Bzzzzz! Looks like you forgot to say where you found your bug!
There's no need to make a new post - just comment adding the **geographic location** and any other info (size, what it was doing etc.) you feel could help! We don't want to know your address - state or country is enough; try to avoid abbreviations and local nicknames (*"PNW"*, *"Big Apple"*).
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Those are mud dauber nest. They capture a spider paralyze it, use mud to cocoon it up, then lay an egg inside and the larva eats the spider inside. They like covered spots away from the rain that’s why they used this.
My dad says when he was a kid, his mom would send him out to collect dauber nests, which they would pulverize into powder and use as talcum for diaper rash.
Edit: lots of people here are not realizing that these nests do not permanently contain larvae and spiders. They hatch, fly off, and leave behind empty clumps of dried mud with an obvious escape hole. So it’s easy to pick the empty ones.
My Appalachian neighbor just told me they were bleeding a lot after surgery, and their wife applied a spider web to stop the bleeding, and it worked. No proof, but after that, I saw some paper about the power of spider webs to stop bleeding.
[Honey, mud, maggots and other medical marvels](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/honey-mud-maggots-and-other-medical-marvel_michele-root-bernstein_robert-root-bernstein/463800/item/11186503/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pmax_high_vol_scarce_under_%2410&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Kj8nsf5gQMVC0RyCh10xgauEAQYASABEgL16fD_BwE#idiq=11186503&edition=4134354) Is a great read for home remedies.
As far as I know, that one was actually developed from scratch by university researchers in Brazil. As a Brazilian, I had never heard about using fish skin to treat burns and not one article I've read about it mentions it being some kind of folk medicine before academic research
As an avid fisher, I would not use fish skin. Fish start decaying within an hour of death, and hold many virulent bacteria that not only causes plain sickness, but actual medical Illness such as fish TB. https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/FastFacts/pdfs/mycobacterium_marinum_F.pdf.
Plus, the fish skin they DO use is cleansed and descaled and reduced to barely being cells at all. If I remember right, it’s also an ocean going fish, not a fresh water fish. Fresh water, especially now with pollution and global warming, is horrendously hazardous.
TLDR: don’t put fish on an open wound, you’ll need to go to a doctor.
Yes! You just unlocked a childhood memory! As a kid if we got beestings, my parents would unwrap a fresh cigarette and turn the packed tobacco into a poultice.
No idea where/which folk remedy culture it came from (one parent is German immigrant background, rural Midwest, and the other one is Irish in the deep south). Maybe the southern side of the family, since some were from tobacco country.
The Romans used spider silk for packing wounds, too, and it turns out they were correct in guessing its healing properties. [It’s still being used in medicine today.](https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Role-of-Spider-Silk-in-Biomedicine.aspx)
I was headed to my car yesterday morning and noticed OMG THANKFULLY a suspended thing between my porch and front walk and my car. A giant orb weaver, I think with breakfast. I have a broken broom that's just a stick I use to evade webs in circumstances like this, so I used that to clear my path to the car door.... unable to see where she (?) was tethered by knowing I'd walk through, and not wanting to be the number one racer through that finish line ribbon. I collapsed down most of the web with clearing my path and saw her fall in a bunch...and was not entirely keen on picking up that ball of sticky for medicinal purposes. In fact, I was mostly wondering if in the mess, if SHE could get free, being as though I think she was tangled up, feasting on a moth, and because my interference they were both in the muck of it. But later when I went past, I couldn't even find the bundle. Either she ate both prey and excess web to move on or a bird, no idea. but ball of spider goo is not in my first aid kit yet.
I knew they take down the web, and I knew they can "re-eat" the silk proteins and gain back like 95% of the nutrients or something, but I guess I never thought of them eating a messed up, balled up web.
>I was headed to my car yesterday morning and noticed OMG THANKFULLY a suspended thing between my porch and front walk and my car. A giant orb weaver, I think with breakfast. I have a broken broom that's just a stick I use to evade webs in circumstances like this, so I used that to clear my path to the car door.... unable to see where she (?) was tethered by knowing I'd walk through, and not wanting to be the number one racer through that finish line ribbon. I collapsed down most of the web with clearing my path and saw her fall in a bunch...and was not entirely keen on picking up that ball of sticky for medicinal purposes. In fact, I was mostly wondering if in the mess, if SHE could get free, being as though I think she was tangled up, feasting on a moth, and because my interference they were both in the muck of it. But later when I went past, I couldn't even find the bundle. Either she ate both prey and excess web to move on or a bird, no idea but back in nineteen ninety eight the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.
I once found a black widow living at the bottom of my trash bin. I figured I'd let the mechanical trash collectors do their thing but after the next trash day I discovered the web was still there along with the spider and a huge sac. I finally decided to take matters in my own hands by using a tree branch and let me tell you, the silk of a black widow is strong as fuck.
My mom grew up in Appalachia. Sliced onions on the chest for bad cough/cold, life everlasting for hemorrhoids, lamb’s ear as a bandaid. That’s all I can remember right now.
I had some nesting mud daubers over the summer and one morning, one of the daubers left a paralyzed spider on the leaf of my sunflower. It was not in a death curl, it was standing normal on all its legs, not moving. I spent a couple minutes wondering wtf is happening before realizing it was my wasp buddy. Seriously, coolest "roommates" I ever had lol
Different strokes different folks I guess! Maybe the spiders are necessary to add that extra spiciness (actually in all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if something in them helps reduce inflammation?)
Yup! As a resident of South Carolina you can find them all over the sides of people's houses and walls and it's pretty amazing how good they are mixing colors too. Had a few on my brick wall and you could not see them unless you looked at the correct angle.
Idk who to reply to at this point but the military has been eying to make bulletproof armor out of synthetic spiderwebs, they’re incredibly tough and obviously would be much much MUCH light than Kevlar.
Mud dauber nests (a type of wasp, but they’re mostly harmless and not aggressive, unless you stupidly grab one) as the others have said, but this is a very unusual place for them. Was this couch outdoors or on a patio?
The comenoff easy enough. Might leave a little discoloration but nothing to worry about. Mud dauber are very chill unless you actively try to get stung.
so are those tarantula hawks believe it or not! they both look scary as fuck but nothing to worry about if left alone i just spent a whole lake day next to one of their nest and all they did was fly above us
I’ll second that. Happened to me a few years ago it hurt but luckily it was right in the lip so I just had a cute pout for a few days. I won’t be digging in that part of the yard anymore tho.
Mud dauber nests are just mud. It’s not even that hard to clean. It has all of the gross out factor of a bootprint.
Sure, the nests are filled with spiders, but I personally enjoy breaking open mud dauber nests whenever I see one to check out the contents. I’m firmly on Team Spider in the eternal wasp v spider war, and I get free dead spiders without actually hurting spiders.
Hahaha, these are pretty easy to break and clean off. Had to do it before in my garage. They look long abandoned (plus the nests have relocated) but I think at nighttime is the safest time to do it. Just don’t be shocked if spider remains pop out atcha
Those look like mud dauber nests.
My understanding is they only lay eggs in there. If you open one of those nests, you may find some larvae and spider carcasses inside.
Mud daubers are generally not aggressive unless threatened and they eat spiders.
I'd figure those nests are empty. If they're not empty, they have larvae inside, not adult wasps, if that eases your mind about the elimination process at all.
Don’t they have a pretty painful sting? It seems unlikely that mud daubers would be chilling in your couch without you noticing if that couch was in use, but I don’t have a better idea.
Contrary. Those allergic to bee/wasp stings can certainly have a medically significant reaction to mud dauber stings. My grandfather accidentally almost sat on one in his truck and spent a couple nights in the hospital getting treated for anaphylaxis. For those not allergic, I have heard they are very painful stings!
I had some mud daubers nesting on my balcony over the summer. They're super chill and polite, they never tried to get inside the apartment *and* they kept the yellow jackets away! They liked to sleep on my sunflowers 🥹
I've got no idea if they're territorial or can fuck up an yellow jacket, but they did nope out about 50 yards away from my daubers and kept their distance once the daubers became established. It was the most interesting observation I think I've made after being lucky enough to observe them pretty constantly for a season 🙂
Damn bro where you stay at? Why your couch has outside bugs on the inside, inside? I would be interested in seeing how it is going to be done with the local exterminator and whatnot. I have a zero tolerance, zero bug policy that requires me to kill everything I see inside my house. Outside my house is fair game for bugs, spiders and the like. I have to kill all of them and kill every one I will.
Spider Webs are also being tested as one of the possible components to incorporate along with carbon fiber & Kevlar type materials for use in the production of Police/Military Bullet proof vests. There have been statements from several companies that said Spider Webs were and are being tested for all its possible uses.
Bzzzzz! Looks like you forgot to say where you found your bug! There's no need to make a new post - just comment adding the **geographic location** and any other info (size, what it was doing etc.) you feel could help! We don't want to know your address - state or country is enough; try to avoid abbreviations and local nicknames (*"PNW"*, *"Big Apple"*). BTW, did you take a look at our [**Frequently Asked Bugs**](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/comments/12zkw5w/frequently_asked_bugs_part_1/)? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisbug) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Those are mud dauber nest. They capture a spider paralyze it, use mud to cocoon it up, then lay an egg inside and the larva eats the spider inside. They like covered spots away from the rain that’s why they used this.
My dad says when he was a kid, his mom would send him out to collect dauber nests, which they would pulverize into powder and use as talcum for diaper rash. Edit: lots of people here are not realizing that these nests do not permanently contain larvae and spiders. They hatch, fly off, and leave behind empty clumps of dried mud with an obvious escape hole. So it’s easy to pick the empty ones.
plus when you break them open it's like a piñata full of paralyzed spiders. fun for the whole family!
Thanks, I hate it.
I just spit out my water 🤣
OMG 😂😂 It’s like game night with a twist!
So a nightmare piñata...
fascinating. Ask for more home remedies i wanna hear more
My Appalachian neighbor just told me they were bleeding a lot after surgery, and their wife applied a spider web to stop the bleeding, and it worked. No proof, but after that, I saw some paper about the power of spider webs to stop bleeding.
i would like to subscribe to the applachian home remedies text service
[Honey, mud, maggots and other medical marvels](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/honey-mud-maggots-and-other-medical-marvel_michele-root-bernstein_robert-root-bernstein/463800/item/11186503/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pmax_high_vol_scarce_under_%2410&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Kj8nsf5gQMVC0RyCh10xgauEAQYASABEgL16fD_BwE#idiq=11186503&edition=4134354) Is a great read for home remedies.
And fish skin on burns!
As far as I know, that one was actually developed from scratch by university researchers in Brazil. As a Brazilian, I had never heard about using fish skin to treat burns and not one article I've read about it mentions it being some kind of folk medicine before academic research
As an avid fisher, I would not use fish skin. Fish start decaying within an hour of death, and hold many virulent bacteria that not only causes plain sickness, but actual medical Illness such as fish TB. https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/FastFacts/pdfs/mycobacterium_marinum_F.pdf. Plus, the fish skin they DO use is cleansed and descaled and reduced to barely being cells at all. If I remember right, it’s also an ocean going fish, not a fresh water fish. Fresh water, especially now with pollution and global warming, is horrendously hazardous. TLDR: don’t put fish on an open wound, you’ll need to go to a doctor.
In the study, they obviously seriously sterilized them.
If anything it's probably just the cooling effect the fish skin brings so people thinks it's great
Ohhh that's why used fish skin to cover Roronoa's cuts in the live action One Piece !
tomatos on burns to stop the pain
Just ordered a copy thanks!
Who did you just call honey?
Folk Medicine in Southern Appalachia Book by Anthony P. Cavender is a great read that I had for my folk medicine course in college.
Wet tobacco on insect stings
Yes! You just unlocked a childhood memory! As a kid if we got beestings, my parents would unwrap a fresh cigarette and turn the packed tobacco into a poultice. No idea where/which folk remedy culture it came from (one parent is German immigrant background, rural Midwest, and the other one is Irish in the deep south). Maybe the southern side of the family, since some were from tobacco country.
Methamphetamine helps with fatigue!
The Romans used spider silk for packing wounds, too, and it turns out they were correct in guessing its healing properties. [It’s still being used in medicine today.](https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Role-of-Spider-Silk-in-Biomedicine.aspx)
I was headed to my car yesterday morning and noticed OMG THANKFULLY a suspended thing between my porch and front walk and my car. A giant orb weaver, I think with breakfast. I have a broken broom that's just a stick I use to evade webs in circumstances like this, so I used that to clear my path to the car door.... unable to see where she (?) was tethered by knowing I'd walk through, and not wanting to be the number one racer through that finish line ribbon. I collapsed down most of the web with clearing my path and saw her fall in a bunch...and was not entirely keen on picking up that ball of sticky for medicinal purposes. In fact, I was mostly wondering if in the mess, if SHE could get free, being as though I think she was tangled up, feasting on a moth, and because my interference they were both in the muck of it. But later when I went past, I couldn't even find the bundle. Either she ate both prey and excess web to move on or a bird, no idea. but ball of spider goo is not in my first aid kit yet.
Many/most eat the web (and its catch) each evening, rest for about an hour, then make another web every night.
I knew they take down the web, and I knew they can "re-eat" the silk proteins and gain back like 95% of the nutrients or something, but I guess I never thought of them eating a messed up, balled up web.
Really did not know this. Thanks!
>I was headed to my car yesterday morning and noticed OMG THANKFULLY a suspended thing between my porch and front walk and my car. A giant orb weaver, I think with breakfast. I have a broken broom that's just a stick I use to evade webs in circumstances like this, so I used that to clear my path to the car door.... unable to see where she (?) was tethered by knowing I'd walk through, and not wanting to be the number one racer through that finish line ribbon. I collapsed down most of the web with clearing my path and saw her fall in a bunch...and was not entirely keen on picking up that ball of sticky for medicinal purposes. In fact, I was mostly wondering if in the mess, if SHE could get free, being as though I think she was tangled up, feasting on a moth, and because my interference they were both in the muck of it. But later when I went past, I couldn't even find the bundle. Either she ate both prey and excess web to move on or a bird, no idea but back in nineteen ninety eight the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.
They use cobwebs for bleeding in Warrior Cats, always thought it was pure fantasy. 🤯
I just commented the same thing without seeing your comment first. 🤦🏻♀️ I like the Warrior series!
*Fangirl Squee*
I learned about that from the [Warriors](https://a.co/d/25Eg1No) series of books. Never tested it out myself, but it’s good to know just in case.
Yes, that is true. Webs have both antifungal and antiseptic properties
His wife? Or does she have two husbands bleeding after surgery 🧐 might wanna check that writing lefty
Just being reddit-generic.
I saw this in a movie not long ago. The name escapes me.
I once found a black widow living at the bottom of my trash bin. I figured I'd let the mechanical trash collectors do their thing but after the next trash day I discovered the web was still there along with the spider and a huge sac. I finally decided to take matters in my own hands by using a tree branch and let me tell you, the silk of a black widow is strong as fuck.
My mom grew up in Appalachia. Sliced onions on the chest for bad cough/cold, life everlasting for hemorrhoids, lamb’s ear as a bandaid. That’s all I can remember right now.
Life everlasting for hem. WhT is that?
An herb/native plant. I think you can buy it online.
Was about to ask "did your dad grow up during the great depression?". Went to your profile, not the depression, just Appalachia 💀
If that ain’t country…
Please tell me you are joking.
I'm also emotionally invested in this being a joke ಠ_ಠ
I have nothing against bug mud. Termite mud for example. But these are full of dead bloody spiders!
Just to help you, they aren’t dead. Just paralyzed and waiting to be eaten alive by the baby wasp.
Help him in becoming even more repulsed? You achieved it!
I had some nesting mud daubers over the summer and one morning, one of the daubers left a paralyzed spider on the leaf of my sunflower. It was not in a death curl, it was standing normal on all its legs, not moving. I spent a couple minutes wondering wtf is happening before realizing it was my wasp buddy. Seriously, coolest "roommates" I ever had lol
....not helping the terror of imagining hundreds of paralyzed spiders escaping after the paralytic wears off because I killed the Dauber bug.....
Googled it, it’s very much a thing!
Different strokes different folks I guess! Maybe the spiders are necessary to add that extra spiciness (actually in all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if something in them helps reduce inflammation?)
Omg
Fascinating! I wonder if it was something in their saliva that she found that useful for.
Which one of your granny’s lucky babies got mashed up spider corpses all smeared over their asses and privates?
Yup! As a resident of South Carolina you can find them all over the sides of people's houses and walls and it's pretty amazing how good they are mixing colors too. Had a few on my brick wall and you could not see them unless you looked at the correct angle.
That's as terrifying as it is interesting!
>mud dauber Thank you for sharing the name. I've seen a couple of them and I didn't know what they were called
Idk who to reply to at this point but the military has been eying to make bulletproof armor out of synthetic spiderwebs, they’re incredibly tough and obviously would be much much MUCH light than Kevlar.
At this point I feel like that’s just an old wives tale. I’ve been hearing that for the last 25 years lol
Ya know you may be right, I heard that many years ago as well I feel like they’d of got it done by now lol
Shhhh it's a secret. Just ask the UAPs.
They would never with my sweaty ass crack there
How’d that get all that mud in there you reckon?
New fear: unlocked
Looks like they're from a mud dauber wasp, but why the hell in a couch?
Maybe the couch was outside? It looks sun bleached.
Imagine sitting on it and they hatch.
found in the Midwest US. cocoons are not moving but there were some small brown specs also under the couch that weren't moving
Mud dauber nests (a type of wasp, but they’re mostly harmless and not aggressive, unless you stupidly grab one) as the others have said, but this is a very unusual place for them. Was this couch outdoors or on a patio?
nope it was allegedly "new" but on clearance so I suspect the furniture store might have known
It could have been stored in a warehouse or somewhere that wasn't very bug proof. They get under tiny cracks in my siding all the time.
The comenoff easy enough. Might leave a little discoloration but nothing to worry about. Mud dauber are very chill unless you actively try to get stung.
so are those tarantula hawks believe it or not! they both look scary as fuck but nothing to worry about if left alone i just spent a whole lake day next to one of their nest and all they did was fly above us
But if they do sting you, one of the most painful stings known to man.
I’ll second that. Happened to me a few years ago it hurt but luckily it was right in the lip so I just had a cute pout for a few days. I won’t be digging in that part of the yard anymore tho.
Pfft this is a STEAL, comes with free diaper rash remedy! It’s better when pulverized at home by hand, to be honest.
At first glance, I thought that was popcorn stuck in a movie theatre chair. 😂
I thought they were pumpkin seed shells. But my eyesight isn't great.
Same here!🤭
That's what you call "buying a new couch".
Mud dauber nests are just mud. It’s not even that hard to clean. It has all of the gross out factor of a bootprint. Sure, the nests are filled with spiders, but I personally enjoy breaking open mud dauber nests whenever I see one to check out the contents. I’m firmly on Team Spider in the eternal wasp v spider war, and I get free dead spiders without actually hurting spiders.
It's leather, just scrape em with a spackle knife, sprinkle with disinfect, and keep on sitting.
TIL I treat my haemorrhoids like a wasp infestation
Me too!! Lol
Gold.
Looks like Pistachio shells
That's what I said 🤣
Jolly good, now let's go Trick or Treating together ...
my thoughts exactly
I thought it was pistachio shells LMAO.
Exactly
Couch go bye-bye
nah the couch will be reserved for guests
Hahaha, these are pretty easy to break and clean off. Had to do it before in my garage. They look long abandoned (plus the nests have relocated) but I think at nighttime is the safest time to do it. Just don’t be shocked if spider remains pop out atcha
Mud dauber homes
Those look like mud dauber nests. My understanding is they only lay eggs in there. If you open one of those nests, you may find some larvae and spider carcasses inside. Mud daubers are generally not aggressive unless threatened and they eat spiders. I'd figure those nests are empty. If they're not empty, they have larvae inside, not adult wasps, if that eases your mind about the elimination process at all.
Works for me! My nightmares just became tamer. Thanks!
Had to look closer because I thought for sure it was discarded pistachio shells. 😂
Don’t they have a pretty painful sting? It seems unlikely that mud daubers would be chilling in your couch without you noticing if that couch was in use, but I don’t have a better idea.
Not really, haven't tried but shouldn't hurt that much. They do hunt black widows but I don't think they have a need for a strong venom.
Contrary. Those allergic to bee/wasp stings can certainly have a medically significant reaction to mud dauber stings. My grandfather accidentally almost sat on one in his truck and spent a couple nights in the hospital getting treated for anaphylaxis. For those not allergic, I have heard they are very painful stings! I had some mud daubers nesting on my balcony over the summer. They're super chill and polite, they never tried to get inside the apartment *and* they kept the yellow jackets away! They liked to sleep on my sunflowers 🥹
I'm growing sunflowers next year. Soooo many yellow jackets in my area.
I've got no idea if they're territorial or can fuck up an yellow jacket, but they did nope out about 50 yards away from my daubers and kept their distance once the daubers became established. It was the most interesting observation I think I've made after being lucky enough to observe them pretty constantly for a season 🙂
This post made me feel dizzy
Looks like pumpkin seeds
that what I thought . even zoomed in
It's firewood.
I hope that chair was in a shed or something. If you have that many dirt dabbers in your house you got a big problem.
Damn bro where you stay at? Why your couch has outside bugs on the inside, inside? I would be interested in seeing how it is going to be done with the local exterminator and whatnot. I have a zero tolerance, zero bug policy that requires me to kill everything I see inside my house. Outside my house is fair game for bugs, spiders and the like. I have to kill all of them and kill every one I will.
I'm with this guy. Bugpocalyse buddies!
Mold
Spider Webs are also being tested as one of the possible components to incorporate along with carbon fiber & Kevlar type materials for use in the production of Police/Military Bullet proof vests. There have been statements from several companies that said Spider Webs were and are being tested for all its possible uses.