The Forestry Forum

This might help someone with engine problems.Today after sawing some lumber I tried to start my leaf blower to blow the mill off and it wouldn't start.When cranking it over it seemed a little tight and I was afraid it was done for as it's pretty old and has had a hard life mostly burning brush piles.Luckily I bought a little atv for my grandson a couple weeks ago that had been setting at least 12 years and after replacing carburetor it would run but didn't want to rev up.I pulled the baffle out of the muffler and found it stopped up with mud dauber nests.Thought I should check leaf blower exhaust although it gets used regularly.Sure enough it was stopped up by a mud dauber also.Cleaned it out and it fired right up.Something to keep in the back of your mind when having small engine trouble.

I use to remove the key to my sawmill. 
It has no wheels so can't be hauled off.
Then one day I went to put the key in, and it was full of mud!!! Had a job to get the mud out and put some blue creeper in there. Felt kinda "gritty" for a while.
Now I just keep the key in the switch.

I saw something recently that a fatal helicopter or plane crash was blamed on mud daubers in the fuel line or vent. According to the article it had been operated relatively frequently but not in the past few weeks. 

I have multiple frost proof hydrants around plus some outdoor faucets that had daubers and other insects get into. I bought some of the plastic hose caps and then drilled about 8 holes in each with a 1/16" drill making them into mini shower heads, works really nice for washing your hands and easy to remove for hooking up a hose. They can still drain for freeze protection.