Carpenter bees!!!!!

[SPYDERLK]

Painted surfaces cut down the problem quite a bit, but I have still seen them bore into painted wood. If they can detect that it's wood (especially softwood) they will get into it. Not sure how they detect the wood and hone in on the softwoods and avoid the hardwoods, but they sure do!

Squeeze the Charmin.

 

[PhysAssist]

The males have a yellow face or spot on the face and do not have stingers. The females do have a stinger but are not aggressive.

Apparently, the females will sting you if you catch one in your hand, but I have been fighting them for 22 years and have never been stung yet.

This despite standing on our back deck swinging a racquet at them like a mainiac...

To SpyderLK,

They only attack our logs about 20+ feet up which ends up being by our living room windows, so the gas smell might PO my SWMBO, but in any event, using gasoline anywhere on my log house is a fire risk that neither of us even want to think about it, when there are so many other treatment options.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Apparently, the females will sting you if you catch one in your hand, but I have been fighting them for 22 years and have never been stung yet.

This despite standing on our back deck swinging a racquet at them like a mainiac...

To SpyderLK,

They only attack our logs about 20+ feet up which ends up being by our living room windows, so the gas smell might PO my SWMBO, but in any event, using gasoline anywhere on my log house is a fire risk that neither of us even want to think about it, when there are so many other treatment options.

Im talking a couple drops per hole. The volatiles do their work quick and soon gone. I doubt yould ever smell it if your not literally laced with holes.

 

[PhysAssist]

Im talking a couple drops per hole. The volatiles do their work quick and soon gone. I doubt yould ever smell it if your not literally laced with holes.

Thanks for clarifying.

Unfortunately, due to ongoing problems with my knees, we are pretty badly holed right now.

My eventual goal is to get our deck extended around the whole house, which will mean that I can use a platform or scaffold to reach it all easily, instead of needing to be 20+ feet up on a ladder for hours at a time (between treating bee holes, and scraping, caulking, and resealing our logs).

 

[s219]

Often when I dust a bee out of a hole with Drione, I will know right away if it's a female because the stinger shoots in and out. It's about 1/8 - 3/16" long when it pokes out, and looks like it would hurt!

The males act aggressive but it's all show -- they can't sting as noted already. I didn't know that until recently. For many years at my old house, they would buzz me anytime I went in/out of my shed, and it used to keep me hopping. I should've just ignored them.

 

[4570Man]

Has anyone ever been stung or bitten? I could imagine a nasty bite if they were so inclined. I've been spraying with some success, but these traps look worth a try. The spray is expensive and very toxic.

My dad got stung by one. He said it caused his whole chest to swell up and turn red. He said it hurt far worse than a yellow jacket or hornet.

 

[Garycw]

My dad got stung by one. He said it caused his whole chest to swell up and turn red. He said it hurt far worse than a yellow jacket or hornet.

They remind me of what I call bee killers. That's what the termite company guy called them anyway. They look like nasty giant hornets and nest in the ground. The ones that guard the nest do not sting, but the females can. Luckily they're not overly aggressive either. The guard need will dive bomb you though. Also hard to get rid of.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Has anyone ever been stung or bitten? I could imagine a nasty bite if they were so inclined.
I've been spraying with some success, but these traps look worth a try. The spray is expensive and very toxic.

I used a garden hose to fill a tunnel with water once when I was a kid, I won't do that again. It must have been a very mad female because it stung me and yes it hurt a lot. I also used to shoot them with my BB gun. That was fun, seems a waste to poison then when you can have so much fun shooting them with a BB gun. Ed

 

[Ford850]

I used Bee Butter for several years, but unfortunately it's no longer produced. What I plan to do this year is spray a fine stream of Bifen IT into the existing holes, where I used to use the BB. I've tried the traps, but in my opinion they are just a 'feel good' solution. You feel good because you see they do catch some bees, and you didn't use chemicals. But if there are old holes around your buildings, they are full of females producing hundreds of new bees and you are fighting a losing battle with traps alone. you would have to plug all the old holes for the traps to work best. For me, the BB worked well, lasted for a year, and nearly wiped out the population. I know they will never be gone, as new bees move in to the territory, but I'd say 90 - 95% of them are eliminated within a couple days by treating the old holes. And the old holes are the most used, since they are located in prime areas that the bees choose. After reducing the population, any time a new bee entered one of those holes through the summer, it was a eliminated.

 

[mark02tj]

We live in a log home so I got a pretty rough introduction to carpenter bees! :thumbdown: They seem worst on the south side of the house (where there's a 2 story peak) but I've found their holes all over the house and the detached garage.

I found a company called DoMyOwnPestControl.com and use their "Delta Dust" for the bees. I have a hand duster right now, but I'm thinking about getting a pole duster so I don't have to get out the ladder to hit the high ones. (I hate ladders, and it's heavy!).

When we restained the house 2 years ago, we added insecticide (recommended by the log home stain supplier) to the stain. It doesn't appear to make any difference in repelling the bees.

I like to do the badminton racket thing too! Every now and then you'll hit one just right and he'll end up getting caught in the webbing! :laughing: If I happen to catch one that's in the process of drilling (and I can reach it), I'll get out my pocket knife and just stick it in the bee. Then I'll dust the hole to keep another one continuing the dig. Also interesting to see a pile of dead bees right under a hole/tunnel that I've dusted - the bees go in and out and then die.

I might try some traps this year. Obviously, there is no perfect solution and it's going to be an ongoing problem as long as we live here.