Carpenter Bee taking its job very seriously

[Kruse]

When I was a very small kid, my dad cut down some large cedar trees and took them to a local sawmill. I must have been 5-6 and rode with him to the sawmill in our large farm truck. About 6 months later, we went to get the cut cedar boards and put them in the loft of a large hay barn that we had. There they sat and were forgotten about until about 10 years ago. At that time, my daughter was in high school and wanted to make a cedar chest in her high school wood class. We got the boards down from the barn, blew the thick layers of dust off of them and she took them to the instructor at the wood shop. This wood was all (what I call) "rough cut", plenty thick and had to be planed down at the high school shop to get proper thickness. Some of he boards had some wood bee holes in them, and as they ran them through the planer, some of the wood bees got vibrated out and fell on the floor. It was the time of year when I guess it was cool and they were hibernating. They were quickly stepped on by the students.
Growing up, we had a large wooden corn crib that wood bees loved to attack. They were quickly hit with starting fluid to save the integrity of the building.

 

[Pew]

Dangerous or not....

 

[racer12306]

I've got a job opening, send him my way.

That's dedication to the cause!

 

[Sierra048]

Keep us posted!

I've been battling them for years. We bought our home in 2011 and it was a problem long before that. They set up shop at the roof line under the aluminum fascia, but only on the north facing end of our house. I'm waiting for the fascia to fall off as there can't be much wood left for it to hang onto. The problem is, the area is high up and precarious to reach with an extension ladder.

Like said, painting, plugging, calking, etc does nothing. They'll dig their way out and setup shop out of another hole.

I've used various sprays, powders, hot soapy water and even a badminton racket to kill them. More just come back.

I hang those jar traps nearby and they do collect some of the wood bees, but yet they persevere. I'm told they are attracted to the smell of other wood bees, which seems impossible to remove as time goes on.

Your situation sounds like a carbon copy of ours. We bought two tennis rackets, one for our upstairs porch, and one for our lower porch off the basement. Nothing more satisfying than the sound and feel of the "thunk" of a well-timed swing. We've got traps all around the house. I catch just a few per trap per season. When I find, and can reach, a new hole I spray a shot of carpenter bee spray in it and pack the hole with a small wad of steel wool. I watched a video of this a while back and supposedly the bees can't chew through the steel wool to make their way out. So far all of the patched holes are still intact. I am assuming the spray did the job and the bees didn't tunnel their way out via another hole. We live in the Southern portion of the Nantahala National Forest. Not understanding why, with all the TREES around, they feel the need to bore holes in our eves, soffit and siding.

 

[JTK]

.....When I find, and can reach, a new hole I spray a shot of carpenter bee spray in it and pack the hole with a small wad of steel wool. I watched a video of this a while back and supposedly the bees can't chew through the steel wool to make their way out. So far all of the patched holes are still intact. I am assuming the spray did the job and the bees didn't tunnel their way out via another hole....

I believe the key there is you are killing the wood bee with the spay before the hole gets plugged.

If you seal off the holes with live bees still in there, they will tunnel their way out, or at a minimum, continue to chew wood and do damage until they die. Wood bee smell remains, causing more and more to choose that area.

Please let us know how the exterminator route goes. I'm curious if this leads to a permanent solution.

 

[nwjones18]

Deltamethrin.
Spray the wood in late spring and mid-summer.
Will keep all insects out of the wood; bees, termites, ants.

The problem is two fold
- they weaken wood structures
- often wood peckers will seek out the larva and peck at the wood, making it an even more destructive process

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...ect-control-79-bifenthrin-concentrate-1170813

This is what I spray our cabin with and it works well on the bees. The woodpeckers ultimately cause the most damage. We have a lot of wood in need of replacement

 

[Nmr1981]

Sorry about that link not working. He is holding one and they work great. Jar is usually half full by mid summer.

I made some and they do indeed work. I have hundreds of bees still eating my fascias. That dust is next step.

 

[alarmguy]

Get a sprayer if you dont have one, mix and soak the wood real good, problem solved.
Everyone sells it, Lowes, HD even Walmart when in stock, but this is an example.

Amazon.com

If you dont have a sprayer and just want something simple for now, premixed gallon =

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0ITMGE

Or you can order it direct, I see the concentrate also comes in 1 gallon, dont confuse premix `1 gallon which is around $25
I use concentrate for all things, on lawn, foundation ect... also once in a great while I mix to the termite specs on the label and soak around the foundation. You can actually trench and soak at the required levels for termite protection too, gets expensive though. I use it as a general spray "on label" and once in a great while soak the foundation as described.

Carpenter Ant & Termite Killer Plus Concentrate

#html-body [data-pb-style="660F61FD77296"]{justify-content: flex-start; display: flex; flex-direction: column; background-position: left top; background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: scroll; border-style: none; border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0px; margin...

bioadvanced.com

 

[SHOZ]

I use a mix of used radiator coolant and borax as a termite treatment for new or in place wood. It's poisonous to almost any bird or insect. The glycol is a carrier of the dissolved borax and soaks into the wood. You can get a thick viscous commercial product if you like. I add blue food coloring to it too.

How to Use Borate Wood Treatment for Termites. | Sashco

Borate wood treatments are a big deal. In this month’s Experts Corner, our favorite Southeast Territory Manager, Paul Peebles, breaks down the 411 on borates. There are two kinds of wood – wood that is rotten, and wood that one day will be rotten. This statement may seem a bit extreme, but it’s...

www.sashco.com

 

[The Critic]

Probably Delta Dust and possibly Temprid FX.

 

[JTK]

Deltamethrin.
Spray the wood in late spring and mid-summer.
Will keep all insects out of the wood; bees, termites, ants.

The problem is two fold
- they weaken wood structures
- often wood peckers will seek out the larva and peck at the wood, making it an even more destructive process

That is interesting.

I've used a product by Bonide called Termite and Carpenter Ant Killer for years. It's active ingredient is deltamethrin (0.02%) Works excellent for ants. It wouldn't touch my wood bee problem. I've soaked the wood and sprayed it directly in the holes to no avail. I've tried it during active season and just prior. Did this for more than one season. Maybe the concentration is too low for my situation. They come back year after year.

Best I can tell, the Bioadvanced product @alarmguy suggested above also contains 0.02% deltamethrin.

 

[kschachn]

Since there are only eggs in the hole it's not likely to make a huge difference in the number of bees in your area. The bees you're seeing came from somewhere else.

 

[dnewton3]

That is interesting.

I've used a product by Bonide called Termite and Carpenter Ant Killer for years. It's active ingredient is deltamethrin (0.02%) Works excellent for ants. It wouldn't touch my wood bee problem. I've soaked the wood and sprayed it directly in the holes to no avail. I've tried it during active season and just prior. Did this for more than one season. Maybe the concentration is too low for my situation. They come back year after year.

Best I can tell, the Bioadvanced product @alarmguy suggested above also contains 0.02% deltamethrin.

This is what I use

https://www.amazon.com/D-Fense-SC-Deltamethrin-Insecticide-Pint/dp/B0076O8CI0/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1LBZEUWARL3F6&keywords=deltamethrin&qid=1689255139&sprefix=deltamethrin%2Caps%2C350&sr=8-5

I mix it per the directions and application. It does a great job on keeping carpenter bees out of my wood deck and retaining wall.

I believe it's also available in a dust/powder form, but I've not used that.

 

[Sierra048]

Well, the pest control guy left within the past hour. My wife and I were outside throwing some mulch down my wife looks up because she notices some wood dust floating down. We looked up to see a carpenter bee boring into the wood under our soffit. So much for the exterminator solution. My wife told the fellow who came out we were going to wait before commiting to another annual spraying and he tried real hard to convince her we'd be making a mistake if we didn't. It's s a good thing he was gone before she saw the carpenter bee going to town. Needless to say we won't be paying the $500 dollars next season. Had to at least try the exterminator route though. Good Lord what useless, destructive critters carpenter bees are.