# What to do about these little guys?



## YosefASU (Jun 3, 2020)

Hi, I've searched the web in attempt to ID this guy and it's comrades and figure out how to protect my house from further damage.

The affected area appears to be the exterior trim and molding around a set of French doors in my "daylight" basement. It's under my back deck in a place that is rather moist and gets little to no direct sunlight. Geographically I'm in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Western NC.

We just noticed the holes today, but they weren't there (or were few and unnoticed) earlier in the spring time.

At first I wondered if the holes were from beetles, but it didn't make sense for several reasons so I grabbed the only insect killer I could find in my garage which was a hornet and wasp killer to see if I could flush anything out and found several of these wasp looking things. It's about 1/4" long and it's on a fresh sheet of white copy paper in the pic.

Can anyone help me identify these and recommend a course of action to eliminate more damage?

Sorry, but I can't seem to attach the pics so I put them on Imgur. http://imgur.com/a/OREeka9

Thanks


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## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

Almost looks like a mud dauber. Google mud dauber. Any mud tunnels around??


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Time for a real inspection with a real exterminator.
Mud Dobbers and wasp do not make holes like that.
Looks more like Powder Post Beetles damage to me.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

That's poop, not holes.


https://www.a-1pc.com/pest-library/profile/stinging-insects


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## YosefASU (Jun 3, 2020)

They are definitely holes. You can stick something in them. I wish that it was just poo! 🙂

I first thought of the beetles you mentioned but nothing fits except the hole size. 

Def not mud daubers as one of you already explained.

There are lots of those little wasp looking things that I flushed out of the holes with high pressure wasp killer spray laying on the threshold.

I HATE calling a professional to do anything. It's like an absolute last resort, but you can't take chances when something is eating your house and making it their own so I will likely call a pro. It's too big a risk to take when so much is at stake.

Thanks for the replies! Any other thoughts are welcome.

Thanks


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## YosefASU (Jun 3, 2020)

I just watched one of the bugs trying to crawl into one of the holes head first, but he didn't fit so he tried to back in ass-end first and sat there with his head hanging out. I've never seen anything like this.


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## YosefASU (Jun 3, 2020)

So it appears that something else made those holes and the little bugs are laying eggs in them. The damage does look just like powder beetles, just doesn't fit with what I've read about how they operate and where, but at this point I can't come up with another possible culprit so as Sherlock Holmes says... Anyway, I've got a professional coming out. If anyone is curious I'll post the findings next week.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

YosefASU said:


> I just watched one of the bugs trying to crawl into one of the holes head first, but he didn't fit so he tried to back in ass-end first and sat there with his head hanging out. I've never seen anything like this.



Maybe it's a she and she's trying to lay eggs? Aren't there stains, too?


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## YosefASU (Jun 3, 2020)

You are correct sir


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## YosefASU (Jun 3, 2020)

Terminix and a local company both say that they have seen em around our area, but not in such large numbers. Neither knew what to call them other than "some kinda wood wasps". They said that the holes were positively NOT made by powder beetles, and they were made by the wasps from the outside in. Should be an easy treatment, but they are sending pics and info to an entomologist to get a real name so they can use an on-label treatment. I should prolly find an entomology forum and see if anyone can ID them in the meantime. We'll see...


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