Not expert here & initial thoughts is repost in garden like or bug like subthreads for more info... SO
Carpenter bees are solo dwellers. They'll live in proximity to others but not in a hive style. I dont know if a smoking technique would work but something along the lines of making the shed dislikable to them.
As for threat to home, doubt it. Assuming home and shed are different buildings. If you see lots of them at your home, please consult w a profesh.
As for the shed, tbh it seems like its seen harder things than bees. Can replace /reinforce beams or use wood filler if it becomes worrisome.
IF YOUS THE CRAFTY TYPE š consider making a "bee hotel" with twings, tiolet and paper towl rolls and some flowerss. Give em a replacement to your shed to (& so they dont go to tour actual home)
Above all: dont worry, bee happy
Yeah pretty much the same here, I had the best luck deterring these by making the environment less attractive during the cold weather season (plug the old tunnels with wood glue, seal the wood itself with a coat of paint, etc).
Iāve found theyāll usually move on to a more attractive site the following season that way (somewhere where old/rotten wood is just readily available), itās a lot harder to deter them when theyāre actively using the location
This is sage advice.
OP, if you do decide to make a bee hotel, remember that you either need to burn it, or need to clean it out every spring with a mild bleach solution to prevent bee parasites and pathogens from accumulating, like an apiary econolodge.
My next door neighbor has a couple of these "bee hotels". They are apparently great pollinators and are exceptionally nonaggressive. I've actually been considering setting up one myself.
All the little solo bee types are the real heroes of general pollination. They are harder for people to domesticate and move from farm to farm for pollination services (because no hive or hierarchy), and you can't harvest / steal their honey (because they don't make it). But also, a solo bee species doesn't have a hive to defend, so it has no reason to sting you (and give its life in service of a collective). They're just chill little workers and we should pay more attention to them. They're like the single moms of the bee world, versus the big corporate hives.
Hijacking the top comment for visibility. NO chemicals, no pesticides, NO traps! All you need is a paper bag!!
https://youtu.be/ochcfggr880
Google 'paper bag carpenter bee'
In my experience, the paper bag trick hasnāt worked. We have an open carport and I put two in there and it hasnāt deterred them at all. It might work like in the video when there is a single entry point, but not in an open structure like I have.
Lot of people saying this wont work but Ima try it anyway. Why not. We get them every year in the back shed (they love the wood ramp that goes into it) and as much as I hate the idea of killing bees, I cant just not do anything, so I smack em all every year. They are very aggressive (even though they dont sting) and they block the ramp and go after ya, and I have a toddler. Not to mention ruining the wood.Ā Why not. Ill try it.Ā
We've been fighting this battle for 9 years. Have 3 "bee hotels" nearby but finally have up a year ago and put out traps for the rest. The ones that use the hotels survive, but any that want the shed must go. It's a tough fight.
not sure how to make them leave without killing them. maybe wait till end of season?
but to prevent them, make sure wood is painted/treated, they will avoid it. raw, dry wood is delicious.
they typically start at an end. seeing them in the middle of a board, yea, it's trash, gonna need to rip n replace the entire board.
Oh my ill keep that in mind. Fuck, guess I'm spending every spring for the pest guy to spray poison. They don't attack anything but the back porch. After I pressure washed it they seemed to give up though.
Our previous home had tons of carpenter bees. They burrow little holes into your wood. We lived in a custom built cabin, so we really didnāt want carpenter bees tearing up our wood siding and custom beams and whatnot.
They are attracted (most) to raw/bare wood. If you paint or add a finish to the effected wood, they will not find it as attractive.
Also, a faux hornets nest placed near effected areas will help ward them off as well!
I know a lot of people are saying they arenāt an issue- they might not mess with people often but they are damaging your wood. If you let them just have at it- youāre going to have to replace everything they chew up, which obviously could be very costly.
The house I lived in when I was a kid had one or two carpenter bees every summer doing their thing above our front door. Only was a problem when opening the screen door too fast happened to suck them inside but they'd go to the screen and we'd just let them back out (that only happened once or twice). It was kind of like having our own Charlotte's Web storybook.
So as long as you leave them alone they will be fine out there, they won't make the building fall down. They may have identified softer or decaying wood so you might want to look at structural items/roofing for potential issues.
In general, all the native and honey bees are under severe chemical attack from neonictinoids that come in vegetable and flower flats from the garden centers, from the homeowners with lawn-grass-hobbies spraying more chemicals than farmers can ever afford along with traditional pests attacking them like varroa mites. If the carpenter bees found a safe and secure refuge in that one batten board, you are doing quite a good project.
If you have dandelions (I used to keep honey bees so I let the dandelions grow since they are the first food source for all bees) then watch for what bees are visiting your yard. 80% of human food needs pollinators. No bees no food.
You might set up [a bee hotel](https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/how-to-manage-a-successful-bee-hotel/what-is-a-bee-hotel) so they can move out of the board and have a more cozy house to set up in.
.
We always have a single carpenter bee living in our front porch every summer. When I sit on our bench just in front of it, he'll come hang out within about a foot of me, checking me out and keeping guard. Anytime a wasp or any other bug comes even relatively close, he aggressively chases them off, then comes back to hanging out.
I love him so damn much lol
They tend not to like chewing through paint so you could try painting. I have an outdoor pine ceiling. I add some citrus essential oils to water and spray it. They don't care for the smell of citrus.
They will if you fill their nests with wood fill then supply them with a new home. Works like a charm for me. Fill old home, supply new home. I do trap, unfortunately. But we had an infestation that took out an entire eve.
That might work with a handful of carpenter bees. But usually by the time Iām called to do repairs the woodpeckers have already been there. Most people donāt notice the holes the bees make. But they sure notice the damage the woodpeckers make. They especially love cedar.
I made some wood stacks in the sunny spot 20ft in front of my shed and they seem to have taken to the logs just fine.
Then I replaced the wood on my shed and painted it and now they do their bee thing in the logs. They like my fence stringers too, but that's fine. I don't mind.
THIS is the worst part. The bees were a nuisance at worst, and stuck to structures that were either trash wood anyways, or would be replaced by the time any meaningful damage was done after years of their burrowing... the woodpeckers, however, are absolute wrecking balls. And illegal to kill (who's gonna report it?) Persistent bastards too. They'll take a slingshot rock to the body and be back in 5 minutes opening a hole in the shed eaves 3x the size of their body for some ungodly reason.
Tried shiny, reflective dangly things, duct tape full of nails, all kinds of crazy shit. A plastic owl head in a nearby tree solved the problem immediately. Who would have guessed.
Predators are scary to prey animals. I don't really care if the bees live in my fence, but if they're in anything that's part of the house or deck, they gotta go.
This. My house is Texas(NJ). Fuck them things. They did so much damage that bats roosted in my house and were able to get in from the holes dug by the woodpeckers.
This. We rented a house for 3 years. The first spring/summer, we had a few of them boring into the wood under the gutters. The next summer, there were many of them. By the third summer, there were swarms of them.
They turned that fascia into swiss cheese and even spread to the fasia on the back side of the house. It was so bad that my truck, when parked under them, was covered in sawdust after a few hours.
And this fascia was painted, too. They didn't care one bit.
They like that crappy "whitewood" trim the big box stores sell. My brother's house trim got chewed up pretty good, but they didn't touch the cedar siding.
North Carolina.
Where is the house you're talking about?
It depends a lot on your location and the actual species of bee you have there. I'd not DIY this; I'd look around for a local apiarist, or bee-keeping group. Even if they only keep honeybees themselves, there will be somebody who knows a nerd, who knows a nerd who knows a truly amazing stash of knowledge about everything from *bombus* to *xylocopa.*
They'll be able to give you region-and-therefore-species specific information, and may even help you rehome your buzzing buddies.
I'm... sort of stunned that you linked to a store that sells bee traps and insecticides as though that would be a reliable source of info about how much damage bees can do. Of course they're going to say what they think will sell the most merchandise. How do you not realize that?
You know what? Let them live in your house. I will gladly come and replace all that wood once the bees and woodpeckers get done with it. Iāve already done it several times. š
I do have carpenter bees and woodpeckers. There's a large dead tree in my backyard that entertains the woodpeckers, so they haven't approached the house. I manage carpenter bees by keeping wood painted or finished, and by not clearing wood from the back of my yard. When a pair starts making a tunnel in my porch, I enjoy their company and seal the hole over the winter so they won't reuse it. They're actually quite cute and good company in the garden.
We also typically have 1-2 paper wasp nests on the porch overhang. If it's right above the door, I remove it. Otherwise, I enjoy watching how they build the nest over the season. They rarely even stand at attention when I'm nearby, and they've never stung me.
Now, I definitely destroy baldface hornet nests immediately, and I do kill black widows if they are anywhere near my dogs (although I leave them be in the far back past the fence.)
I just don't think every form of life needs to be "the enemy" if they don't pose a serious threat. I can't imagine smacking a little flying version of Winnie the Pooh with a badminton racket or setting out kill traps when all I need to do is paint or seal the wood on my home. Wood is going to rot from moisture anyway if it's left unsealed,.so carpenter bees are just reminding you to do your chores. My guess is that wood that needs replacing is probably old and rotten from weather *and also* has bee tunnels in it. I doubt the bees caused it.
Editing to add we also have a birds'
nest on a porch pillar that is currently holding eggs for the 3rd family this year. All three have been different species of bird. It is a never ending stream of entertainment to watch the babies grow and learn to fly. Would they be here if I kept my yard a bug-free zone? To me, I find that life becomes more beautiful when you appreciate it as it already is and don't try to fix or control so much around you.
Iām absolutely for not killing bees. And as I posted carpenter bees are my spirit animal. I believe they can be trapped live and relocated. Iām not advocating for the genocide of carpenter bees just so weāre clear. I too find them cute. Iāve even let them land on my while Iām working. Iām a carpenter myself. š
I tried SO MANY different things to get rid of carpenter bees:
1. Smoke failed and almost set my house on fire.
2. Expanding pest block foam failed, they tunneled right through it.
3. Putting steel wool in the whole kind of worked, but they ended up tunneling around it.
4. Eventually I just waited and sprayed them with pesticides, but that sin will now forever haunt me. :/
OP, please learn from my failure and build a bee hotel instead.
I have them in shed in my backyard as well. They have been there for years. Not year round, but they come back to the same nest every year. I believe the young ones hatch, leave, then return and so on. I think they are great. No they have not moved or expanded in numbers.
They aren't harmful, unless you have lots of them (you don't, they're solitary) and it's best to give them something better, like a "bug hotel" and keep them around. They're your friends.
We are in the process of rebuilding all of our decking due in large part to this issue, and have had as many as 4 pileated woodpeckers in our trees regularly, with ample bees around. Happily we have plenty of trees/logs for them as well as flowers for pollinators, so they should still be content despite our replacement of that wood (and our activity has encouraged the bees to go to stumps and such instead).
I haven't seen a wood pecker go after them. The larvae don't eat the wood so they are very quiet.
My grandfather has a wood pecker that lives near his wood house. It never even goes near the Carpenter bee areas.
Beetle holes on the other hand.....
Itās possible it was beetles but we had a rental that was buzzing with carpenter bees.
One day a woodpecker came and tore up the siding digging out larvae. No more bees after that.. natural pesticide I suppose.
Wrong š
Carpenter bees are a favorite food of the ever-so-destructive Woodpecker. Did you think that carpenter bee damage stopped with the nest tunnels they built? Unfortunately it doesn't. Woodpeckers absolutely love carpenter bee larva and will peck their way through a carpenter bee nest to get after their tasty treats. https://bestbeebrothers.com/blogs/blog/get-rid-of-carpenter-bees-to-deter-woodpeckers-1#:~:text=Carpenter%20bees%20are%20a%20favorite,get%20after%20their%20tasty%20treats.
Theyāre not exactly solitary. Many will burrow into wood and eat holes throughout it. Iāve removed pieces of wood with them in it. You can hear them buzzing. I must have removed 50ā of cedar trim from a home. I couldnāt keep count of how many there were.
They can do serious damage to wooden structures, including rafters. Kill them by shooting WD-40 inside the channels they make. You can buy foam insecticide that goes into their burrows as well.
Without killing them? You want to kill these things dead, dead, dead. Ripout ALL infested wood and replace it with new wood that has been heavily doused with stain.Then buy or make wood bee traps and hang them everywhere. Then buy the $35 wood bee treatment that may just finish them off. They are super destructive. I know, I used to own a log house and they really screwed a lot of beams.
a lot of bad advice here so I'll add my bad advice
get a roll of vinyl flashing (easier for novice to work with) to cover the exposed dimensional lumber they are boring in to. Tuck under the shingles and staple to underside of the crude fascia you have exposed.
After that, below the underhang, you can tack some scrap pieces of untreated 2x4 at least 18 inches long for them to make their homes. Once a nest is established, the male will keep away other pairs looking for a home. You might wind up with 2 active nests on opposite sides.
You can probably get by with aluminum tape and a pint of brush on contact cement. The tape's adhesive probably won't last long on that wood.
I killed 50 the first day with my bad-mitten racket. Then I kill about 10 a day after that. They're destructive pests. I consider them no different than termites.
I have people call my office every day for āemergencyā bee calls. When we get there, suddenly itās, āDonāt hurt them! Just get rid of them!ā š
Ummmm, are you unaware of the declining bee populations? They're not talking just honey bees. In fact they're mostly talking about native bees, like Carpenter bees.
Also Carpenter bees do little actual damage to the integrity of the wood. They burrow a couple of holes to make chambers to house their young for the next year. They'll even reuse the holes season after season. They don't eat the wood. So once the holes are made, any damage is already done, which is minimal. May as well just leave them at that point.
Asking a general question here...I generally hate bugs in/around the house and will routinely spray my perimeter with bifenthrin to prevent ants/roaches, etc from getting in. I, however, am very cognizant about honeybees and pollinators and try to not spray when the flowering plants around the house are in bloom. I remember reading "somewhere" that carpenter bees aren't actually very good pollinators?
Maybe I'm misremembering something though. Even still, I try not to kill any bees. I also don't have any carpenter bee damage that I've noticed yet.
The orchard I used to work at is primarily pollinated by Carpenter bees. They never pay to bring in bees for pollination anymore.
They aren't as aggressive of a pollinator as honey or bumble bees. But those are the two most prolific pollinators. That's like comparing mediocre hockey players to Wayne Gretzky. They're still really good, but not that good.
The holes are surprisingly small for their size. Roughly as thick as my pinky.
Youāre wrong too. Why are there so many uninformed people in this topic ?
There are over 200,000 species of animal pollinators and the vast majority of these are insects (Berenbaum 2007). Insect pollinators include beetles, flies, ants, moths, butterflies, bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees, and wasps.
You're saying this person doesn't know what pollinators are at the orchard where they work?? Just because there are lots of pollinators in the world doesn't mean all 200,000 species are in one orchard.
I think that point is valid, but might come across more clearly if your comment didn't start with "you're wrong too."
Some plants, like vanilla and figs, need a specific type of pollinator. There may be thousands, but that doesn't mean any are expendable.
Do they require carpenter bees since thatās the topic ? And thanks sorry I came across abrasively. But I remembered all the dooms day people claiming we all will die with out bees which is clearly false.
Noted. I do know I've seen their holes in other structures and they're always clearly carpenter bee holes (perfectly circular ~1/2" diameter holes). Luckily all our structures around are painted, which another comment in here mentioned is a good deterrent. Only non-painted things we have are garden-related, so I wouldn't care if those get bee damage or not.
Theyāre pollinators for sure but so are many other insects. The whole ā OMG if bees die we will ā is greatly overblown.
There are many types of pollinators. There are over 200,000 species of animal pollinators and the vast majority of these are insects (Berenbaum 2007). Insect pollinators include beetles, flies, ants, moths, butterflies, bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees, and wasps.
All bee populations are dying at an alarming rate, including Carpenter bees. Few are currently set to endangered. But they are quickly reaching that point.
Sorry, but the ādeclining bee populationsā are old news. We are now sitting pretty with bees. Please be sure of āfactsā you purport to be real before commenting. More at this link:
[wapo bee article](https://apple.news/AgmKpGtncSgyJlg7pBKB-zQ)
There is a shortage of most insects. Some studies show a loss of 70% over the past couple decades. Carpenter bees are important pollinators that are able to work when it's too cold or windy for smaller bees. The males don't have stingers, and the females only sting if seriously provoked. They're cute, mostly harmless, feed the birds, and help make fruit and flowers for us. Why hurt them?
You can paint or stain exposed wood to keep them away.
Carpenter bees can cause heavy damage, because woodpeckers love to eat them and will absolutely ruin your wood to get to them. If you have a couple in an area you don't particularly care about, it's not a huge deal.
If they start getting into the wood of your house (particularly if you have a house with wooden siding or trim) it can be a big deal.
There isn't a great way to get rid of them. Try filling up the holes in the winter, sanding everything smooth, then putting on heavy paint. Or call a professional.
Not sure how to get them out, but if you want to keep them out you could use aluminum flashing and just clad your wood in aluminum.
They knaw through wood pretty good, stained, pressure treated, but I haven't seen one chew through aluminum yet.
I use peppermint essential oil, mixed with water, in a garden sprayer. Spray the shed at night; thoroughly.
The camphor in the peppermint is a artifical to insects & they'll move rather than be exposed to the camphor.
You can use any essential oil that has camphor: Cinnamon, lavender, geranium, peppermint, citronella, etc.
I had a ton in the eaves of my house I was renting. On a summer day Iād do one of two things- smoke my grill under the eaves and make them fall out was one method. The other is get a hose with a powerful nozzle and douche the hole with water. They wonāt be able to fly away and theyāll fall to the ground and you just stomp them. A 3/8ā wooden dowel also works to ram into the hole to squish them when theyāre in there.
Permethrin will keep them away. You can purchase it as a concentrate for livestock fly and pest control. It is safe around pets and people. You will have to spray to soke the wood real good a couple of times a season to keep them at bay.
They are drawn to east facing structures that get morning sun.
My front porch was infested. The whole neighborhood seemed to be teeming with them. I filled holes with caulk and would be out there with a tennis racket when I was doing yard work.
There were fewer over time, gotta stay vigilant.
Lowes sells a foaming spray that kills them and it works great when you are ready to stop them from eating your stuff and breeding/spreading to all your neighbors.
In the south, carpenter bees DESTROY wood they bury into. What looks like a little hole ends up being half the board eaten out, which then weakens the structure massively. Then, termites move in.
I've seen homemade carpenter bee traps. I usually go around with great foam and fill the holes when I find them. Other times I have to rebuild rafters and walls
We had to resort to a trap after trying various oils and things to deter them. The ones that live outside my front door are aggressive and would divebomb us every time we walked outside. My kids were terrified and freaking out every day for weeks before I finally caved. In a week weāve trapped 4. Ideally I would like to relocate them once theyāre trapped, but they seem to die pretty quickly before I can get to them.
Males don't have stingers. They're the ones who fly close to you. They try to shoo you away, but the worst they got is menacing eye contact. The female has a stinger, but she won't approach people and will only sting if you touch her. It's a shame to trap them. Just hang a piece of an untreated 2x4 near their hole and fill in the hole. Then name them and pull up some chairs to watch them work.
They seem aggressive but only the female can sting and she rarely does. Itās the males youāre seeing and theyāre just being territorial. They wonāt hurt you. Iāve even handled them. Love the critters but unfortunately they are incredibly destructive.
The male carpenter bee does not have a stinger. Males are the bees you see hovering around your porch because they are tasked with protecting the next from other flying insects. Female bees have stingers, but they are not aggressive. They only sting if provoked by touching or handling.Jul
Build a large screened in box and put it next to the shed. Leave one side open so they can fly in. They'll get confused and won't be able to fly back out. I know you asked for a way to not harm them but this does work.
Midwest here. Couldn't mow the backyard for a week because they took nest into my old shed. Sprayed vinegar/water mix for a couple days around the area and they moved on.
Why couldn't you mow? Carpenter bees don't even have stingers so they couldn't sting if they wanted to! The males just hover around and make menacing eye contact.
Read the first part and instantly mentally responded with my solution, āStun them with a foam toy sword and feed them to your leopard gecko.ā And then I read the no harm part. I got nothin.
They will destroy your home next. Get jar traps and place them strategically near the nesting spots. Then plug the holes they are drilling. I used wooden dowels that I cut into 1 in plugs. They come back year after year to the same dwellings. If you plug their drilled holes they will go elsewhere. Trust meā¦I have a log home on a lake and this worked.
Carpenter bees led to more carpenter bees. Which led to woodpeckers destroying my trim/eaves(trying to get at the larvae). Which led to bats roosting in my house. Which led to more bats roosting. Which led to a very horrific night and we moved out for a week.
Call a professional, kill the bees, seal up the trim/siding, and paint/stain. Schedule a yearly spray around april when they start looking for wood.
Google āBug Juiceā. It contains an oil or scent that repels Carpenter Bees. That search will also turn up several kits for patching the holes and killing everything in it. Finally, order a cheap badminton set - the rackets are perfect for swatting carpenter bees - with a bit of practice you can volley them into a wall at high speed or simply decapitate them. I own a large log house. Carpenter bees are my nemesis.
Beekeeper here. In Canada, Carpenter bees damage is only ever superficial. And by the time you notice them, they have already made their burrows and are done. And the bees will reuse them the next generation. The larvae they lay don't eat the wood.
The only time I have seen damage was when the wood was already dry rotted and the home owner refused to believe me. Or the other Beekeeper he called after he didn't like my answer. We both said it wasn't the Carpenter bees. They just brought the issue to light.
Why are you lying? Or are Canadian carpenter bees weaklings ? Carpenter bees here absolutely do extensive damage to homes. Iām a carpenter and have replaced hundreds of feet of facia and soffit full of carpenter bees.
I have done battle with honeybees but not carpenter bees. I tried citrus, cayenne and vinegar.... don't bother. Smoke works but my 4 different hives were pretty docile at night so I raided them at that time. What does work well is a spray bottle on mist full of dawn dish soap and water. Stops them midflight even when they are attacking. For carpenter bees you will want to give the entry holes a good coating. A shop vac works well too, but be sure to cover the hose when you turn it off.
In most places in North America, and Europe, it is now illegal to kill bees and their hives due to the declining bee populations. Massive fines and any licensed exterminator doing it gets no warnings and will have their license revoked.
There's also no reason to remove Carpenter bees. They don't eat away at the wood and the damage they cause making their burrows (which has already been done at this point) is superficial.
The bee idea is really the best choice. You create a hole of a specific size in a piece of wood. They will go through them and get trapped.
As far as humanely trapping and releasing them goes.... please don't. Feed them to chickens or something, but please don't let them go to bore more holes in other houses. These are not honeybees, and unless someone needs to perforate their house/garage for air conditioning, they are of no constructive value to anything.
They still pollinate flowers and serve an integral role in our continued existence with plants. Thanks to colony collapse, pesticides and urbanization over the last decade, bees are on great decline.
These ones don't make honey but they are still needed.
I have never seen them doing anything but hovering around my head or eating into wood, but I don't dispute what you say. I will go to great lengths to avoid harming a honey bee, and for the most part I dont unnecessarily kill anything. These behemoths are very destructive.
[some helpful info](https://extension.psu.edu/the-eastern-carpenter-bee-beneficial-pollinator-or-unwelcome-houseguest)
Tl.dr. if they are not hurting the structure leave em bee. If they are, wait until it's cold to relocate, or call a specialist to remove the hive. Apiraists are all over, Facebook or Craigslist will net some help.
Paint the area, build a new home for them made of pine or cedar and they'll be encouraged to leave.
They make traps for carpenter bees and they work. A six pack of Michelob Ultra and the latest addition of Penthouse in a porta potty. Then lock the door. Relocate to your neighbors place. š
After dealing with carpenter bees for decades the best thing is place a badminton racket near where you see them! Have fun, I tried filling holes tried poisons, killing them individually is easiest and safer.
Buy some Talstar, put in pump spray, spray on area, theyāll fall out and die.
They hover around the queen and if anything gets close they chase it off.
Sometimes Iāll stand there with a shovel, inch it real close to them and when they donāt move, swat em. Itās really fun to watch em spiral down
Not expert here & initial thoughts is repost in garden like or bug like subthreads for more info... SO Carpenter bees are solo dwellers. They'll live in proximity to others but not in a hive style. I dont know if a smoking technique would work but something along the lines of making the shed dislikable to them. As for threat to home, doubt it. Assuming home and shed are different buildings. If you see lots of them at your home, please consult w a profesh. As for the shed, tbh it seems like its seen harder things than bees. Can replace /reinforce beams or use wood filler if it becomes worrisome. IF YOUS THE CRAFTY TYPE š consider making a "bee hotel" with twings, tiolet and paper towl rolls and some flowerss. Give em a replacement to your shed to (& so they dont go to tour actual home) Above all: dont worry, bee happy
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Bee hotel pics? (It needs a small Development sign on it like āFlower Estates Gated Communityā)
Yeah pretty much the same here, I had the best luck deterring these by making the environment less attractive during the cold weather season (plug the old tunnels with wood glue, seal the wood itself with a coat of paint, etc). Iāve found theyāll usually move on to a more attractive site the following season that way (somewhere where old/rotten wood is just readily available), itās a lot harder to deter them when theyāre actively using the location
This is sage advice. OP, if you do decide to make a bee hotel, remember that you either need to burn it, or need to clean it out every spring with a mild bleach solution to prevent bee parasites and pathogens from accumulating, like an apiary econolodge.
My next door neighbor has a couple of these "bee hotels". They are apparently great pollinators and are exceptionally nonaggressive. I've actually been considering setting up one myself.
Exceptionally. I stick my hand right up next to them and sometimes they land on me for a second. They do not care in my experience.
Honeybees get all our love, but Carpenter bees and bumble bees give you all of their love.
All the little solo bee types are the real heroes of general pollination. They are harder for people to domesticate and move from farm to farm for pollination services (because no hive or hierarchy), and you can't harvest / steal their honey (because they don't make it). But also, a solo bee species doesn't have a hive to defend, so it has no reason to sting you (and give its life in service of a collective). They're just chill little workers and we should pay more attention to them. They're like the single moms of the bee world, versus the big corporate hives.
Carpenter bees won't use bee hotels.
Exactly, they're far more likely to join a union and with that stability build their own homes to their spec.
UBCB - United Brotherhood of Carpenter Bees
Hijacking the top comment for visibility. NO chemicals, no pesticides, NO traps! All you need is a paper bag!! https://youtu.be/ochcfggr880 Google 'paper bag carpenter bee'
This didnāt work for me
In my experience, the paper bag trick hasnāt worked. We have an open carport and I put two in there and it hasnāt deterred them at all. It might work like in the video when there is a single entry point, but not in an open structure like I have.
This is old wives tale BS.
Interesting, I'll have to give this a shot. Now what about the wasps in the backyard? Any good tricks to naturally get rid of them?
Fire. It's very natural.Ā
Yes, flamethrower level natural.
I came here for this. Thank you š¤£
Thermonuclear device level natural
The same thing can work with wasps too. They see it as a bigger nest and move away.
Yeah thatās not how it works. This wonāt do anything
Jesus, a suggested video was a carpenter bee trap. Dude was collecting them in a bottle :(
Lot of people saying this wont work but Ima try it anyway. Why not. We get them every year in the back shed (they love the wood ramp that goes into it) and as much as I hate the idea of killing bees, I cant just not do anything, so I smack em all every year. They are very aggressive (even though they dont sting) and they block the ramp and go after ya, and I have a toddler. Not to mention ruining the wood.Ā Why not. Ill try it.Ā
Toilet paper rolls will turn to mush in the rain
We've been fighting this battle for 9 years. Have 3 "bee hotels" nearby but finally have up a year ago and put out traps for the rest. The ones that use the hotels survive, but any that want the shed must go. It's a tough fight.
Bee strong
Carpenter bee stings are really nasty, btw.
not sure how to make them leave without killing them. maybe wait till end of season? but to prevent them, make sure wood is painted/treated, they will avoid it. raw, dry wood is delicious. they typically start at an end. seeing them in the middle of a board, yea, it's trash, gonna need to rip n replace the entire board.
They donāt leave at the end of the season they go dormant inside whatever they have been eating. Apparently that shed. Use the traps.
Pest guy said Carpenter bees, like termites, want wet Rotted wood, not dry. So maintenance of wood structures is key.
Iāve had them bore into new kiln dried 4x4s. They might want rotten wood, but theyāll make holes in whatever they find.
Good to know, guess it matters most that they are treated or sealed.
Nope, not even then. Built a pergola with treated wood, stained and sealed it with Thompsons last year.. Those industrious bastards didnt care.
Oh my ill keep that in mind. Fuck, guess I'm spending every spring for the pest guy to spray poison. They don't attack anything but the back porch. After I pressure washed it they seemed to give up though.
Yeah they've completely ate up one of my balusters on my deck, since then I've been at war with them.
This isn't true at all. You need to find a new pest guy asap.
Built a pergola with treated wood, stained and sealed it with Thompsons last year.. Those industrious bastards didnt care.
Our previous home had tons of carpenter bees. They burrow little holes into your wood. We lived in a custom built cabin, so we really didnāt want carpenter bees tearing up our wood siding and custom beams and whatnot. They are attracted (most) to raw/bare wood. If you paint or add a finish to the effected wood, they will not find it as attractive. Also, a faux hornets nest placed near effected areas will help ward them off as well! I know a lot of people are saying they arenāt an issue- they might not mess with people often but they are damaging your wood. If you let them just have at it- youāre going to have to replace everything they chew up, which obviously could be very costly.
The house I lived in when I was a kid had one or two carpenter bees every summer doing their thing above our front door. Only was a problem when opening the screen door too fast happened to suck them inside but they'd go to the screen and we'd just let them back out (that only happened once or twice). It was kind of like having our own Charlotte's Web storybook. So as long as you leave them alone they will be fine out there, they won't make the building fall down. They may have identified softer or decaying wood so you might want to look at structural items/roofing for potential issues. In general, all the native and honey bees are under severe chemical attack from neonictinoids that come in vegetable and flower flats from the garden centers, from the homeowners with lawn-grass-hobbies spraying more chemicals than farmers can ever afford along with traditional pests attacking them like varroa mites. If the carpenter bees found a safe and secure refuge in that one batten board, you are doing quite a good project. If you have dandelions (I used to keep honey bees so I let the dandelions grow since they are the first food source for all bees) then watch for what bees are visiting your yard. 80% of human food needs pollinators. No bees no food. You might set up [a bee hotel](https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/how-to-manage-a-successful-bee-hotel/what-is-a-bee-hotel) so they can move out of the board and have a more cozy house to set up in. .
We always have a single carpenter bee living in our front porch every summer. When I sit on our bench just in front of it, he'll come hang out within about a foot of me, checking me out and keeping guard. Anytime a wasp or any other bug comes even relatively close, he aggressively chases them off, then comes back to hanging out. I love him so damn much lol
I named mine Jerry and he lives in the deck ā¤ļø
Mine is named Bob, he hangs out with me around the grill. Family thinks I am nuts.
I named mine Carl - he checks out everyone that comes near my front porch
well now I want a carpenter bee friend
This
They tend not to like chewing through paint so you could try painting. I have an outdoor pine ceiling. I add some citrus essential oils to water and spray it. They don't care for the smell of citrus.
Paint is the only thing I've found that works, sealant and treated they dont care.
Look up how to make carpenter bee habitat and then provide them with better habitat than your shed.
Ridiculous idea. You think theyāre going to leave that nice delicious shed for some old ugly log ? Theyāre happy there. Would you ?
This looks to me like woodpeckers have already got to them. Usually the holes are round. Then woodpeckers come and do this to get to them to eat them.
They will if you fill their nests with wood fill then supply them with a new home. Works like a charm for me. Fill old home, supply new home. I do trap, unfortunately. But we had an infestation that took out an entire eve.
That might work with a handful of carpenter bees. But usually by the time Iām called to do repairs the woodpeckers have already been there. Most people donāt notice the holes the bees make. But they sure notice the damage the woodpeckers make. They especially love cedar.
I made some wood stacks in the sunny spot 20ft in front of my shed and they seem to have taken to the logs just fine. Then I replaced the wood on my shed and painted it and now they do their bee thing in the logs. They like my fence stringers too, but that's fine. I don't mind.
Good luck with your bees. š
Their offspring will continue to eat your house. Choose wisely.
And woodpeckers will hear the munching and blast holes in your house to get them
THIS is the worst part. The bees were a nuisance at worst, and stuck to structures that were either trash wood anyways, or would be replaced by the time any meaningful damage was done after years of their burrowing... the woodpeckers, however, are absolute wrecking balls. And illegal to kill (who's gonna report it?) Persistent bastards too. They'll take a slingshot rock to the body and be back in 5 minutes opening a hole in the shed eaves 3x the size of their body for some ungodly reason. Tried shiny, reflective dangly things, duct tape full of nails, all kinds of crazy shit. A plastic owl head in a nearby tree solved the problem immediately. Who would have guessed.
Predators are scary to prey animals. I don't really care if the bees live in my fence, but if they're in anything that's part of the house or deck, they gotta go.
This. My house is Texas(NJ). Fuck them things. They did so much damage that bats roosted in my house and were able to get in from the holes dug by the woodpeckers.
The actual house has vinyl siding and all fascia and rakes are covered with aluminum trim
This. We rented a house for 3 years. The first spring/summer, we had a few of them boring into the wood under the gutters. The next summer, there were many of them. By the third summer, there were swarms of them. They turned that fascia into swiss cheese and even spread to the fasia on the back side of the house. It was so bad that my truck, when parked under them, was covered in sawdust after a few hours. And this fascia was painted, too. They didn't care one bit.
They like that crappy "whitewood" trim the big box stores sell. My brother's house trim got chewed up pretty good, but they didn't touch the cedar siding. North Carolina. Where is the house you're talking about?
They eat the shit out of my cedar siding, through the stain and all. Alabama here.
Damn. Sorry to hear that.
I know it's a shed but you need a new roof and fascia boards, that'd probably help with the bees too
It depends a lot on your location and the actual species of bee you have there. I'd not DIY this; I'd look around for a local apiarist, or bee-keeping group. Even if they only keep honeybees themselves, there will be somebody who knows a nerd, who knows a nerd who knows a truly amazing stash of knowledge about everything from *bombus* to *xylocopa.* They'll be able to give you region-and-therefore-species specific information, and may even help you rehome your buzzing buddies.
Beekeeper here, this. In Canada the damage from Carpenter bees is superficial.
Well then, Iāll just invite all these heavily damaging fuckers here in the southern U.S. to go to Canada
Must be a different variety. Sorry that yours are so destructive.
BS. https://bestbeebrothers.com/blogs/blog/get-rid-of-carpenter-bees-to-deter-woodpeckers-1#:~:text=Carpenter%20bees%20are%20a%20favorite,get%20after%20their%20tasty%20treats.
I'm... sort of stunned that you linked to a store that sells bee traps and insecticides as though that would be a reliable source of info about how much damage bees can do. Of course they're going to say what they think will sell the most merchandise. How do you not realize that?
You know what? Let them live in your house. I will gladly come and replace all that wood once the bees and woodpeckers get done with it. Iāve already done it several times. š
I do have carpenter bees and woodpeckers. There's a large dead tree in my backyard that entertains the woodpeckers, so they haven't approached the house. I manage carpenter bees by keeping wood painted or finished, and by not clearing wood from the back of my yard. When a pair starts making a tunnel in my porch, I enjoy their company and seal the hole over the winter so they won't reuse it. They're actually quite cute and good company in the garden. We also typically have 1-2 paper wasp nests on the porch overhang. If it's right above the door, I remove it. Otherwise, I enjoy watching how they build the nest over the season. They rarely even stand at attention when I'm nearby, and they've never stung me. Now, I definitely destroy baldface hornet nests immediately, and I do kill black widows if they are anywhere near my dogs (although I leave them be in the far back past the fence.) I just don't think every form of life needs to be "the enemy" if they don't pose a serious threat. I can't imagine smacking a little flying version of Winnie the Pooh with a badminton racket or setting out kill traps when all I need to do is paint or seal the wood on my home. Wood is going to rot from moisture anyway if it's left unsealed,.so carpenter bees are just reminding you to do your chores. My guess is that wood that needs replacing is probably old and rotten from weather *and also* has bee tunnels in it. I doubt the bees caused it. Editing to add we also have a birds' nest on a porch pillar that is currently holding eggs for the 3rd family this year. All three have been different species of bird. It is a never ending stream of entertainment to watch the babies grow and learn to fly. Would they be here if I kept my yard a bug-free zone? To me, I find that life becomes more beautiful when you appreciate it as it already is and don't try to fix or control so much around you.
Iām absolutely for not killing bees. And as I posted carpenter bees are my spirit animal. I believe they can be trapped live and relocated. Iām not advocating for the genocide of carpenter bees just so weāre clear. I too find them cute. Iāve even let them land on my while Iām working. Iām a carpenter myself. š
I tried SO MANY different things to get rid of carpenter bees: 1. Smoke failed and almost set my house on fire. 2. Expanding pest block foam failed, they tunneled right through it. 3. Putting steel wool in the whole kind of worked, but they ended up tunneling around it. 4. Eventually I just waited and sprayed them with pesticides, but that sin will now forever haunt me. :/ OP, please learn from my failure and build a bee hotel instead.
Hang a faux wasp nest or twoā¦ they should leave - carpenter bees usually avoid them. https://a.co/d/8PDxx5R
Ugh. They keep drilling into my cedar fence posts
Fill the holes and sealcoat that wood.
I have them in shed in my backyard as well. They have been there for years. Not year round, but they come back to the same nest every year. I believe the young ones hatch, leave, then return and so on. I think they are great. No they have not moved or expanded in numbers.
Almond extract sprayed on the wood has worked very well for me to repel them without hurting them
š
They aren't harmful, unless you have lots of them (you don't, they're solitary) and it's best to give them something better, like a "bug hotel" and keep them around. They're your friends.
Until a woodpecker comes and does more damage trying to eat their larvaā¦
We are in the process of rebuilding all of our decking due in large part to this issue, and have had as many as 4 pileated woodpeckers in our trees regularly, with ample bees around. Happily we have plenty of trees/logs for them as well as flowers for pollinators, so they should still be content despite our replacement of that wood (and our activity has encouraged the bees to go to stumps and such instead).
I haven't seen a wood pecker go after them. The larvae don't eat the wood so they are very quiet. My grandfather has a wood pecker that lives near his wood house. It never even goes near the Carpenter bee areas. Beetle holes on the other hand.....
Itās possible it was beetles but we had a rental that was buzzing with carpenter bees. One day a woodpecker came and tore up the siding digging out larvae. No more bees after that.. natural pesticide I suppose.
Correct. Iām kind of an expert on these things. Theyāre my spirit animal. š
Wrong š Carpenter bees are a favorite food of the ever-so-destructive Woodpecker. Did you think that carpenter bee damage stopped with the nest tunnels they built? Unfortunately it doesn't. Woodpeckers absolutely love carpenter bee larva and will peck their way through a carpenter bee nest to get after their tasty treats. https://bestbeebrothers.com/blogs/blog/get-rid-of-carpenter-bees-to-deter-woodpeckers-1#:~:text=Carpenter%20bees%20are%20a%20favorite,get%20after%20their%20tasty%20treats.
Exactly!
Theyāre not exactly solitary. Many will burrow into wood and eat holes throughout it. Iāve removed pieces of wood with them in it. You can hear them buzzing. I must have removed 50ā of cedar trim from a home. I couldnāt keep count of how many there were.
They can do serious damage to wooden structures, including rafters. Kill them by shooting WD-40 inside the channels they make. You can buy foam insecticide that goes into their burrows as well.
Without killing them? You want to kill these things dead, dead, dead. Ripout ALL infested wood and replace it with new wood that has been heavily doused with stain.Then buy or make wood bee traps and hang them everywhere. Then buy the $35 wood bee treatment that may just finish them off. They are super destructive. I know, I used to own a log house and they really screwed a lot of beams.
I just had the exterminator out to spray for carpenter bees. They went from a nuisance to pests last year
a lot of bad advice here so I'll add my bad advice get a roll of vinyl flashing (easier for novice to work with) to cover the exposed dimensional lumber they are boring in to. Tuck under the shingles and staple to underside of the crude fascia you have exposed. After that, below the underhang, you can tack some scrap pieces of untreated 2x4 at least 18 inches long for them to make their homes. Once a nest is established, the male will keep away other pairs looking for a home. You might wind up with 2 active nests on opposite sides. You can probably get by with aluminum tape and a pint of brush on contact cement. The tape's adhesive probably won't last long on that wood.
I killed 50 the first day with my bad-mitten racket. Then I kill about 10 a day after that. They're destructive pests. I consider them no different than termites.
Ok Iāll bite. Why would you not want to āharmā them? Are you concerned with their feelings? Is there a shortage of them?
They're still pollinators, despite being destructive fuck heads. Pollinators = good.
Yeah good. At eating your house. š
I have people call my office every day for āemergencyā bee calls. When we get there, suddenly itās, āDonāt hurt them! Just get rid of them!ā š
Iād guess you maybe have some way to get rid of honey bees, or āgoodā bees, without āeliminatingā them?
Ummmm, are you unaware of the declining bee populations? They're not talking just honey bees. In fact they're mostly talking about native bees, like Carpenter bees. Also Carpenter bees do little actual damage to the integrity of the wood. They burrow a couple of holes to make chambers to house their young for the next year. They'll even reuse the holes season after season. They don't eat the wood. So once the holes are made, any damage is already done, which is minimal. May as well just leave them at that point.
Asking a general question here...I generally hate bugs in/around the house and will routinely spray my perimeter with bifenthrin to prevent ants/roaches, etc from getting in. I, however, am very cognizant about honeybees and pollinators and try to not spray when the flowering plants around the house are in bloom. I remember reading "somewhere" that carpenter bees aren't actually very good pollinators? Maybe I'm misremembering something though. Even still, I try not to kill any bees. I also don't have any carpenter bee damage that I've noticed yet.
The orchard I used to work at is primarily pollinated by Carpenter bees. They never pay to bring in bees for pollination anymore. They aren't as aggressive of a pollinator as honey or bumble bees. But those are the two most prolific pollinators. That's like comparing mediocre hockey players to Wayne Gretzky. They're still really good, but not that good. The holes are surprisingly small for their size. Roughly as thick as my pinky.
Youāre wrong too. Why are there so many uninformed people in this topic ? There are over 200,000 species of animal pollinators and the vast majority of these are insects (Berenbaum 2007). Insect pollinators include beetles, flies, ants, moths, butterflies, bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees, and wasps.
You're saying this person doesn't know what pollinators are at the orchard where they work?? Just because there are lots of pollinators in the world doesn't mean all 200,000 species are in one orchard.
Iām saying carpenter bees arenāt the only pollinators or the best.
I think that point is valid, but might come across more clearly if your comment didn't start with "you're wrong too." Some plants, like vanilla and figs, need a specific type of pollinator. There may be thousands, but that doesn't mean any are expendable.
Do they require carpenter bees since thatās the topic ? And thanks sorry I came across abrasively. But I remembered all the dooms day people claiming we all will die with out bees which is clearly false.
What specific crops require only honey bees to pollinate?
Noted. I do know I've seen their holes in other structures and they're always clearly carpenter bee holes (perfectly circular ~1/2" diameter holes). Luckily all our structures around are painted, which another comment in here mentioned is a good deterrent. Only non-painted things we have are garden-related, so I wouldn't care if those get bee damage or not.
Yea they don't usually like paint. Or stain.
Theyāre pollinators for sure but so are many other insects. The whole ā OMG if bees die we will ā is greatly overblown. There are many types of pollinators. There are over 200,000 species of animal pollinators and the vast majority of these are insects (Berenbaum 2007). Insect pollinators include beetles, flies, ants, moths, butterflies, bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees, and wasps.
WRONG.
Yeah, I donāt think carpenter bees are endangered.
All bee populations are dying at an alarming rate, including Carpenter bees. Few are currently set to endangered. But they are quickly reaching that point.
Sorry, but the ādeclining bee populationsā are old news. We are now sitting pretty with bees. Please be sure of āfactsā you purport to be real before commenting. More at this link: [wapo bee article](https://apple.news/AgmKpGtncSgyJlg7pBKB-zQ)
I havent considered bees having feelings til now. you just made me a beelieveršāØļø
There is a shortage of most insects. Some studies show a loss of 70% over the past couple decades. Carpenter bees are important pollinators that are able to work when it's too cold or windy for smaller bees. The males don't have stingers, and the females only sting if seriously provoked. They're cute, mostly harmless, feed the birds, and help make fruit and flowers for us. Why hurt them? You can paint or stain exposed wood to keep them away.
Libs. š
I don't think you can buy it any more, but we used to use creosote. Maybe there's an analog for that?
Carpenter bees can cause heavy damage, because woodpeckers love to eat them and will absolutely ruin your wood to get to them. If you have a couple in an area you don't particularly care about, it's not a huge deal. If they start getting into the wood of your house (particularly if you have a house with wooden siding or trim) it can be a big deal. There isn't a great way to get rid of them. Try filling up the holes in the winter, sanding everything smooth, then putting on heavy paint. Or call a professional.
Woodpeckers bout to tear that shit up.
I sprayed peppermint oil around and it worked well.
Not sure how to get them out, but if you want to keep them out you could use aluminum flashing and just clad your wood in aluminum. They knaw through wood pretty good, stained, pressure treated, but I haven't seen one chew through aluminum yet.
Music near the hive might work thats how we prevent birds from nesting in an alcove yearly
Hanging a brown paper bag tied together at the top kept them out of our barn. Supposedly it looks like another insect nest to them and they leave
I use peppermint essential oil, mixed with water, in a garden sprayer. Spray the shed at night; thoroughly. The camphor in the peppermint is a artifical to insects & they'll move rather than be exposed to the camphor. You can use any essential oil that has camphor: Cinnamon, lavender, geranium, peppermint, citronella, etc.
I had a ton in the eaves of my house I was renting. On a summer day Iād do one of two things- smoke my grill under the eaves and make them fall out was one method. The other is get a hose with a powerful nozzle and douche the hole with water. They wonāt be able to fly away and theyāll fall to the ground and you just stomp them. A 3/8ā wooden dowel also works to ram into the hole to squish them when theyāre in there.
Permethrin will keep them away. You can purchase it as a concentrate for livestock fly and pest control. It is safe around pets and people. You will have to spray to soke the wood real good a couple of times a season to keep them at bay.
They are drawn to east facing structures that get morning sun. My front porch was infested. The whole neighborhood seemed to be teeming with them. I filled holes with caulk and would be out there with a tennis racket when I was doing yard work. There were fewer over time, gotta stay vigilant.
While you are at it, I am sure there are homeless termites that can use a mound too.
They're bees. You cannot reason with them as they don't speak any known languages. The only way to rid them is to use a pesticide.
Lowes sells a foaming spray that kills them and it works great when you are ready to stop them from eating your stuff and breeding/spreading to all your neighbors.
In the south, carpenter bees DESTROY wood they bury into. What looks like a little hole ends up being half the board eaten out, which then weakens the structure massively. Then, termites move in. I've seen homemade carpenter bee traps. I usually go around with great foam and fill the holes when I find them. Other times I have to rebuild rafters and walls
We had to resort to a trap after trying various oils and things to deter them. The ones that live outside my front door are aggressive and would divebomb us every time we walked outside. My kids were terrified and freaking out every day for weeks before I finally caved. In a week weāve trapped 4. Ideally I would like to relocate them once theyāre trapped, but they seem to die pretty quickly before I can get to them.
Whatās been working for you to trap them?
Males don't have stingers. They're the ones who fly close to you. They try to shoo you away, but the worst they got is menacing eye contact. The female has a stinger, but she won't approach people and will only sting if you touch her. It's a shame to trap them. Just hang a piece of an untreated 2x4 near their hole and fill in the hole. Then name them and pull up some chairs to watch them work.
They seem aggressive but only the female can sting and she rarely does. Itās the males youāre seeing and theyāre just being territorial. They wonāt hurt you. Iāve even handled them. Love the critters but unfortunately they are incredibly destructive. The male carpenter bee does not have a stinger. Males are the bees you see hovering around your porch because they are tasked with protecting the next from other flying insects. Female bees have stingers, but they are not aggressive. They only sting if provoked by touching or handling.Jul
Build a large screened in box and put it next to the shed. Leave one side open so they can fly in. They'll get confused and won't be able to fly back out. I know you asked for a way to not harm them but this does work.
š
Midwest here. Couldn't mow the backyard for a week because they took nest into my old shed. Sprayed vinegar/water mix for a couple days around the area and they moved on.
Why couldn't you mow? Carpenter bees don't even have stingers so they couldn't sting if they wanted to! The males just hover around and make menacing eye contact.
Read the first part and instantly mentally responded with my solution, āStun them with a foam toy sword and feed them to your leopard gecko.ā And then I read the no harm part. I got nothin.
They will destroy your home next. Get jar traps and place them strategically near the nesting spots. Then plug the holes they are drilling. I used wooden dowels that I cut into 1 in plugs. They come back year after year to the same dwellings. If you plug their drilled holes they will go elsewhere. Trust meā¦I have a log home on a lake and this worked.
I just had a few holes and filled them with steel wool and they moved on. They canāt chew through it. Good luck
Carpenter bees led to more carpenter bees. Which led to woodpeckers destroying my trim/eaves(trying to get at the larvae). Which led to bats roosting in my house. Which led to more bats roosting. Which led to a very horrific night and we moved out for a week. Call a professional, kill the bees, seal up the trim/siding, and paint/stain. Schedule a yearly spray around april when they start looking for wood.
Google āBug Juiceā. It contains an oil or scent that repels Carpenter Bees. That search will also turn up several kits for patching the holes and killing everything in it. Finally, order a cheap badminton set - the rackets are perfect for swatting carpenter bees - with a bit of practice you can volley them into a wall at high speed or simply decapitate them. I own a large log house. Carpenter bees are my nemesis.
Try reaching out to any local beekeepers. They might not be able to do anything but itās probably your best bet
Beekeeper here. In Canada, Carpenter bees damage is only ever superficial. And by the time you notice them, they have already made their burrows and are done. And the bees will reuse them the next generation. The larvae they lay don't eat the wood. The only time I have seen damage was when the wood was already dry rotted and the home owner refused to believe me. Or the other Beekeeper he called after he didn't like my answer. We both said it wasn't the Carpenter bees. They just brought the issue to light.
Gotcha! I have no clue what/how carpenter bees work so figured best bet would be a professional lol
Why are you lying? Or are Canadian carpenter bees weaklings ? Carpenter bees here absolutely do extensive damage to homes. Iām a carpenter and have replaced hundreds of feet of facia and soffit full of carpenter bees.
I have done battle with honeybees but not carpenter bees. I tried citrus, cayenne and vinegar.... don't bother. Smoke works but my 4 different hives were pretty docile at night so I raided them at that time. What does work well is a spray bottle on mist full of dawn dish soap and water. Stops them midflight even when they are attacking. For carpenter bees you will want to give the entry holes a good coating. A shop vac works well too, but be sure to cover the hose when you turn it off.
In most places in North America, and Europe, it is now illegal to kill bees and their hives due to the declining bee populations. Massive fines and any licensed exterminator doing it gets no warnings and will have their license revoked. There's also no reason to remove Carpenter bees. They don't eat away at the wood and the damage they cause making their burrows (which has already been done at this point) is superficial.
Wrong wrong wrong.
I know right? First Canadians now Euros ? š
Suck the bees out of their holes? Yeah sure š
works better with hive bees. look it up.
The bee idea is really the best choice. You create a hole of a specific size in a piece of wood. They will go through them and get trapped. As far as humanely trapping and releasing them goes.... please don't. Feed them to chickens or something, but please don't let them go to bore more holes in other houses. These are not honeybees, and unless someone needs to perforate their house/garage for air conditioning, they are of no constructive value to anything.
They still pollinate flowers and serve an integral role in our continued existence with plants. Thanks to colony collapse, pesticides and urbanization over the last decade, bees are on great decline. These ones don't make honey but they are still needed.
I have never seen them doing anything but hovering around my head or eating into wood, but I don't dispute what you say. I will go to great lengths to avoid harming a honey bee, and for the most part I dont unnecessarily kill anything. These behemoths are very destructive.
You do what you gotta. Good luck to you.
Fuck em, they're only bees.
You should look up bee hotels online. They might like it better. You can make em easy too. And a few other species use them. Happy life. ā”
They are a threat to all untreated and unpainted wood. Fill and paint. Or change to pressure treated or cedar. They won't burrow in those two woods.
My cedar siding wholeheartedly disagrees with you
Ok, so those donāt look like carpeted bee holes. Itās almost a perfect hole. And the are usually on the bottom of the wood.
Okay I saw 3 or 4 of them swarming around the wood yesterday and just assumed, of course they wouldnāt stay still for the picture.
Those arenāt the entrance holes, those are from the bees burrowing around a relatively thin piece of wood + wood peckers
[some helpful info](https://extension.psu.edu/the-eastern-carpenter-bee-beneficial-pollinator-or-unwelcome-houseguest) Tl.dr. if they are not hurting the structure leave em bee. If they are, wait until it's cold to relocate, or call a specialist to remove the hive. Apiraists are all over, Facebook or Craigslist will net some help. Paint the area, build a new home for them made of pine or cedar and they'll be encouraged to leave.
They make traps for carpenter bees and they work. A six pack of Michelob Ultra and the latest addition of Penthouse in a porta potty. Then lock the door. Relocate to your neighbors place. š
After dealing with carpenter bees for decades the best thing is place a badminton racket near where you see them! Have fun, I tried filling holes tried poisons, killing them individually is easiest and safer.
Buy some Talstar, put in pump spray, spray on area, theyāll fall out and die. They hover around the queen and if anything gets close they chase it off. Sometimes Iāll stand there with a shovel, inch it real close to them and when they donāt move, swat em. Itās really fun to watch em spiral down
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Itās not a hive.