Do you have a "cure" for Carpenter Bees?

[Butterfly]

Honey jar update: So far, no good - but, I failed to follow the directions from Rob. :? He did not say to use honey, but something sugary like fruit juice or soda. So tomorrow I will add some sugary orange soda.

Now, Dan & Craig are both saying Drione dust. If the sugar does no good, then on to the Drione dust! I really appreciate all the input.

For some reason I just got a visual of Winnie the Pooh checking out my honey jar...

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Here ya go!! (he would scare me away, that's for sure!!

 

[Butterfly]

Thanks, Mermaid. Hope he's hungry

 

[EskimoPie]

Ugh, we had these in a wooden play structure while we lived in Buffalo... they were a royal PITA. Big black suckers... They never seemed to sting though, even when I sprayed RAID right into their burrows they just backed out and flew away. They always came back though... Wish I had known about the dust.

 

[SweetPotato]

Don't try to burn them out

Blasted Carpenter Bees!
My husband and I were aquainted with them when we moved to the country after growing up in the suburbs all our lives. My husband is allergic to bees so we try to deal with them quickly and well, harshly. After growing up with yellow jackets and wasps, we figured we would deal with these buggers the same way. We waited until dark and tried to burn them out. Who knew they had tunnelled all through our wood deck? Obviously, not us. We came this (you get the picture) close to burning down the covered deck and the house it was ajoined to. To this day, we still laugh our tails off thinking how stupid that was.

Well, 13 years later they still come back every year for something new. Funny how they never go after the trees all around us. They love exposed wood like that of our shed. We constantly find little piles of saw dust where they have been working. We've learned a few things along the way. Neither of us nor our three children have ever been stung by these bees. That's really saying something since we have gone after them in every way we could imagine. We have not found them burrowing into our gazebo or new deck, which are salt treated wood. We used clear silicone to plug their holes for a while but they just made too many holes to keep up with. I've learned that if you walk up to one, it will hover in front of you and wait for you to swing so they're pretty easy targets. Our final solution seems to have worked best. We've made a game out of keeping track of how many we kill all season long. We have tennis rackets around the shed that come in handy. My husband logs in well over a hundred each year because it has become his "summer hunting season". He was up to 7 the other day and I've only seen 1 or 2 this season. Don't worry, I'll catch up.

Happy Hunting!
Sweet Potato

 

[AnnaK]

Ok, I'll pipe up here.

They're not likely to sting unless you handle them, and I mean squeeze them in your hand or step on one. Carpenter bees are very territorial which is why they'll hover in front of you. Then they decide you're a) not food and b) not a threat and they buzz off to tunnel more holes.

What they will do is chase off wasps and yellow jackets. We used to have those nasty things build nests in our outdoor dog runs and cleaning up in there was always scary. Then the carpenter bees decided to build condos in the wooden parts of the structure and we've not had a yellow jacket or wasp nest since.

My husband is allergic to wasps and their ilk and I mean 911/ER allergic. No matter how careful we are we still average two trips to the ER per season. Since the carpenter bees appeared we've had nearly no wasps to speak of, so we don't exterminate them.

Yes, we do have tunnels but not nearly as many as you do, SweetPotato. When I find one I pound in an empty .45 casing which I get free from the guy up the road who does his own reloads. They haven't yet managed to chew through the brass.

And as to the bait in traps it really does need to be fruit juice or sugared soda. I put a small piece of melon and add some Pepsi. To catch flies and yellow jackets I use raw hamburger and Pepsi. Gets a little smelly after a while though.

What we need is mega help to get rid of deer and horse flies. OUCH!

AnnaK

 

[Butterfly]

Eskimo: I think your description of "royal PITA" is VERY accurate!

SweetPotato: Oh yea, I got the picture! I bow to your 'summer hunting season' for 13 years! :lol: :lol: I knew I should not have donated those darned tennis rackets to Good Will yet.....

AnnaK: An empty .45 casing fits? Good to know. DH will like that idea. A trade off with wasps & yellow jackets....um, but they don't eat my house, tho - and I can get them w/the bee spray. (the eaves are kinda high-house on slope) Okay, I'm going to add some melon to the fruit juice and see what happens.

...haven't ordered the dust yet....waiting.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[little_pool_on_da_prairie]

We have a lot of carpenter bees, they especially love cedar trees. We just have to deal with them during the year. They will buzz you, but not sting you unless they happen to fly up your shirt or shorts. LOL!

WASP

Someone once told me to douse the wasp nest with a squirt of Dawn mixed in a glass of water or small bucket. Sure enough, it kills them on contact. Make sure you smash and knock down the nest or the missing wasps will keep the nest going. You'll never have to buy wasp spray again. Dawn is becoming the next duct tape. LOL!

 

[gonefishin]

How could I forget! You may want to give Borax a try too. If you've got some on hand it will be cheaper than the Drione dust.

Male carpenter bees don't have stingers, only the females can sting. The Males will guard the nest and dive bomb you if they feel your getting too close, but because they are males they cannot sting. Killing the few male bees buzzin around won't do much to the community. You need to treat the nest...and treat it again.

I'd be interested in your results treating the nest with Borax, if you choose to.

good luck,

dan

 

[Butterfly]

Dan, how exactly do we apply the Borax? Do you mean to just try to dust the nests?

They are a little too busy buzzing and boring right now for us to disturb them too much......and

those beez are just laughing at my 'honey jar' with the fruit juice & cantalope. They drilled a hole directly above it and, of course, deposited their sawdust. :? I'm adding pineapple chunks with juice tomorrow.

Maybe when it gets a little 'aroma' they will like it better 8)

 

[257WbyMag]

When I find one I pound in an empty .45 casing which I get free from the guy up the road who does his own reloads. They haven't yet managed to chew through the brass.

Wow! Big carpenter bees up there in PA. Our carpenter bees down here in Texas are only .38 caliber. .40 caliber at best.

:-D

Craig - also 911/ER bee/wasp/etc. allergic

 

[Butterfly]

We have a lot of carpenter bees, they especially love cedar trees. We just have to deal with them during the year. They will buzz you, but not sting you unless they happen to fly up your shirt or shorts. LOL!

WASP

Someone once told me to douse the wasp nest with a squirt of Dawn mixed in a glass of water or small bucket. Sure enough, it kills them on contact. Make sure you smash and knock down the nest or the missing wasps will keep the nest going. You'll never have to buy wasp spray again. Dawn is becoming the next duct tape. LOL!

Hi LP and welcome to TFP!

Dawn - sounds like a plan for the wasps, and that is something that could be mixed in a squirt bottle. Like it, thanks!

....wonder what that might do to the carpenter beez?

 

[duraleigh]

I don't think everyone in this thread is on the same page. Carpenter's are solitary, very territorial bumblebee-looking guys who bore single holes into wood and deposit their eggs within.

I believe some of the advice given may be for a different type of bee.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

to add to duraleigh's description, they have hard shiny black rear ends, not furry or striped like bumblebees.

 

[gonefishin]

Dan, how exactly do we apply the Borax? Do you mean to just try to dust the nests?

They are a little too busy buzzing and boring right now for us to disturb them too much......and

those beez are just laughing at my 'honey jar' with the fruit juice & cantalope. They drilled a hole directly above it and, of course, deposited their sawdust. :? I'm adding pineapple chunks with juice tomorrow.

Maybe when it gets a little 'aroma' they will like it better 8)

I haven't used Borax as an insecticide. But it is supposed to be effective on ants and I've heard of some people using it on carpenter bees too. I think you want to use it similar to the Drione dust, where you dust the entrance(s) to their nest. This way the bees enter the nest and get the Borax on them and they carry/distribute it throughout the inside of the nest.

To dispense the Drione dust I have a bellows sprayer that "puffs" the dust out through a long nozzle. I wonder if a picnic type mustard dispenser may work?

Good luck!

dan

 

[257WbyMag]

I don't think that borax will work. As an insecticide, borax must be ingested in order to achieve kill. Although carpenter bees "chew" the wood, they don't eat the wood. Your best bet will be Drione dust. Place the dust and plug the hole with a snug fitting piece of wooden dowel. Once the larvae become mobile inside the wood, they too will come in contact with the Drione and die. The problem with carpenter bees is that they tend to stay where they were born and will often reuse the holes. This is a trait that is fairly unique amongst insects, especially hymenoptera. To discourage future bees from choosing your wood as a home, a good coat of oil-based paint will help. Carpenter bees prefer unfinished soft woods such as pine to make their homes in. They are able to smell the odors given off by older and rotting wood. By masking this odor with oil-based products (not water based latex) every few years, you should be able to minimize the damage.

Craig

 

[Butterfly]

Geeze Craig, those bees are a lot of work and getting expensive!

I'll tell DH the latest. Thanks for taking the time

 

[gonefishin]

Craig, thanks for the advice on the Borax. I remember that my Drione dust wasn't cheap, but it was effective.


good luck jjparrish!