Mud dauber control to prevent beetles

Dr. Jason Meyers

We don’t always remember how pests interact and create additional pest problems. We do remember large amounts of insects attracting a variety of beetles, but what about solitary wasps?

Mud daubers can attract stored product beetles around the outdoors and transition areas of food product facilities. Consider talking to your customers about increasing funding for mud dauber control efforts on the exterior to prevent beetle attraction to their facilities.

During inspections outside and inside, think like a pest. They don’t have the acute visual capabilities we have to see holes or areas of weakness. They can, however, use temperature spikes to alert them to areas for incursion (attack). Use an infrared temperature gauge in suspected areas to find places for increasing security or in some cases, product applications. Also, note that Indianmeal moths (Plodia interpunctella, or IMM) have a “wandering” phase where they seek harborage and can use this invisible technique — along with many other flying insects.