Does anybody know what causes this?

[tbird]

Saw this on a 1960's home, in the brick grout. It looks like it contains some sand and ? Anybody familiar with this? Bird, insect nesting?

Thanks,

Carl

http://www.thunderbirdinspection.com

Download Attachment: brick1.JPG

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Download Attachment: brick2.JPG

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[hausdok]

It looks like a subterranean termite tube.

Did you see anything similar at the foundation wall?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Chad Fabry]

Or maybe some oozing bees wax from the monster hive in the wall?

.

[kurt]

If it isn't a termite tube, I'd be very surprised.

[ghentjr]

mud wasp. (mud dauber)

[ozofprev]

Looks like mud daubers to me.

They used to clog airplane pitot tubes in New Orleans. Sometimes you didn't know about it until you see no airspeed indication as you're on your takeoff roll. "Aborting takeoff."

[Jim Morrison]

Looks like mud daubers to me, too.

[hausdok]

Interesting. Around here, the color of termite tubes resembles that, but mud dauber nests around here are light to mid gray.

Guess it varies by what they've got to work with.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[kurt]

OK. I'm surprised.

Mud daubers don't build linear like that, do they? They tend to build "chambered" mud houses.

[ozofprev]

I think we'll just have to see what he comes back with. I'm not sure what's indigenous to AZ.

Daubers do build as you say, Kurt, but they begin with a single row. Later, if they feel like it, they will add another row adjacent to the previous one. Sometimes it's just the one row for a long time.

[hausdok]

Hi Gary,

That's true, but the daubers I see here encase pupae in those tubes and when the tubes get broken there's an organic shell left behind. That doesn't seem to be what I'm seeing here. It has the coloring and the texture of termite frass and the efflorescence around it says that there's some kind of moisture there, which subs would need. What's weird is that it's going on in Arizona. Perhaps this is a drywood termite infestation and that's what the frass from those looks like. Since we don't have drywood termites here, I haven't anything to go by.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[ozofprev]

I agree, Mike. And I'll be paying attention to the 'final answer' I'm sure we will get soon - right tbird?

[StevenT]

Having looked at the second picture fisrt, I initially thought bird droppings, but couldn't figure out what position the bird was sitting in to get them there. [:-eyebrow

[tbird]

Sorry Guys - This was not a quiz. I do not know what causes this. Thanks for all your input. We do get wasps around here but I'm not sure about mud daubers (I have research to do). I do not think this is termite activity because most of these are between 4 and 8 feet high off of the ground. They are only in short sections about 2-8 inch's each. One nest was in a hole that was drilled into the brick. I scraped another off and did not see any damage or openings in the grout leading into the inner wall. The smell of the stuff is semi sweet and sandy texture. I have never seen this in my area before. The climate I live in is high desert. 17 inches of rain per year. Average winter temp 25 night-50 days and summer 55 night - 90 days. On average less than 15% humidity. Drywood termites are rare. Subs are also somewhat rare here (maybe 1 of 20 in the hills, 1 of 100 in the flatlands).

Still Stumped in AZ.

[Bill Kibbel]

Masonry bee.

Never heard of them in N. America, but they're a mild nuisance in the UK. They usually burrow pretty deep into the mortar though.

Who here thought I made that up?

[tbird]

Looked up mud daubers. Yes we do have them here but these do not look like their nests. Masonry bee, maybe. These nests are only on the mortar joints, could not find them anywhere else. I'll keep researching.

Thanks,

Carl

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by inspecthistoric

Masonry bee.

Never heard of them in N. America, but they're a mild nuisance in the UK. They usually burrow pretty deep into the mortar though.

Who here thought I made that up?

Here in Oregon, we have a critter called a "mason bee." They're very common -- in fact our primary natural pollinator. They use existing holes though. I've never heard of one creating a nest on the surface like that.

My vote is for mud dauber.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[hausdok]

Just curious,

Did you bother to send an email, along with those attached photos, to your local dept. of ag's pest control office?

OT - OF!!!

M.