Odor from Attic, Dirt Daubers?

Hi all, did an attic inspection for a client that claims she smells a Sweet/Sickly odor coming from the attic. House is 96 years old, raised. I looked everywhere I could see and besides staining on decking & some black spots on rafters the only thing that I saw was an enormous amount of dirt dauber nests. I read up on this and apparently these are not supposed to put off an odor. I smelled a really faint odor but she had so much lemon spray and candles going I really could not smell anything bad?

Anyone know if these Dirt dauber nests in this amount could give off an


odor?
Oh, and I did check under the house for leaks or anything dead and saw nothing. ![image|375x500](upload://uG33pHhxMcvV1XpzLFoNAh0XV45.jpeg)



Wow, that is a lot.

I have observed a sweet smell from German cockroaches in infested homes. I am not sure about the Dirt Daubers.

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There are enough environmental contaminants and air leakage in that attic (and crawlspace, I’m sure) that can combine to form all kinds of odors under the right air pressure/humidity conditions.

I see plenty of dauber nests, never noticed any smells such as those described.

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Thanks Brian and Dominic,
I got distracted by a phone call and meant to include that the attic ventilation was lacking. No soffit vents and it seems the roofer failed to open up the ridge vent all the way and left the felt covering it.
Dominic, I was thinking the same thing, might be a combination of some moist wood, mud and organic growth combined with no ventilation….

I am still leading towards this.

From the article
The signature cockroach smell — the one they emit while still alive — has been described as oily, musty, and even sweet in some cases. Roaches use their unpleasant odor to communicate with each other, helping them find food, safe places to live, and breeding opportunities.

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Thanks Brian, I’ll include a rec to get a pest service in there since this does seem to describe the same odor she is talking about. Thanks again.

Mud dauber wasps emit no odors.
They are beneficial that they feed on other inspects & spiders.

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I would guess the sweet odor is coming from the mold. I would be more concerned about that than pests.

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Thanks Joseph!