Carpenter bee trap help needed.

[Rat Rod Mac]

I have carpenter bees tearing up my lean-to, so I went on the inter-net and saw these guys making traps out of a piece of 2x4 and plastic pop jugs. I made one and mounted it on the lean-to close to where they are drilling and for the last week nothing has touched it. Are you supposed to smear some kind of bee lure on it? I killed a couple and rubbed them around the hole and even put one in the bottle, but they are avoiding it all together. Any suggestions? Thanks. RRM

 

[mvwwld4u]

I've made several of those traps. Never put any type of lure on any of them and had really good success with them. 1/2" hole on all 4 sides of the box. 2 clear soda or water bottles connected at the cap with a piece of clear hose. Bottom cut out of one bottle and the cut end inserted into the bottom of the box.

 

[s219]

I made a bunch of traps and put them out last year -- some traps got 3-4 bees, some got 9-10, and others got none. Bees were present in all locations.

Same traps are out this year, and I don't think I've caught a single bee yet. Saw one bee hole drilled in my barn that I treated and repaired, but no other activity. I do see them buzzing about my property here and there.

 

[ray66v]

Carpenter bees are extremely susceptible to Sevin dust.

Put some in a puffer like this, Pest Pistol Powder Duster Diatomaceous Crawling Insect Control | Earthworks Health, and pump it in the holes they make.

They will quickly die, or leave.

 

[s219]

I use Drione dust in any holes I find. If I can hear a bee in the hole or see them stagger out, I cap the hole with a cork and paint over it. If not, I wait 24 hours, and then cap the hole. I found out the hard way to wait 24 hours before capping the hole. One time I dusted an empty hole and immediately corked it, and the next day found the bee eating a new hole right next to the cork to get back in the tunnel. They are stubborn little bastards. So now I make sure to allow 24 hours time to let any bees revisit the hole and get dusted.

In addition to sealing up the damage, the cork protects the Drione dust inside the hole/tunnel, in case any larvae are in there and hatch in the future (usually late summer). They will crawl through the dust and die when they try to exit.

 

[CADplans]

Pics,,, PICS,,,!! hopefully, soneone has successful trap pics??
On another note,, my SIL whacks them with a fly swatter,, but, you still have to step on them, or they get back up.
He has killed over forty in the last two weeks.
They seem to love a an 8 foot length of treated 2X4 hand rail.
Selectively, that one handrail attracts the bees.
He does not need to roam to get the bees.

I am too old to enjoy all that swinging,,
I spray them with permethrin,, as they fly by.

I feel like a 1870's gun slinger,, I am pretty good with that spray bottle.
S Q U E E Z E - the trigger,,,,do not jerk the trigger,,, :laughing:

 

[tractchores]

They eat the side of my house too. I use dust, which generally works well... Though it seems like by the time you're using dust the damage has been done, so maybe a trap is better.

 

[oosik]

Hmmm......no carpenter bees around here. We sure do have the huge carpenter ants but they have never bothered my house or out buildings. These big ants sure do tear the snot out of the stumps from cut pine trees. I've never bothered them - Lord knows, they just might come looking for revenge.

 

[MF283]

I put one out Sunday down at the barn, haven't checked it since it's been raining this week & no need to be at the barn. I have several of the 1x, 4 corner traps & they have taken quite a few, I noticed 3 in the trap Sunday, reason for putting the 2x one up.
I have 3 of the 1x, 4 corner(nailed together), they still have dead ones from last year & still attract more. I guess I need to empty them out. I keep an old single shot shotgun in the barn for the rare critter sightings & occasionally blast them to smithereens(when the wife isn't home) for some reason, she doesn't see the sport of it, LOL.

Ronnie

Ronnie

 

[mcfarmall]

No bait or lure in my carpenter bee trap and I got 8 last summer. The bottle came loose and blew away over the winter and I replaced it the day before yesterday in anticipation of them returning this spring.