Carpenter bees

#102
#102
Fill the holes with caulk at night when the bees are inside and use traps. This knocked my problem down 90%.
 
#103
#103
thehardknoxlife said:
Lol, it would take thousands of them over several years to even begin to lessen the structural integrity. My grandfathers barn is still standing and it's a hot bed for them. Been there for 40 years.
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Not true. Just because he hasn't had a failure doesn't mean it won't happen. I reclaim barns , and I've seen whole sections of floors collapse because of them. It depends on the type of wood and how much load it carries.

From what I've observed, they prefer wood around the edges. Usually wood further into a barn is spared. I think it's because the outer boards receive sunlight and warm them. Maybe it's something to do with hatching their eggs.

Any soft wood they love, but they especially love poplar. I've seen a poplar 2x8 break because of their boring. It doesn't take a lot of holes, just 1 in the right place.
 
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#104
#104
I had red cedar slats made for an outside park type bench. They ate holes in it. Somehow I thought they wouldn't like red cedar. I was wrong :confused:
 
#106
#106
JustFunnN'Orange said:
I had red cedar slats made for an outside park type bench. They ate holes in it. Somehow I thought they wouldn't like red cedar. I was wrong :confused:
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They’re not termites. Like carpenter ants, they don’t feed on the material.
 
#112
#112
Get the Bayer spray and shoot it into the holes at night, kill the queen. Traps are a help but until she's dead it'll be a recurring problem
 
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#114
#114
Toujours Pret said:
Get the Bayer spray and shoot it into the holes at night, kill the queen. Traps are a help but until she's dead it'll be a recurring problem
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Aren’t the queens the only ones that sting? I don’t know, but those suckers were out in full force this afternoon. Amazing how symmetrical they carve the holes like that.
 
#115
#115
#116
#116
RDU VOL#14 said:
Aren’t the queens the only ones that sting? I don’t know, but those suckers were out in full force this afternoon. Amazing how symmetrical they carve the holes like that.
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Not sure they sting. They bite to protect the nest. Simple pair of gloves should get it done. And, i believe the males bite.

I got this for Xmas. Trick is to kill a male; rub its body around the rim of the wooden hole. They are social, but daf. There's only five or six in a brood. Kill the queen, move on.

Best Carpenter Bee Trap
 
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#118
#118
WA_Vol said:
woodpeckers are one of the most interesting birds around, but I've never seen one around anyone's house. They aren't that common in my experience.
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Are you in the SE? This is their breeeding ground. If you want to see woodpeckers, article says to go get decaying pine or cedar trees and put in yard. Instant fun.
 
#119
#119
jackcrevol said:
Why would you kill grubs? 🤦🏼‍♂️ unless moles are under the house?
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Company I worked for recommended that option to curb mole (and armadillo) activity. You have to get a lawn treatment from a Scott’s or Tru-Green tho. One customer did it and their yard ceased being ground zero for both varmints.
 
#120
#120
jackcrevol said:
Are you in the SE? This is their breeeding ground. If you want to see woodpeckers, article says to go get decaying pine or cedar trees and put in yard. Instant fun.
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Termite Spring Break! Put em up against the house for the win!
 
#121
#121
Here's something I found interesting this year about the carpenter bees. As I recommended I sprayed my fencing and hung up two bee traps, we've all seen these. They look like a bird house with a small jar screwed onto the bottom. I've had these up in the past and they work well.

Within days I had trapped a wood bee in one of the traps. This bee is still alive after 7 days, which is very unusual. Normally they seem to die in a day or two. A couple of days later I caught another bee in the other trap, it died overnight.
The two bees look similar but with a bit different in the amount of yellow verses black. I'm thinking the one who refuses to die is a queen bee. B***h from hell, :)
 
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#124
#124
Apparently all of the following work:

Soapy water in a spray bottle or soapy water in a bottle with a hole in the cap to act as a sprayer.
WD 40
CRC 556
brake cleaner - cheaper than WD 40
All of the above will kill the males you see but not the female and the eggs.

To destroy the nest and eggs you have to jam a flexible wire as far as you can into the hole. This breaks the pollen chambers the queen builds around the eggs. Then you could use wasp spray, Tempo Dust, Repel clothing spray with Permethrin, then plug the hole.
graph.jpg
 
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#125
#125
Ok, so oddly enough I was doing yard work today and quickly found out there were two carpenter bee nests in the wooden mailbox stand. I first sprayed both holes with WD-40 and walked away. At some point two carpenter bees slogged their way out of the holes and died on the sidewalk. Then I notice a male came back from wherever he was and was buzzing all around the mailbox. I couldn't get him with WD-40 as it doesn't have the reach. I busted out the wasp spray, hit that sucker once, twice, then a final third time and he just wouldn't quit. Apparently they are even immune to wasp spray which is why I edited my previous post. I broke out the tennis racket and finally took him down. Then I hit a second one with the tennis racket and squished him. I then rammed the WD-40 plastic extension sprayer as far as I could into both holes and sprayed until the WD-40 came back out. Lol

I'll have to keep an eye on those holes and then ultimately fill them in.
 
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