Help! I am overrun with carpenter bees. I know they are great pollinators, and I try to live in harmony, but the piles of sawdust pouring from my barn eaves and rafters has gotten completely out of hand. Any suggestions?
I personally like the "twang" a badminton racket makes when you hit a home run with one of them! :lol: You can thin the used motor oil down with a little bit of diesel fuel and use a sprayer to apply (garden or paint type)
A couple of years ago I had the wife buy me a badminton racked at a yard sale, just to lob them dern things. But they must multpliy like mice ! Murrell
Thanks, all! I've tried the racquet thing, but they are mostly up in the eaves, out of reach. And multiplying like mad. I'll have to try the oil although it sounds like a messy job. Better get an expendable pair of coveralls put drop cloths over the floor and shop tools when doing inside.
The floor can benefit from the treatment, too. It is a great wood preservative. Shop tools are never hurt by being oiled, unless electrical.
If whatever you try works let us know! The carpenter bees around here are a terrible nuisance. Mom says "rat shot!" but we don't have any. Daddy used some kind of expanding foam to fill in the holes and that worked until they drilled more holes. Now, they frustrate the bees every time we open the hives but they're too fast for me to wack before they fly away. I'll try the motor oil, daddy's bound to have some.
Used motor oil on wood works like creosote, but doesn't last as long, nor cost as much. It protects against rot, keeps out pests, ETC.
I was at a local lumber yard that has turned into a "Demo Depot". They sell used building supplies. The yard is absolutely overrun with carpenter bees. One of the staff showed me the traps he had made. Very close to this design: http://www.carpenterbeesolutions.com/ He is having to empty the lower bottle once a week with the bees filling it up. I have some at the homestead here as well wrecking havoc on my facia boards. I'm going to make some of these and hangem' up.
Recently, I came across a research firms that was analyzing the defectiveness of carpenter bee traps: much of the designs looked like this: https://pestpolicy.com/ The traps have different hole sizes, top material, size and angle. I will soon be purchasing some carpenter bee traps as I witnessed some success with the research firm.
Do you try to use traps? I realy don't know, if they working, but i hear that they can help. For example Chrisman Mill Farms Wood Bee Trap.
I have some carpenter bees that like to burro into my wood beams, I give em a squirt of carburetor cleaner in the hole and then silicone it closed, but havent done any traps as I dont get a whole bunch of them, this year ill be setting up yellow jacket bait stations with poison they can bring back to their hive and kill the whole lot of them..
I fight the battle of the carpenter bees every spring I found that a can of touch-n-foam is the best thing to use it takes cre of the bees and fills in the hole all in one shot, a few seconds with some sandpaper and a bit of paint and all is well
