There are several small gray insect nests attached to the cushions inside my camper - what are they?

Question

They are made of 2-3 (some have more) gray cylinder shells attached together (about an inch long and half an inch across) , with a hole on one end. When I first saw them, I thought yellow jacket or other wasp nest, but I haven't been able to locate any similar picture online to verify that. Without knowing what I am dealing with I am afaid to try to remove them. I am cleaning out the old camper for my children as a sort of playhouse for the summer, and would appreciate any information. Thank you.

A. Mercer, thank you for the photo link, they are similar, but much smaller and more uniform, like the sections were cut out of a honeycomb almost. They are mud upon further inspection, I thought they were paper, AND they are empty :). Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

I'm not sure what they are, but you could probably safely vacuum them up with a canister vac even if they're wasps.

Answer 2

What are they made of? Is it sort of paper like or is it dried mud? If it is mud then check out a site with pics of dirt dauber nests.

http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020401.html

Are there still insects in it? I would expect there to not be. If it is dirt daubers, the nests are probably old and won't be revisited. Also, where I grew up, these buggers were all over the place. I have never had one bother or sting me. We used to knock down the nests whenever we found them. Sometimes you would find the nest full of dead (or paralyzed) spiders that the wasp put in there for the young to munch on.

One fun story was when my father and I were pouring a sidewalk around the house. We had just poured a section and were about to start smoothing it when we noticed a dirt dauber had landed on the wet cement and was gathering up some. I guess the little guy figured it would make for a nice home. I kind of feel bad for the young wasps who had to break their way out of that stuff.

Answer 3

they sound like mud wasp nest, if you dont see anything coming or going they are probably empty of insects