Carpenter Bees!!

[luv to dance]

OK, I need some help! We have carpenter bees and if I don't take care of them soon, I'm going to go crazy!

We moved into our new home last September (still warm). The front porch has 3 cedar posts. I'm from the city so I had no idea what started causing these holes we started seeing in the posts. After researching, I discovered I had carpeneter bees - man's best friend! :rolleyes:

So I read that painting the wood is best but I really like the "wood look" so we opted to stain the wood - which I read was a deterrent. I bought so spray stuff (liquid) and sprayed it into the holes (I tried about 3 different things before being successful) and the next morning, they were all laying dead on the porch. There were about 6 of them heifers! (I'm sorry, they irritate me so much!). :mad:

So we filled the holes and stained the wood and we didn't have any more problems....until now!

I saw one buzzing around out back yesterday afternoon. As soon as I saw it, my blood began to boil. I ran to the front porch to inspect the posts and sure enough, she (or one of her pesky little friends) had starting a new hole.

So I saturated the posts with the stuff we used last year. This morning, the "dent" was the same - she hadn't returned - but I'm sure she'll be back.

Does anyone have any solution to my saga???? I hate these critters so much. They're ruining my posts. I don't want to paint but if I have to, then so be it - but I'd like to try everything else first. Got any good remedies?

Sorry if this is in the wrong place...I couldn't decide if it should be here or under home talk!

[Mel-icious]

We battle them to and I still have yet to find a sure fire way to get rid of them. But here is a site to check out:

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef611.htm

[luv to dance]

Thanks Mel! I'll go and check it out!

[Beany]

My in-laws have battled them for years. Last year they hung up a "fake" bee hive trap which looked like a plastic bee hive cone. It really helped. Other than that, our teenage nephews did a heck of a job with a baseball bat and tennis racket, swinging and knocking those big bees to the ground each day. The bees would fall to the ground and we'd sometimes have to smash them dead with our shoes. Those bees are huge, noisy and can do a number on drilling holes in the wood. But to my experience, don't really harm people.

[RedBedHead]

My best advice is to buy a tennis racket for all of your family members. Then, have a competition to see who can hit the most bees. The male bees are the ones that you see buzzing around. Since they don't have stingers, they're harmless. We spent about an hour walking around our house and outbuildings the other day swatting them down (with a pool skimmer). I haven't noticed any since then. I used to be terrified of these suckers until we made a hobby out of it. Sad huh???? Anyway, it's fun and it will get rid of them without having to paint or buy poison. As with painting or poison you will likely have to do this several times throughout the spring and summer. Good Luck!

[RedBedHead]

Originally posted by Beany
Other than that, our teenage nephews did a heck of a job with a baseball bat and tennis racket, swinging and knocking those big bees to the ground each day. The bees would fall to the ground and we'd sometimes have to smash them dead with our shoes.

Funny Beany! Great minds think alike I guess. Glad to know I'm not the only one with the tennis racket cure. Luv, 2 tennis racket theories in 4 minutes!!!! It's gotta work!

[N5RDC]

I always called them wood bees, but whatever you call them, they are a pain in the neck (in more ways than one). Don't let anyone tell you they won't sting, because they will, and they don't loose their stinger like honeybees, so each one can sting multiple times. I was stung three times on the back of my neck & couldn't turn my head for three days (Only the females have stingers & will defend their nest agressively).
They generally like older wood such as found in old barns or other bare wood. A friend of mine got some bolts about the same size as the hole & waited untill he saw one go into the hole, then he would coat the bolt with Elmers glue and thread the bolt into the hole to close off the air. This was in his barn, so it may not be a solution for you.
Wasp or Hornet killer will kill the bees but it's the eggs that are more important, because the bees tend to return to where they were hatched, so the problem gets worse each year without control..
Spray Drione Dust into the nest (hole) & then seal it with a cork or wooden peg. This will dehydrate the larve & keep them from hatching. This is best done at night while the bees aren't active.
Be careful around the holes, because I can testify that their sting is much worse than that of a honeybee.

[RedBedHead]

Originally posted by N5RDC
. Don't let anyone tell you they won't sting, because they will, and they don't loose their stinger like honeybees, so each one can sting multiple times. I was stung three times on the back of my neck & couldn't turn my head for three days (Only the females have stingers & will defend their nest agressively).


The females will generally not bother you and the males can't possibly. The females are to busy to bother with you. The exception to this is when you step on them or if you get to close to the nest and even then it's improbable. Sorry about your "pain in the neck". That sucks! As stated before, it's the males who fly around and buzz you. The females do not do this. So, if there is a bee hovering around your doorways and patioes, chances are, it's a male.

[luv to dance]

You guys are funny! Thanks for the advice! I've heard of the Drione Dust. I'm not sure what we ended up buying but whatever we used must have killed the eggs because we haven't had a problem of bees boring their way out. We sprayed it into the holes and the next morning there was about 7 of them laying on the porch in misery! DH saw one not buzzing, just sort of hiding out in a little space between the wood and the vinyl siding and he shot it with the wasp stuff. It knocked her down fairly easily! I'm assuming she was waiting til we left to finish what she started - that heifer!

Like I said we stained the porch. I really don't want to paint it because I like the wood color. We bought a clear, polyurethane sealer that we're going to apply this weekend. Do you think that will deter them from biting into the wood? I guess my problem is with deterrment versus killing them. I've read that the stain is a slight deterrent. I think it might be working because I'm only finding little "knawings" versus actually holes. Last year, once they got to chewing, they stayed there and continued to bore the hole (coming back to the same place). This year, there seems to be several little knawings as if they start and then realize it tastes bad and stop. I'm hoping the polyurethane stuff will do the same thing. WDYT?

How are they attracted to soft wood anyway? Do they stop and chew on whatever and if it's soft, they stick with it?