# Wood Bees / Carpenter Bees



## lukem (Jun 24, 2011)

The wood bees (the big ones that look like a bumblebee) are slowly destroying my barn / wood shed.  I was out there last night and noticed "bee dust" everywhere.  Other than painting or sealing the barn is there anything I can do to deter them from reducing it to a fine powder?  I've googled a little and everything sounds toxic or too cheesy to work.

Any ideas?


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## Adios Pantalones (Jun 24, 2011)

Diatomaceous earth may do the trick.  You need to fill holes as well- the bees are attracted to existing holes.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...-20100412_1_carpenter-bees-bee-activity-holes


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## smokinj (Jun 24, 2011)

I have issue with them as well here. I have a pack-back sprayer load it up with insecticide (what ever on sale) I spray the deck foundation and up a couple foot . Any place I see them buzzing around. About every 4-5 weeks. Amazing how much saw dust they leave in just one day.


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## gzecc (Jun 24, 2011)

Another solution is a tennis racket. It can be fun too!


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## Delta-T (Jun 24, 2011)

fire is very effective...but also somewhat destructive.


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## smokinj (Jun 24, 2011)

gzecc said:
			
		

> Another solution is a tennis racket. It can be fun too!



You sure wouldn't have to worry about it going through the webbing! :lol:


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## fossil (Jun 24, 2011)

Had them in Virginia (the big solid black ones).  Incredible how they manage to bore perfectly round holes into the wood.  They didn't seem to care whether the wood they chose was PT or not.  I'd go out at night (when they were presumably up in the nests they were boring into my structure) and spray a bit of wasp/hornet killer right up into the holes.  Seemed to do the trick.  Come back later and fill/prime/paint or stain as desired.  Rick

ETA:  I affixed a short length (~10" or so) of small plastic tubing to the spray cans so I could accurately place the poison just where I wanted it.


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## WES999 (Jun 25, 2011)

http://www.pestproducts.com/carpenterbees.htm

Looks like these guys can fix you up.


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## lukem (Jun 25, 2011)

gzecc said:
			
		

> Another solution is a tennis racket. It can be fun too!



I'm more in the market for mass bee murder than individual treatment...but sounds like you have to kill the bastages one at a time.

Thanks guys.


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## semipro (Jun 25, 2011)

I have considerable experience with these guys.  I ignored them for a few years and they made Swiss cheese out of the cedar fascia boards on my house.   Here's what I know and what I've found helps control them.  

The males have a yellow face and act very aggressively towards anyone getting near their hole.  However, its all show.  They reportedly don't bite and despite at least 100 battles with them I've never been bitten.  As someone else mentioned, a racquet works well on these guys.  My personal favorite is the badminton racquet.  

The females act less aggressively and seem primarily interested in their hole, or finding one.  I've read they bite, but again, despite numerous encounters, I've never been bitten.  I think the females do most of the wood destruction.  You can hear them chewing and see sawdust exiting the hole when they're active.  I've found that WD40 sprayed in the hole while they're there takes care of them quickly.  In the fall I've stuff holes with steel wool and then seal the opening with caulk.  I've also injected boric acid powder (Roach Proof(sp)) in the holes and that seems to kill them. 

I've gotten rid of almost all of them using the methods above but plan to install carpenter bee traps to prevent new infestations.  A quick search on Google for "carpenter bee traps" shows at least 10 venders out there. 

Good hunting!


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## Captain Hornet (Jun 25, 2011)

I had the big carpenter bees in my barn for several years and they were slowly destroying my barn.  I tried the insecticide's and traps but nothing seamed to work.  Talked to a old timer around here and he told me to try diesel fuel.  You put the fuel in a hand spray pumper like soap comes in.  Than spray the bees when they are in the air and flying into the barn.  If you get the diesel on them it well kill them.  Also, spray some in the holes they drill and it'll kill the bee in that hole.  It stinks a little bit but no one notices it in the barn.  I did this treatment  for three or four days and now they are almost all gone.  Works for me.   David


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## EatenByLimestone (Jun 27, 2011)

When I had issues with them I bought a turkey baster and a container of boric acid.  Boric acid is about as safe as you can get.  Check out the MSDS for it.  Ace hardware sells it under the name Roach Proofe in a yellow can.  

When I found a hold I'd squirt the turkey baster full of boric acid into it and then seal the hole with caulk.  If you just sealed the hole there is a chance the eggs in there will hatch and chew out some other place.  

Matt


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## lukem (Jun 27, 2011)

I stationed myself at the barn yesterday with a badminton racket.  6 confirmed kills.

I looked around and there are so many holes it would take forever to set poison and seal them up.  It looks like there have been years and years of bee activity (I only moved there 18 months ago).  It is really chewed up. 

The entire barn is in need of some rehab, and doesn't work all that great as a woodshed...so I'm not going to put too much effort into filling bee holes.  I think I'll eventually replace some of the wall posts, reinforce some areas, strip the metal siding, and make it more wood-sheddy.  That's not high on the list right now.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jun 27, 2011)

I had a house like that.  I found once I got the issue under control it wasn't hard to keep up with it.  My guess is that generations keep coming back to the same building.  Once you kill or severely reduce a generation there aren't as many to come back the next year, etc.  Within 2 years I had the issue almost completely taken care of.  The other benefit of filling the holes with caulk is you can find the new holes easier.  They are the ones not filled with caulk...  Otherwise, if you didn't happen to see the bees how would you know if you still had an issue?

Matt


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## Adios Pantalones (Jun 27, 2011)

EatenByLimestone said:
			
		

> I had a house like that.  I found once I got the issue under control it wasn't hard to keep up with it.  My guess is that generations keep coming back to the same building.  Once you kill or severely reduce a generation there aren't as many to come back the next year, etc.  Within 2 years I had the issue almost completely taken care of.  The other benefit of filling the holes with caulk is you can find the new holes easier.  They are the ones not filled with caulk...  Otherwise, if you didn't happen to see the bees how would you know if you still had an issue?
> 
> Matt



I know someone that takes that approach with road kill.  Circle them with chalk on the way to work.  The ones not circled on the way home- dems is fresh


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## lukem (Jun 27, 2011)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> EatenByLimestone said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



And what does he do with said roadkill?  Nothing eats better than fresh 'possum!!


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## woodsman23 (Jun 27, 2011)

I have one farmer here says to paint the area with a garlic and water mix (or mix it in the paint). He swears by this.. also what i found most effective was a large can of brake cleaner i hit about 7 of these guys and bam they were dead before they hit the ground..... and the tennis racket works well i love the noise it makes and i also have a electric one that works wonders.....


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## Tatnic Corners (Jun 28, 2011)

I am glad I saw this thread  We have a few carpenter bee holes in our house, and someone mentioned a carpenter bee trap. Googling it shows a water bottle, why are you gonna buy one when it looks easy enough to make? I mean already got the holes they like! 

One question I have is does the carpenter trap attract the bees like the Japanese Beetle traps do? If so then they may be as counter productive as the Japanese beetle traps.

Boric acid is $3 a bottle in the drug store. Don't need to go to Ace Hardware, it's at CVS or any other drug store.


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## wahoowad (Jun 29, 2011)

Hard to believe there isn't a bird that likes to snatch them out of the air and eat them.


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## begreen (Jun 29, 2011)

These bees sound like mason bees. If so, they are incredibly beneficial pollinators. With the loss of honeybees due to hive collapse, these guys have been stepping up to the plate. You can make some mason bee nests out of a 4x4 cedar, pine or fir post to attract them to new homes. Then work on the house issue. 

http://www.islandnet.com/~yesmag/projects/bee.html
http://snohomish.wsu.edu/mg/ombblock/paper liners that work.pdf


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## Tatnic Corners (Jun 29, 2011)

Nope, mine are carpenter bees. Big hunking bees that are solid as rocks  The wiki page for the mason bee shows a different animal altogether. But definitely thank you for the info. Not out to get rid of beneficial bugs, just don't want to learn how to replace a log in my log home's wall


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## begreen (Jun 30, 2011)

Well, if they're carpenter bees, hang out some hammers and saws and tell them to get to work!


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## BeeKeepersRUS (Apr 28, 2015)

lukem said:


> The wood bees (the big ones that look like a bumblebee) are slowly destroying my barn / wood shed.  I was out there last night and noticed "bee dust" everywhere.  Other than painting or sealing the barn is there anything I can do to deter them from reducing it to a fine powder?  I've googled a little and everything sounds toxic or too cheesy to work.
> 
> Any ideas?



Hi Lukem,

Appreciate this posting maybe too late but have you or anyone tried using natural non-toxic solutions like tea tree oil or orange oil spraying methods? I had a similar issue last year with an infestation of Carpenter bees in one of our outdoor shacks. I didn't want to use harsh chemicals to kill off such a beautiful bee, despite being a pest for us 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





I did a bit of digging around the 'inter-web' 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and found me this little website that describes different methods (chemical & non-chemical) to get rid of the carpenter bee. Hope it helps 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Here's the site: http://www.howtogetridofcarpenterbees.com/


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## sportbikerider78 (May 5, 2015)

Traps Traps and more Traps.  Get them out there right now as this is when they start to swarm.  Traps barely work after May.

Traps work.

For the ones you can reach by hand or ladder, spray WD40 in them or a pesticide.


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## wahoowad (May 5, 2015)

Killed 3 today. They are hitting my cedar siding hard this year. The woodpeckers will be next going after the eggs the bees lay inside. My best weapon is swinging a flip-flop 

Last time I had an outbreak like this I had to:


wait until evening and they were in their holes

seal up hole with a thick blob of exterior grade wood putty
paint over the hole. Other bees would re-bore the hole if I didn't paint over it


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## Dr.Faustus (May 6, 2015)

I have become really skilled at taking these bastages out with my co2 pistol. The only thing is you have to be really careful and pay attention to whats on the other side of the bee, instead of just concentrating on hitting the bee. I get them 9 out of 10 times first shot. After that, go online and pick up Drione Dust, and a small handheld duster. puff some dust into the hole then seal the hole up so it isnt used in the future. Drione dust work really well at places you cant see or reach. I've had great success at nailing wasp nests in the ground as well. Just place the powder in a paper cup, sneak out at night and dump it on their hole. next day most bees are gone, day after all gone.


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## Breen Acres (May 19, 2016)

BeeKeepersRUS said:


> Hi Lukem,
> 
> Appreciate this posting maybe too late but have you or anyone tried using natural non-toxic solutions like tea tree oil or orange oil spraying methods? I had a similar issue last year with an infestation of Carpenter bees in one of our outdoor shacks. I didn't want to use harsh chemicals to kill off such a beautiful bee, despite being a pest for us
> 
> ...




I had this problem for several years with a large infestation at our log cabin. I am now using a dedicated 4 gallon spray tank and pyrethrin and it is doing the job nicely.


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## Breen Acres (May 19, 2016)

lukem said:


> The wood bees (the big ones that look like a bumblebee) are slowly destroying my barn / wood shed.  I was out there last night and noticed "bee dust" everywhere.  Other than painting or sealing the barn is there anything I can do to deter them from reducing it to a fine powder?  I've googled a little and everything sounds toxic or too cheesy to work.
> 
> Any ideas?


A 4 gallon spray tank with Pyrethrin is non-toxic and very effective.


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## sportbikerider78 (May 20, 2016)

Breen Acres said:


> A 4 gallon spray tank with Pyrethrin is non-toxic and very effective.


They are back.  I'm buying this on Amazon right now.  Sick of these b8^*&^&*&&^*&'kers!


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## semipro (May 20, 2016)

You can build your own carpenter bee traps. 
http://www.instructables.com/howto/carpenter+bee+trap/ 

Pyrethrin is not exactly "non-toxic": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin 
Its definitely toxic to certain insects.


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## sportbikerider78 (May 20, 2016)

I already have one trap..no more time to build anymore.  Time to try poison.


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## EatenByLimestone (May 21, 2016)

Boric acid puffed into the hole works.


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## Highbeam (May 23, 2016)

"toxic" is all about the dose. Ever heard of water toxicity?


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## rustynut (May 23, 2016)

tracking dust


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## sportbikerider78 (May 23, 2016)

sportbikerider78 said:


> They are back.  I'm buying this on Amazon right now.  Sick of these b8^*&^&*&&^*&'kers!



Got it today.  Will mix a gallon up and spray it.  

I'm in a unique place because I can't reach where they are located.  Going to have to use the sprayer and see what happens.


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## EatenByLimestone (May 23, 2016)

rustynut said:


> tracking dust



I'm not sure that zinc phosphide is effective on insects.  I know I've never seen a label mentioning insect treatment with it.   Be very careful with that stuff.


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## double-d (May 24, 2016)

Like "wahoowad" said, get rid of them early or the woodpeckers will get to them. My house looked like it was attacked by an army of woodpeckers, they did more damage than the Bees.


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