The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Any suggestions on removing mud dabbers nests inside wings ?

N171TD, get yourself a good nozzle on a water hose, or pressure washer and flush til it runs clean, . Hit the nest if possible, they will dissolve. Most of the time they build it just past the flap so you have a drain hole and access hole close. They also love the flaps and ailerons. WASH with plenty of fresh water--Leave it the sun to dry of even better fly it. I have a major problem at home with them. I've tried moth balls to no avail and now plug the inlet for fresh air and fuel vent above the cabin with plastic scrubing pad deals( whatever they are called). I had one build up in my crankcase vent tube which (by luck) didn't blow the front seal. wings/flaps/ ailerons are still a problem. Kinda like my father inlaw said the only way to get rid of them is MOVE. Ron

N171TD wrote:Any suggestions on removing mud dabbers nests inside wings ?

NAOW THAT C/A CAJUN DINT TOLE U ALL THE KERECT INFURMASHION -

IMA GONNA TOLE U COONEY - - THEM MOTHY BALLS WORK BUT U GOTA TO SUSPEND THEM IN LIL MESH BAGS ABOUT EVER INSPECT HOLE ! !

For sure - if you have them little clods of mud pasted anywhere in the hull, you got to get them out. All areas of the plane from inside the engine cowl, exhaust stacks, breather tube, under the cabin floor, gear box area, way back in the fuselage, the flaps, ailerons, vertical fin, horizontal stabilizer the elevator and rudder will be just the thing the little buggers think we made specially for then and they like them all! I pressure washed mine out last spring. It took me about 3 hours to finally get clean water flowing out the trailing edges of the control surfaces and wings.

Here in Louisiana it doesn't matter what the heck you have that has any holes or darkened areas they will build there. I don't know how the little pests survived since the curse on creation, without the thousands of neat home sites we humans have provided. One of my big block outboard engines is trashed because they built in the big air box on the front of the carburetors. I fired it up in the spring and started across the lake. I began hearing unfriendly noises and the engine started losing power. After returning to the dock with the electric trolling motor I discovered that two or three lumps had dislodged and went into the carbs. Of course the lumps turned to grimy sand and was sucked right on into the engine. The result is a good Evinrude GT150 now waiting for an overhaul. Now I use the m/b treatment in all the other boat motors and even under the hood of my darlins' riding mower tractor.

(CRS in effect!)- Seems like I remember a incident where one of our members had one of the daubber nests in the carb venturi on his 170. It caused some problems but I can't really remember all the details.

The "moth balls" in mesh or cotton (like Bull Durham) bags placed strategically in the wings, vertical and horizontal will work. You can't really use them in the control surfaces because of balance issues.

As Ron stated - the only "SURE" cure is to plug up every hole big enough for the little turds to crawl into. Unless you have beaded trailing edges that means using something "removable" to close up that area but don't forget to "remove before flight"!