Carpenter Bees

[Dee-Vo]

It seems these things have chosen my front porch to call their playground for the time being. Last night, around 9 p.m., as usual, I sat outside upon said porch rocking away and reading through some of the reports posted here. I heard the faint scratching/chewing sound, and upon closer observation (putting my ear to the porch railing), I notice a small mound of frass, which gives it away as I know they aren't carpenter ants. I should've taken care of this problem earlier in the year, but my slothful ways have veered me in different directions.

Almost a decade ago, I made a living by selling and exterminating pests of all types. For this particular issue, I would soak all wooden construction on the structure with some type of commercial residual insecticide, then plug the holes several days later to prevent future problems. Things have changed.

I've purchased a product that will hopefully do the trick. It's an over-the-counter product, so I hope it's potent enough. I plan to put it to work tonight after dark to ensure the bees are in the galleries. Any particular remedy or product you fellas suggest that you've had success with?

Thanks in advance.

[Grannyknot]

http://www.myfrugalhome.com/how-to-build-a-carpenter-bee-trap/

[Dougfish]

G-to-the-knot

I hate those fuckers. I have a house with wooden soffits and fascia, wood porch ceiling and a wood garden house.
When I find a hole, I jam a limber twig or copper wire up there and impale him and stop up the hole at the same time.
Made me two similar versions of those traps this spring. Got one so far. 

[Big J]

I have dealt with this issue before.  Best thing you can do is spray a bee poison dust compound into each hole (preferably at night as to not get bitten) and leave it be. Spray hole again in a month or so because the larva will hatch and they need to fly through that stuff.  And then in the fall seal holes and put a varnish or coating on deck so that next year new bees won't come and bore into the wood or use the existing holes.  There are a few articles you can find on this process.

[Big J]

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/Carpenter_Bees.htm

[Mudwall Gatewood 3.0]

http://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/ENTO/ENTO-151/ENTO-151-pdf.pdf

Don't hate these native bees!!!! 

Why Doug, a lover of all floras, dislikes this indigenous bee, a pollinator, means one thing.  He is a dickweed!!!!

[Onslow]

Once in Franklin County a carpenter be chose to build nest in a broom handle that happened to be the designated broom for the front porch.  My wife placed a piece of masking tape in front of the hole and sharpied the tape to match the color of the black handle except for the hole location.  What ensued was pure entertainment.  The bee nearly beat itself senseless attempting to enter the hole.

[Mudwall Gatewood 3.0]

The bee nearly beat itself senseless attempting to enter the hole.

I had a similar experience when I was 16.  Her name was Debra, but I don't recall the incident being entertaining.

[Dougfish]

The bee nearly beat itself senseless attempting to enter the hole.

Mine was ....fuck, there was a few of them tight thighed girlies.  y;
I had a similar experience when I was 16.  Her name was Debra, but I don't recall the incident being entertaining.

[Dee-Vo]

I've entertained the thought of traps, and actually may try that out. Also, I'm going to execute the pesticide method as well.

I've seen these bees bore through freshly stained and treated wood with abandon. I don't have a great amount of faith in that method being an effective deterrent overall.

I'm grateful for the advice so far. I'll follow-up with my success or failed tryings.

[Yallerhammer]

I built my porch out of pressure treated wood (the real stuff with chromated copper arsenate that you can't get now) because they are so bad here. I haven't had any problems in about fifteen years, except for one hole bored into a knot in the wood. Carpenter bees are fun to shoot at with a .22 pistol. Not easy to hit on the fly.

[rbphoto]

I am dealing with them on our pergola.

Stuffing existing holes with steel wool frustrates them to no end.  Quite entertaining to watch.

No chemicals, yet.

Using a flip flop to knock them out of the air and them exterminate them.

I think they are also boring between the gutters and the drip edge, which will eventually cause me to use some other (PVC?) fascia board.

And I thought I was not going to have any projects . . .

[Dee-Vo]

Carpenter bees are fun to shoot at with a .22 pistol.

This reminds me of a past memory.

When my cousin and I were in the neighborhood of 13 years of age we were quite mischievous. We'd at times perch in the edge of the woods, and spy on the old man that resided across the country road. He'd just sit there, motionless, in a rocking chair. The old man would suddenly, without warning, grab a shotgun that often leaned against the base of his chimney, and blast off a shell in a random direction. It took us a long while to reach this conclusion: he was shooting at flies and bees and June bugs and whatnot.

I'll divulge a little more:

This old man had a stack of Playboy magazines that Hugh himself would be taken back by. Probably every issue since day one. I'll bet that collection that lived out it's days in an old dusty, musty out-building among antique tools, traps, and farm equipment was likely worth a pretty penny. Of course his collection wasn't complete, or even close to it, after we located the stash, and smuggled God knows how many magazines into my cousin's parents' basement. Those were the days.

The old man has since passed on to whatever is next after we leave this Earth. I often think of him sitting there, spending his last years watching cars slowly pass, toiling away on his old weed eaters, and tapping his old worn boot on the weathered, creaky porch. Happy as a lark.

I'm sure glad we didn't end up like one of those bees he played target practice with.

[Mudwall Gatewood 3.0]

Carpenter bees are fun to shoot at with a .22 pistol.

This reminds me of a past memory.

When my cousin and I were in the neighborhood of 13 years of age we were quite mischievous. We'd at times perch in the edge of the woods, and spy on the old man that resided across the country road. He'd just sit there, motionless, in a rocking chair. The old man would suddenly, without warning, grab a shotgun that often leaned against the base of his chimney, and blast off a shell in a random direction. It took us a long while to reach this conclusion: he was shooting at flies and bees and June bugs and whatnot.

I'll divulge a little more:

This old man had a stack of Playboy magazines that Hugh himself would be taken back by. Probably every issue since day one. I'll bet that collection that lived out it's days in an old dusty, musty out-building among antique tools, traps, and farm equipment was likely worth a pretty penny. Of course his collection wasn't complete, or even close to it, after we located the stash, and smuggled God knows how many magazines into my cousin's parents' basement. Those were the days.

The old man has since passed on to whatever is next after we leave this Earth. I often think of him sitting there, spending his last years watching cars slow pass, toiling away on his old weed eaters, and tapping his old worn boot on the weathered, creaky porch. Happy as a lark.

I'm sure glad we didn't end up like one of those bees he played target practice with.

To me this is better than the best TR!  I enjoy stories --- many thanks Jason ---- makes me 'happy as a lark'.

[Dee-Vo]

Originally, I had planned to fish today. Heavy rains throughout the night and much of today swayed me. I enjoy fishing in the rain, actually, but most flows are unmanageable at the moment, and the one that isn't requires more time than I currently have to visit her. Bee time.

I combed over all three porches that I have. The extent of carpenter bee damage was less than I expected. I found a few entrance holes, treated them, seen some bees exit with a new outlook on their small lives, and a few actually acted as if they would perish anytime. Pretty quick. I'm pretty sure I've probably overlooked some of the holes, but I'll keep my eyes open.












As you can see, I came across a couple other species as well. While playing God, I let the harmless live.