Carpenter BEES?!

[Twinmom]

Who knew there was such a thing? :eek: Until now, I thought that only ants had the "carpentry" area covered!! I've got an infestation in several places under my newly redone breezeway! :glare: They are digging holes all over the place, throwing sawdust everywhere and leaving nasty green stuff dripping down my latticework!

Anyone know the best way to get rid of these destructive little buggers? Seems they like my neighbor's flowers, but prefer to live in MY yard! Grr...

[In The Great White North]

You have to find all the entrances and exits and spray well, with something toxic. Preferably in the late afternoon or evening when they are all back home, some you get them all. The colder the day the better because it slows them down. If you know a beekeeper, borrow a beesuit. You may have to spray a couple of times to get all the larvae.

Frankly, I don't like to get stung. Especially by hundreds of bees at once. I'd call someone else to do this.

BTW, how do you know they're carpenter bees and not regular ones?

[E_Edgerton]

I have a these too! They have decided they like my balcony...which is really making me angry because I like to read out there and the buzzing is soooo loud! Anyway, I don't know if I recommend this, but I have taken to spraying them with water...they hate it and most of the time they fall out of the air. They seem to get the point and are coming around less...however have a fast getaway! I don't like killing bees, but I don't like them taking up residence at my place! :)

[Jenny in Atl]

I don't think carpenter bees sting, at least the ones we have don't. They are more a nuisance than a danger. We always plug up the hole, while they sleep, with wood putty. It kinda suffocates them. :-(

[Twinmom]

BTW, how do you know they're carpenter bees and not regular ones?


Because they are burrowing holes in the wood trim! There is dust falling and there is bee "poop" tripping down my latticework! Grrr...

Looks like this:

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

[asta]

Do you know anyone who smokes?

Seriously.

A freshly put-out cigarette butt (so that it still smells, but isn't a fire hazard), shoved into the hole that they have drilled, then sealed up with caulk (I just use tub caulk) is the "Farmer's Almanac" method where I live. And it works!

My neighborhood had a wicked infestation of those buggers a few years ago. One of our residents was the displaced son of a farmer from Indiana. He started laughing at us and went out and bought a pack of Marlboros. I haven't had a problem since. It's something about the nicotine.

Good luck.


asta

[Twinmom]

I don't think carpenter bees sting, at least the ones we have don't. They are more a nuisance than a danger. We always plug up the hole, while they sleep, with wood putty. It kinda suffocates them. :-(

They won't burrow out the other side? That would be my fear. There seems to be a difference of opinion on the web about this...

[Twinmom]

Do you know anyone who smokes?

Seriously.

A freshly put-out cigarette butt (so that it still smells, but isn't a fire hazard), shoved into the hole that they have drilled, then sealed up with caulk (I just use tub caulk) is the "Farmer's Almanac" method where I live. And it works!

My neighborhood had a wicked infestation of those buggers a few years ago. One of our residents was the displaced son of a farmer from Indiana. He started laughing at us and went out and bought a pack of Marlboros. I haven't had a problem since. It's something about the nicotine.

Good luck.


asta

Funny! I love that idea. We don't smoke, but I'd buy my first pack of cigs if it would get rid of these nasty critters! And to think I blamed the green poo on my kiddos...I thought they threw something at the lattice! :glare:

[Shanna]

The females do sting but not the males. We have them and they have dug under our doors. I will have to try the cig thing. Now to find someone who smokes.

[Twinmom]

Grr. I just went out and looked at our shed and they are all under the eaves there, too! You can actually hear them chewing the wood! I'm definitely going to have to get a pack of cigarettes and a VERY large tub of wood putty!

Unbelievable. All I thought I had to worry about was termites!

[kalanamak]

Who knew there was such a thing? :eek: Until now, I thought that only ants had the "carpentry" area covered!!

There is also the species known as the carpenter cat: does odd jobs around the house.

[paula j]

Actually, they don't chew, they drill with their rear ends.;) Yup, their behind is a drill bit. We had these last year and we sprayed and also sprayed in their holes and plugged them with caulk. They keep drilling and then at several climb into the tunnel to sleep.

[Kim in Appalachia]

We just hit them down, and step on them. They are annoying. They guard their home, so they buzz in the face of all of my dc as they go out our back door. My dh usually kills 10-15 of them in the spring. That seems to keep their numbers down.

My uncle always plugged up their holes, but we have so many holes in our wood that it would be hard to find them.

[fruitful vine]

We have carpenter bees.
The ones we have don't sting.

My kids have made them into a game!!
They get plastic baseball bats and hit them!!
They count to see how many they can kill.
Fun for all and less bees around to eat our shed! :thumbup:

[Sharon in SC]

I am so glad you posted this! I had never heard of them until my mil spotted their holes (two that we've identified so far) this week!!! :mad: Tonight, while I was *trying* to relax in the hot tub, I noticed a "sound" that, yep, you guessed it, was the little boogers at work. I called Terminix who informed me that they are not covered under our contract but they gave me an appt with our technician this week to come talk to me about options for dealing with them. Mercy. If it's not one thing it's 50.

Who knew there was such a thing? :eek: Until now, I thought that only ants had the "carpentry" area covered!! I've got an infestation in several places under my newly redone breezeway! :glare: They are digging holes all over the place, throwing sawdust everywhere and leaving nasty green stuff dripping down my latticework!

Anyone know the best way to get rid of these destructive little buggers? Seems they like my neighbor's flowers, but prefer to live in MY yard! Grr...

[Twinmom]

We're going to call our exterminators in the morning and see what they suggest since we've now found so many holes! I cannot believe these little guys...I can literally sit there and listen to them chewing my wood! The worst is out behind the shed, where we never go...but the stuff under the breezeway is ridiculous too.

Personally, unless the bug guys have a brilliant idea tomorrow, I'm planning on lighting up a few cigarettes, smoking them out and plugging up their holes! Or, I may make DH do it...there are so many of them, and I'm doing standardized testing this week. :glare:

[Twinmom]

There is also the species known as the carpenter cat: does odd jobs around the house.

ROTFL! I think I've met a couple of those! :tongue_smilie:

[StephanieZ]

We had a home & barn in GA that were carpenter bee heaven. We bought the correct nasty chemical (ask at Home Depot, read the labels) and diluted it in a big 2 gal garden sprayer and sprayed all the affected surfaces (aiming in their holes!) and then caulked over their holes. If I remember right, you do this in the evening hours when they are inactive/in their holes. Wear protective gear (long sleeves, eye protection, etc) to protect you from the nasty chemicals. If I recall right, they are most attracted to unfinished or stained wood and painted wood deters them. Painting it all wasn't a good option for us, so we went the poisin + caulk route. Not too expensive or difficult, just took a couple evenings and maybe $50 of poison & caulk. Don't wait and hope they'll go away. They don't. They just get worse and worse. BTDT. If you get them good, you'll just have to reattack once or twice a year to keep them under control. Evil evil evil bees!

[daisychics]

I am so glad you posted this! I had never heard of them until my mil spotted their holes (two that we've identified so far) this week!!! :mad: Tonight, while I was *trying* to relax in the hot tub, I noticed a "sound" that, yep, you guessed it, was the little boogers at work. I called Terminix who informed me that they are not covered under our contract but they gave me an appt with our technician this week to come talk to me about options for dealing with them. Mercy. If it's not one thing it's 50.

We have them too. I never understood why they were hanging out in the front porch so much - until a friend told me what they did. Anyways, we had terminix here 3 days ago to do their normal spraying around the house. They did not know about the bees -- today my son saw two dead on the porch. The spray might have gotten them. Not sure though.

[HomeOnTheRanch]

Never heard of them...but was I the only one who saw the thread title and assumed someone had reached a new level on the WTM board?
:001_smile:

[rockermom]

Never heard of them...but was I the only one who saw the thread title and assumed someone had reached a new level on the WTM board?
:001_smile:

OMG, I didn't think it... but it sure is funny...:lol:

[Twinmom]

Never heard of them...but was I the only one who saw the thread title and assumed someone had reached a new level on the WTM board?
:001_smile:

Haha...didn't think of that! Though, I suppose it might be a good title for a level as long as you don't mind the eating wood part...;)