come out?

Consider it a bug (nyuk, nyuk) ... Like a programming bug.  Similar to a moth stuck flying around a light bulb.  It's all implemented in a few hundred brain cells... Wadaya want?  Einstein?

[Stray Electron]

   Dirt Daubers. They look very similar to wasps but aren't.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=pp0OXYO3C5GqsgXZ146gAQ&q=dirt+daubers&oq=dirt+daubers&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1316.5684..6017...1.0..0.335.2237.0j12j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0.-5_ZaHfvgR4

Why are they plugging essentially blind holes that have no capabilities for a hive? Fun?

   No, for procreation.  I don't think they care if it's a blind hole or not. Any hole that's deeper than they want gets a bottom plug in it.

   I used to sit on the side of a local river and watch them work.  They'll walk all over a muddy shore line and pick out the exact kind of granules of mud that they want and then carry them off to their nest and then come back and repeat the process. They never took the light colored pieces, only the dark brown ones.  I remarked  to my father about how they only took the brown mud even when they were picking up the smallest pieces and he said that it would be like us sorting out basket balls.

[chris_leyson]

I just have to post this
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-bristol-47625284/mouse-helps-keep-shed-squeaky-clean

[coppercone2]

I think they see the stainless mesh, assume its made by some kind of other animal and notice its extremely strong and decide to plug it because its considered a threat and maybe they think it has a high air requirement or something?

Maybe they think the welder is a home for some kind of ultra-wasp and they want to suffocate it? Like that its a air intake port for a hive and they can make a enemy hive malfunction? Or at least find out whats inside (maybe they think it will try to do a repair to keep the hive functioning)? So plug and observe? I assume the pipe work they see going into a gas system is similar to a hive at least superficially?

*maybe a bit much*

[Gyro]

Several bees and wasps do this. Mason bees seem to like to nest in my brick walls. Mud daubers love to plug pitot tubes.

But why?? Are they paranoid and think something might come out?

They lay an egg in the hole, then stock it with pollen for the emerging bee to eat when it hatches. Then they seal the hole. Next year the new bee will burrow its way out.

Build them an insect house - a bunch of short lengths of bamboo cane stacked horizontally in an open fronted box. They will probably prefer to go for that instead. Solitary bees are good pollinators.

[Stray Electron]

   While I don't disagree about building them a new home these aren't bees and I don't think they pollinate plants however they do eat other insects.

[Mechatrommer]

   Dirt Daubers. They look very similar to wasps but aren't.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=pp0OXYO3C5GqsgXZ146gAQ&q=dirt+daubers&oq=dirt+daubers&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1316.5684..6017...1.0..0.335.2237.0j12j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0.-5_ZaHfvgR4

Why are they plugging essentially blind holes that have no capabilities for a hive? Fun?

have no capabilities for a hive for you, and fun for you, but not to them. while they love or naturally habitat on a cliff or holes, we human like to build house on a flat land. maybe they also make fun of us why we like to build house that is incapable for survivality to them. well the solution is... you need to make your own butt plug, or just tape all the exposed holes such as already done on few sockets design...



if you leave it until they hatched, there is a good chance the screw head inside will get rusted very badly, just poke them out with a stick as soon as you see them.

[coppercone2]

Several bees and wasps do this. Mason bees seem to like to nest in my brick walls. Mud daubers love to plug pitot tubes.

But why?? Are they paranoid and think something might come out?

They lay an egg in the hole, then stock it with pollen for the emerging bee to eat when it hatches. Then they seal the hole. Next year the new bee will burrow its way out.

Build them an insect house - a bunch of short lengths of bamboo cane stacked horizontally in an open fronted box. They will probably prefer to go for that instead. Solitary bees are good pollinators.

their egg takes 1 year to hatch? So these holes are being used as nurseries? The foodstuff will keep for that long?

[Mechatrommer]

http://www.bugfacts.net/mud-dauber.php
https://sciencing.com/life-cycle-mud-daubers-6609044.html

[tautech]

They're called Mason bees here and they're a small black wasp.

Yep, they sting their prey, usually small spiders to paralyze them, stuff a few in the hole and lay a single egg in there too that hatches into a grub that takes a few months to consume the bulk of the spiders after which they pupate and finally emerge as a new wasp some months later.
They don't need a hole but frequently use one however any dry cleft will serve fine as a hatchery for their young.

[coppercone2]

damn thats nasty, need to step up my area denial game

[KL27x]

For exposed fitting/pipes, you can use masking tape or foam earplugs.

No big deal are the wasps. Carpenter bees are a real pest, if you have untreated wood. Carpenter bees don't need to find holes; they drill out their own.

[Stray Electron]

  Carpenter bees make a big hole, about 9/16th of an inch.  I used to have a lot of them where I used to live and I couldn't find any spray that killed them or prevented them from drilling new holes. I also had a friend that smoked a lot and that dropped cigarette butts all over the place. I was outside one day picking up the butts and I looked up and saw a bee hole and I realized that it was just about the same size. Bingo! Picked up the butts, stuffed one into each bee hole.  The bees disappeared shortly afterwards.  Nicotine is extremely toxic to most insects.

[Stray Electron]

For exposed fitting/pipes, you can use masking tape or foam earplugs.

   Don't use masking tape, that stuff dries out and hardens and you'll never get it off.  I've used painters tape, the blue stuff that peels up cleanly.  But I don't know long it will last outside.  I buy and use metal screw in caps for all of my welding tanks (the CGA fittings).  Unconnected torches, hoses, regulators and the like are all stored in a metal tool chest.  If they're spares and I don't expect to use them for a long time then I put them in a heavy plastic bag with a package of desiccant.  For valves and other pneumatic parts I wrap the ends with plastic sheeting and wrap around it with tape.  The tape only goes on the plastic and doesn't contact the threads or anywhere on the item.