Carpenter Bee Removal

JayDB

Eight Pointer
Several carpenter bees have decided to take up residence in my shed.

Ideas on a long term solution to rid them from burrowing into the wood?

Thanks in advance!
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I stand by drinkin beer and wack em with a tennis racket. Its great fun.

beat me to it (minus the beer),,,,,,my wife says it's my version of "hunting" when work etc keeps me from the woods,,,,,,

this place I am now at was severely infested with them,,,,,judicious use of the tennis/badminton rackets and appropriate shots of carpenter bee spray has them well under control now,,,,,,,,
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
beat me to it (minus the beer),,,,,,my wife says it's my version of "hunting" when work etc keeps me from the woods,,,,,,

this place I am now at was severely infested with them,,,,,judicious use of the tennis/badminton rackets and appropriate shots of carpenter bee spray has them well under control now,,,,,,,,
LOL
I am too tight to buy spray. I have bee traps. Also If I see a new hole I hit it with one pump from a squirt bottle with .05% permethrin. That usually gets 2 rolling out. ;)

Between target practice, the spray and the traps they are pretty slim.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Yeah, I have also noticed the residual gets them for a while. I have seen them laying under the holes dead where opportunistic ones decided to move into these vacated homes.

Don't let anyone tell you these devils won't bore in treated wood. My kennels are completely framed out of treated, they may not attack it quite as bad as my barn and sheds but they still get after it. That is where I started the permethrin trick. I have a squirt bottle down there I spray on my boots and chaps before I take off hunting and I grabbed it and sprayed a hole once out of desperation. They came rolling out and were dead in less than a minute. I have been hooked ever since. ;)
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Anyone uses those electronic swatters you see at Harbor Freight? if they are worth a crap they should be fun. LOL
 

HillBilly2

Four Pointer
I was insulating windows in the shop last year, a squirt of foam insulation in the hole and nothing comes out or goes in. Kinda expensive though unless you have something to use the rest of the can on.
 
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coondog87

Eight Pointer
spray all of your wood with a pump sprayer full of diesel fuel. that will keep them from putting holes in it. that being said. it does have some possible side effects.
 

7mm-08

Twelve Pointer
Traps work well.
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FireStalker

Twelve Pointer
I've never had much of a problem with them until this year. This spring they arrived in a swarm. I played ninja with a 5 gallon paint stirrer and killed over 30. Then I sprayed hornet killer in the holes I found and flushed out another dozen outer so. Haven't seen any in a couple weeks. Been meaning to make a couple traps. And yes, they love pressure treated, and even some of the cedar trim on my storage building.
 

7mm-08

Twelve Pointer
They bore into the treated 4x4 uprights on my skinning shed, and the cedar play house / swing thingy.
 

JPJ II

Six Pointer
This year is the worst I have seen. Came on here to start a thread to be titled " To Kill or NOT to Kill" I found my answer.
I used the tennis racket. Must have got 20. And they are at least that many more.
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
If I see a hole and hear the Bee in there I shoot a little wd-40 right into his burrow. Works every time..
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My brother in law builds carpenter bee traps and gives them as gifts. He's a hobbiest woodworker and the boxes are built with great care and skill. Only thing is, he builds them out of heart red cedar....so the bees avoid them for the most part. He's a yuppy and thinks he's accomplishing something, and he's a nice fella, so I hang them out on the porch every year and just grin.
 

hawkman

Eight Pointer
I stand by drinkin beer and wack em with a tennis racket. Its great fun.

Ditto. Usually while grilling. People probably wonder why I'm swinging a racquet around at thin air... then again, maybe they get it.


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hawkman

Eight Pointer
spray all of your wood with a pump sprayer full of diesel fuel. that will keep them from putting holes in it. that being said. it does have some possible side effects.

Darn it. I wasn't supposed to light the diesel fuel, was I?


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Blackwater

Twelve Pointer
My Granddad in his retirement would sit out in the yard near his shop which was built from sawmill pine like all our outbuildings on the farm back then. He'd whittle small wooden plugs while watching the bees, see one go in a hole and he'd go drive one of the plugs in the hole to block it's escape. I think he got a lot of pleasure in being so vindictive toward them, but then that was Pap for you.
 

wolfpacker

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I will second the use of a wiffle ball bat. I was at Sylvan heights bird park on Saturday and they were ate up with them.
 

witler

Eight Pointer
I used to do home repair and found that they love cedar. I always filled the tunnel/hole with caulking, clear or whatever matches the wood and forget about it.
In a lot of cases, the bees would make a nest ,then the woodpeckers come along and start banging trying to get to the nest.

By then the board needed replacing, hey, kept me in work.
 
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Haleh

Spike
If you have a single shot black powder pistol, about 5 grains of powder and NO ball can be a lot of fun. Burns their little wings right off.
 
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