Carpenter Bee Wars

[ovrszd]

I wonder if a person coated the wood with a tar roofing material they would leave it alone?

 

[JJT]

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.

Paint helps, you'll need two coats, applied every couple of years.

I've had good luck with Fenvastar, applied twice in the spring, about a week apart and twice in the fall, again applied apart a week apart. 8 ounces at $15 a bottle does the job.

This year there seems to be a bumper crop of carpenter bees.

I just bought the above mentioned Bioadvanced product, I will report back on its results. I like the claim that it kills on contact, I've found nothing so far that actually does, other than a tennis racket.

 

[ovrszd]

I've got three buildings suitable for Carpenter Bees. An old barn made from rough sawn cottonwood, no carpenter bees at all. An old open sided machine shed made from Red Pine, a few carpenter bees. A lean-to newly made from white pine, carpenter bees love it!!!

 

[JethroB]

My all pine cabin has always been a magnet for carpenter bees. But it was a woodpecker that destroyed the joists under the porch. He really went at the wood one year trying to get to the bee larvae.

 

[Raul-02]

Bayer Bioadvanced Carpenter Ant and Termite

https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Carpenter-Termite-Concentrate-32-Ounce/dp/B0001LE30G?th=1

 

[Raul-02]

There is one that seems immune from my poisons.
I'm getting out the shotgun

 

[plowhog]

I tried the traps that catch bees which then drop into a glass bottle. Not very effective for me.

What has worked very well for me are these:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/RESCUE-TrapStick-for-Wasps-Mud-Daubers-and-Carpenter-Bees-Insect-Trap/1000180537

 

[Deere Dude]

Oil based paint is supposd to keep them at bay.

I found tennis racketd hard on shoulders and to time consuming.

I found Bifen-IT to work very good. 2-3 OZs/gallon of water sprayed on with a tank sprayer is a fairly cheap fix. Spray all wood in the spring and again in the fall. Do this for two years. then one spray in the spring will take care of CBs and spiders and ants. This is a Bifenthrin product and a termicide.
Easy to find on a do it yourself pest control website.

You could probably slack off with spraying after they stop returning to your wood products and only spray once in the spring. Maybe after a few years you could skip a year in spraying and -be okay. I even spray all decks, eves, wood piles and anyplace else I don't want spiders etc. Works well with fireants also.

 

[JethroB]

I like a badminton racket best. Quick wrist action and a satisfying ting.

 

[fishdrivel]

I enjoy watching the confused bees hovering around my vinyl.
I'm easily entertained.
I have an old stump pushed up at the property line that is a home for all the wayward carpenter bees that need a place to nest.
Drilled a bunch of holes in it to attract them to it. They seem pleased.....