# Carpenter Bees



## Rackhouse Mayor (Sep 4, 2017)

I don't know where to put this thread so please move it if it's not in the right spot.

What are you all using to control carpenter bees? Do you have any advice or secrets? I bought a trap where they fly in the "bird house" and get trapped in the jar. It works, but I swear more just come around. There's a "Carpenter Bee Control Kit" on Do My Own (here), but I don't know how effective it is. I think they're attracted to my hydrangeas and japanese yew. Either way they need to die. No matter how many times I tell my wife the carpenter bees won't bother her she flips out each time one buzzes around. The dog and I are over it. Thanks in advance!


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Do you know where the nest is?


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Carpenter bees always come around my house during the Spring, and the dogs like to chase them. It gives them a lot of entertainment. The carpenter bees are only searching for unpainted wood, and when the female finds something that she likes, she'll bore a hole in it about the size of your pinky, and lay eggs. The males won't sting, but they are pretty territorial, and inquisitive, they might do a fly-by.

Best thing to do is to find where the female is boring for her burrow, and spray the inside of the hole at night with some wasp/hornet killer(something with a knockdown pyrethrin), and then plug it up with a dowel, and put some wood putty or paint over it. Or just tell your wife to arm herself with a badminton racket, which is quite effective.

I got some pretty cool pictures of a female carpenter bee back in 2009, when I was experimenting with an old Olympus Point & Shoot. That camera took great pictures.









You are in the South, so this guys style might suit you better. :lol:


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## desirous (Dec 15, 2017)

Wouldn't Bifenthrin take care of them?


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

@Colonel K0rn Those pictures are awesome!



Colonel K0rn said:


> The males won't sting, but they are pretty territorial, and inquisitive, they might do a fly-by


This has been my experience--with emphasis on territorial. They would establish flying patterns around me: They would come close, (seemingly) stare at me from a stationary position, fly off for 20 seconds or so, and then return. I eventually would cave by going inside early just to avoid them.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

desirous said:


> Wouldn't Bifenthrin take care of them?


It could, but permethrin is much faster acting.


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## Rackhouse Mayor (Sep 4, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> Do you know where the nest is?


I do not. I'll keep looking.



Colonel K0rn said:


> You are in the South, so this guys style might suit you better. :lol:


This is funny. I actually have a "Bug A Salt 2.0" for fun with flies. I've tried it on the bees and it doesn't do much.

They're not just burrowing through unprotected wood either. I just put in new handrails a few months ago. They're treated lumber _with_ stain, and the bees have attempted holes in them.

The badminton racquet is a pretty good idea. I think I'll get one this weekend.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

As CK mentioned, they make individual holes (makes killing them a pain- CK's remedy is about all you can do), but I have seen them congregate behind vinyl siding, using a common port of entry. Carbaryl is the best AI I have ever found for bees, wasps, hornets, etc. Apicide is a great delivery system for nests/hives if located in/with a dry entrance area in the ground, behind siding or in walls. When I was a kid, we used to have great sport shooting them with BB guns, but that was in the country with a couple of empty acres behind the "range."


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

https://www.harborfreight.com/electronic-fly-swatter-61351.html Less than $5


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## gatormac2112 (Sep 14, 2017)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Carpenter bees always come around my house during the Spring, and the dogs like to chase them. It gives them a lot of entertainment. The carpenter bees are only searching for unpainted wood, and when the female finds something that she likes, she'll bore a hole in it about the size of your pinky, and lay eggs. The males won't sting, but they are pretty territorial, and inquisitive, they might do a fly-by.
> 
> Best thing to do is to find where the female is boring for her burrow, and spray the inside of the hole at night with some wasp/hornet killer(something with a knockdown pyrethrin), and then plug it up with a dowel, and put some wood putty or paint over it. Or just tell your wife to arm herself with a badminton racket, which is quite effective.
> 
> ...


Those pictures are awesome, especially for a point and shoot! You should have put them in the cool pictures thread


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## RaginCajun (Aug 1, 2017)




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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> You are in the South, so this guys style might suit you better. :lol:


Ha-ha, watchin' those dogs'd give ME some real entertainment!

And, those are some fantastic still shots!

I'm in WNC and, although I no longer consider it "the South" (sigh :-( we do shoot em outta the air; I've yet to try it with a pistol and those snake shot shells but, the fact the bees hover so close and remain dead still in the air for suspended "windows of opportunity" actually allows us to use a Daisy BB gun! Sure, we miss more than we hit but, eventually we get each one!

On a more serious note, there are places where I have unpainted wood that I can't afford to have the females doing their business in so, I rely on the "spray and wet" products from DMOPC:

https://search.domyown.com/search?w=carpenter%20bees&apelog=yes


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## LawnNerd (Sep 2, 2017)

Don't spray into the nest during daylight. Chances are pretty high its out of its nest. Wait till just after dusk to spray, since they return to their nests before dark.


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