Carpenter Bee Wars

[Gem99ultra]

I used Bifenthrin this year with success, it too is a Pyrethrin. Can get it at TSC,
At least around here.

David

I also use Pyrethrin - a lot. It's great insecticide for many things - such as yellow jackets, ants, ticks, etc.. One caution that I've seen however is that it is deadly to cats; not dogs.

I haven't seen such a warning for Bifethrin though, so I 'assume' that it is safe around cats, which we do have one.

One other insecticide that I occasionally use is Demon WP. Demon seems deadly to just about everything, and it continues protecting for 6 months or more.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I'm still looking for a long term remedy for Carpenter Bees. We've had an infestation here for the last few years. Pyrithrin works fine if I get it directly on them. Otherwise, as soon as it dries up, the bees are back.

I made the mistake of believing that carpenter bees wouldn't attack painted wood. So I went to a lot of extra work and expense painting various work tables, underneath porches, etc. - all for naught. The paint had hardly dried before they set in to continue drilling holes in everything!

I did find that a solution of Surrender worked, but only as long as it stayed on the wood surface. And so... the war goes on.

 

[Jaeger]

Decent price at local Home Depot:

BIOADVANCED 40 oz. Concentrate Carpenter Ant and Termite Killer Plus 700310B - The Home Depot

BioAdvanced Carpenter Ant and Termite Killer Plus- it's do it yourself, done right! Termites, carpenter bees & other wood infesting insects can damage wooden structures around the home. Decks, eaves, window frames, even interior walls may be in danger. But, armed with the Blue Bottle, you can...

www.homedepot.com

Going to get some today and protect my giant deck!!!! THANKS OP for the tip!!!

 

[Raul-02]

Does it work on yellow jackets too?

Haven't found a bug it doesn't kill, and quickly

 

[AchingBack]

I run a a zip tie up into every hole in order to kill the eggs, or larvae, and I leave it in there. In addition, I have a few brown lunch bags I fill with enough material to make the bag pooched out to resemble a hornet nest. Before filling the bag you need to crumple it so it looks more realistic. Then I tie the bag at the top and hang it near any bee activity. Thinking their predators are nearby, bees will move on. I don't recall where I saw this method, but it really works without nasty insecticide use.
Cheap and easy.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here in East Texas, there was a period when Western Red Cedar was used on the Fascia of a lot of houses. If it wasn't painted, or the paint has flaked away, the bees will dig tunnels into the cedar and hollow it out. When I'm hired to deal with this, the cedar is ruined. I've never seen any issues with the pine behind the cedar. In every case, I replace all the cedar with Hardie, which solves the problem.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I've been fighting carpenter bees for over 30 years. They're burrowing into the beams and eves of the house & deck. Chemical sprays work fairly well but I'm at the age where climbing a ladder to apply the spray is getting difficult. I tried different traps over the years but none worked very well. Lately, my wife and I have been making sport out of swatting them from the deck with a badminton racket.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked a buddy who works part time as an exterminator. Before spending big $$ on a professional, he suggested I try these traps:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/macs-carpenter-bee-trap-set-of-2-plbt100-1548214?cid=Search-Google-TSC_DYN-Dynamic%20All%20Site-All%20Site%20TSC&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Search&utm_campaign=TSC_DYN&utm_content=Dynamic%20All%20Site&utm_term=All%20Site%20TSC&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvqeUBhCBARIsAOdt45bQZOBFnjZl0HiWJR-Mih_hjSadMgfd1vO1lbPo0drnwZBPeBzJamUaAjM4EALw_wcB

Apparently, they don't work in every case but for us, they seem to be quite effective. My exterminator buddy said to put them in the sun as close to the problem areas as possible. We hung one on each end of our deck and the results are encouraging.

After just 4 days, there are at least 25 bees in the first trap:



and 10 or so in the second:



We see far fewer flying around than a week ago. We'll see what happens by the end of the season.

 

[Raul-02]

t least 25 bees in the first trap:

I'm lucky if I can trap a few. The bees here must be smarter.

 

[Raul-02]

Well a couple days ago I had 20 or 30 of them swarming the building. Today 2 or 3, I can only count a couple.

 

[mikester]

I'm still looking for a long term remedy for Carpenter Bees. We've had an infestation here for the last few years. Pyrithrin works fine if I get it directly on them. Otherwise, as soon as it dries up, the bees are back.

I made the mistake of believing that carpenter bees wouldn't attack painted wood. So I went to a lot of extra work and expense painting various work tables, underneath porches, etc. - all for naught. The paint had hardly dried before they set in to continue drilling holes in everything!

I did find that a solution of Surrender worked, but only as long as it stayed on the wood surface. And so... the war goes on.

Thanks for posting this...I've read they don't like painted wood and was considering painting the bottoms of my porch beams as added protection.