ADVERTISEMENT

OT: Carpenter Bees question.

PSU-Knocker

Well-Known Member
Jun 4, 2013
5,150
1,461
1
I have built two decks and a set of steps and rails out of wood at my humble abode. Last year the Carpenter Bees just tore up my work (for those of you who don't know they tear huge holes in wood - they are unbelievably destructive). This year I have built and deployed five Carpenter Bee traps but I've not seen one C. Bee. Have any of the rest of you had this problem and do you see a major difference this year? Does anybody have an answer as to the difference in quantity of C. Bees year to year? I'm thanking you in advance for any inputs.
 
Once I rebuilt my decks out of Wolman, power wash each year, and treated, end of CBs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: malanoce
They are bad news. People should know what they look like -- sometimes people just think they're bumblebees. Best to respond early. If you have the big males hovering around, it means you already have an infestation. Forget the males -- they are not your problem. The problem is the females burrowing in. They will dig 1/2 inch deeper each year and make babies.

Spraying often does not work because it doesn't get into the burrows. But there's a great product for that -- called "bee butter" which is powdered permethrin (a low-risk bug killer) mixed into vaseline.

If you google "carpenter bee butter" you can find a guy from Alabama who sells bee butter in a nice big syringe-like device designed for squirting a dab into the bee burrows. You may need a ladder to get close to the holes, but it works. The holes are always visible and they will be near where the males are hovering, so that's a help.

You do not have to worry about being stung. Males can't sting -- they do their best to intimidate you, but they can't hurt you. The females have a bite but unless you stick your finger into the hole you don't have to worry about it. Just squirt in a little bee butter, the females die, and the males will go away because there is no nest to protect.

Actually it looks like he no longer sells bee butter, but you can make it yourself. You can buy permethrin powder and vaseline and just mix it.
 
Last edited:
They are bad news. People should know what they look like -- sometimes people just think they're bumblebees. Best to respond early. If you have the big males hovering around, it means you already have an infestation. Forget the males -- they are not your problem. The problem is the females burrowing in. They will dig 1/2 inch deeper each year and make babies.

Spraying often does not work because it doesn't get into the burrows. But there's a great product for that -- called "bee butter" which is powdered permethrin (a low-risk bug killer) mixed into vaseline.

If you google "carpenter bee butter" you can find a guy from Alabama who sells bee butter in a nice big syringe-like device designed for squirting a dab into the bee burrows. You may need a ladder to get close to the holes, but it works. The holes are always visible and they will be near where the males are hovering, so that's a help.

You do not have to worry about being stung. Males can't sting -- they do their best to intimidate you, but they can't hurt you. The females have a bite but unless you stick your finger into the hole you don't have to worry about it. Just squirt in a little bee butter, the females die, and the males will go away because there is no nest to protect.
That is a superb answer. I know a guy who has a CB problem and I will pass it on to him.
 
Are you seeing no evidence of carpenter bees at all or none in your traps?

Wouldn't be surprised if you didn't see any now because carpenter bees have a short active cycle, 30-60 days, and then they go dormant untilnext year.

Usually the first step of treatment is to spray the surface they are attacking and their holes with a powdered insecticide like cyfluthrin. Kills the active bees when they come in contact, whether directly or when they crawl in and out of their holes (you may have to re-apply if it rains). Wait a week or two and keep your fingers crossed that you don't see any flying around. Then spray the holes with something like WD-40 to kill any larvae. Finally, seal the holes with steel wool, covering with a wood putty of your choice.
 
I find enjoyment in this..

Grab a hammer and the longest flat head screw driver you have. Wait for a beer to enter the hole and then put the screwdriver into the burrow and hammer it in. Fill hole with caulking. Done.

Or if you're not up for entertaining yourself in an i humane fashion, Arts suggestion works just as well.
 
Had a problem with CB's last year under the sill on my front porch. I fought them off through at least 5 different entrances because as I closed one they just dug another. Finally got SEVEN power ( doesn't say anything about bees on the label but it is potent and very toxic to all bees ) Closed all the entrances and reopened the original, put and major amount of the powder in that entrance then took my leaf blower and blew the powder into their whole network - result GONE!! Also got rid of yellow jackets under a window shutter but used a turkey baster to get to them.
Not only have I not noticed any CB's this year but have not had any kind of bee building nests this year like in the past.
 
They are bad news. People should know what they look like -- sometimes people just think they're bumblebees. Best to respond early. If you have the big males hovering around, it means you already have an infestation. Forget the males -- they are not your problem. The problem is the females burrowing in. They will dig 1/2 inch deeper each year and make babies.

Spraying often does not work because it doesn't get into the burrows. But there's a great product for that -- called "bee butter" which is powdered permethrin (a low-risk bug killer) mixed into vaseline.

If you google "carpenter bee butter" you can find a guy from Alabama who sells bee butter in a nice big syringe-like device designed for squirting a dab into the bee burrows. You may need a ladder to get close to the holes, but it works. The holes are always visible and they will be near where the males are hovering, so that's a help.

You do not have to worry about being stung. Males can't sting -- they do their best to intimidate you, but they can't hurt you. The females have a bite but unless you stick your finger into the hole you don't have to worry about it. Just squirt in a little bee butter, the females die, and the males will go away because there is no nest to protect.

Actually it looks like he no longer sells bee butter, but you can make it yourself. You can buy permethrin powder and vaseline and just mix it.

this is what happened to the bee butter tboyer:

Brian's UPDATE: " Unfortunately, I just learned that they are no longer able to sell the Bee Butter. They had been selling it for five years without any problem, but the EPA, in their ultimate wisdom, decided that they need to resubmit it for review since they were mixing already approved ingredients. It would cost $40,000 PER STATE! Another government intervention that is limiting small business."

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ski and malanoce
I have built two decks and a set of steps and rails out of wood at my humble abode. Last year the Carpenter Bees just tore up my work (for those of you who don't know they tear huge holes in wood - they are unbelievably destructive). This year I have built and deployed five Carpenter Bee traps but I've not seen one C. Bee. Have any of the rest of you had this problem and do you see a major difference this year? Does anybody have an answer as to the difference in quantity of C. Bees year to year? I'm thanking you in advance for any inputs.
I use a bad mitten racquet, they hoover in front of you and are easy to swat. I keep it nearby and when I see one, it usually doesn't take long to get rid of him.........permanently.
 
Too bad about the bee butter guy but you can make it yourself. So you buy permethrin powder which you can get at any garden store and just mix it with vaseline in whatever proportions to accomplish a concentration of about 2 percent -- i.e.. doesn't have to be super powerful. You can just quirt the dust up directly, but it tends not to stick to the holes -- the vaseline mixture works much better. If you can't inject it you have to find some way of applying it up in the holes - maybe some kind of swab. It works extremely well and permethrin is actually quite safe for humans.
 
  • Like
Reactions: malanoce
Here in the hills of southeast Tennessee Wood Borer Bees can be a big problem. Many folks like log cabins here, we did not but we built a large all wood post and beam building that is Douglas Fir clad with white pine beams and some SPF joists and rafters, about 10,000 sf. Before we built it we sprayed the wood (mostly white board) except for the ground contact beams which set on the concrete piers with Boracare and Suspend SC. The Boracare was sprayed to help keep dry wings and other termites away from the wood and the Suspend SC to keep the Wood Borer Bees at bay before we stained or weather sealed it. The key was to soak non green board wood so that the product absorbed and time released the boron (50 year useful half life emissions I have read) and to hold the Suspend SC in the wood for insects that bore into the wood (Powder Post and wood borers) . Wood borer bees are more troublesome, they do not consume the wood or process it through their digestive system unlike powder posts do the borers just grind it up into saw dust which is left behind building a burrow for their eggs. They also like Green Board and have staged attacks on our barn and the decks at our business building (previously described) and the decks at our house. The not so useful in most cases Bee Butter solution (which really did not require govt approval as it was not a unique chemical but a mixture could have been continued to be sold like two part epoxy as there is nothing to test this way) was just not an option at our barn as in the case with most large all wood structures like log cabins. Why? Just think about it. Buy a portable power lift and have at buttering up the holes in a 10,000 square foot building. You go ahead and do it, I am not. There are other spray products other than Suspend SC (LamdaStar or FenvaStar or Syper WSP are a few) but they are not productive if they are not deeply absorbed into the wood. You can also dust with a residual dust product like Tempo Dust or Sevin)

As for the treated (green board decks) and structures like my barn, build or buy the traps, they work quite well. Soak any weathered part of the green board with Boracare plus and another product like Suspend SC and for any isolated bores if you get them mix a wood paste with permithrin and or spray the early bores with WD-40 as described above... remember to cut out sections that are bored, especially if you cannot see the end of the tunnel. We have purchased a few beautiful log cabins for rehabbing that have been riddled with wood borer tunnels. With those we used small hose spaying tubes and delivered the toxins deep into the borings and in a case or two cut out sections of log and replaced them if the borings were too deep.

ACT QUICKLY! The good news is that if you act quickly, they are no big deal and easily made to find wood elsewhere to bore. Get those traps; I have emptied pounds of dead borers from the traps each day on some projects. The borers have a reproductive cycle that is similar to locusts in a way and you may be swarmed one year and then not see them much for a while. Again, act quickly! The sooner you act the less work you encounter. Some here day that there are some wood stain and paint colors that attract the borer bees, I am not certain of this, but decks and log cabins that I have dealt with that have been attacked intensely have predominantly been a reddish brown clay color. Could just be coincidence though.

One fun thing to do is buy a cricket paddle of fashion one out of wood. If you are fighting an infestation, tee off on the bastards once in a while it will make you feel good. Good Luck with them Ya-All!
 
  • Like
Reactions: malanoce and bytir
I have built two decks and a set of steps and rails out of wood at my humble abode. Last year the Carpenter Bees just tore up my work (for those of you who don't know they tear huge holes in wood - they are unbelievably destructive). This year I have built and deployed five Carpenter Bee traps but I've not seen one C. Bee. Have any of the rest of you had this problem and do you see a major difference this year? Does anybody have an answer as to the difference in quantity of C. Bees year to year? I'm thanking you in advance for any inputs.
worse than the carpenter bees is the piloted woodpeckers that come and chisel out the bee tunnels and eat the bees/ larvae, The woodpeckers look like pterydatyls and can hang in all different directions on your wood and literally chisel out the been tunnels. Increases damage exponentially, but does take care of the bees!!
 
worse than the carpenter bees is the piloted woodpeckers that come and chisel out the bee tunnels and eat the bees/ larvae, The woodpeckers look like pterodactyls and can hang in all different directions on your wood and literally chisel out the been tunnels. Increases damage exponentially, but does take care of the bees!!

Delighted you mentioned the pesky woodprickers Steve G. I have vertical redwood siding and the peckers exposed the burrowed tunnels in the siding.

th
 
  • Like
Reactions: malanoce
My one deck was redwood, it was replaced with Wolman. The other I built with Wolman. End of CBs being around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: malanoce
I removed three tunnels and occupants from a Wolmanized joist and two Wolmanized handrails two weeks ago. I would not count on Wolmanized doing much with these critters. Additionally, my entire barn is Wolmanized wood. Before I treated it, I had to remove several sections of frame and some Wolmanized lap siding because of both bee and pecker damage..... good post about the peckers.....
 
I have built two decks and a set of steps and rails out of wood at my humble abode. Last year the Carpenter Bees just tore up my work (for those of you who don't know they tear huge holes in wood - they are unbelievably destructive). This year I have built and deployed five Carpenter Bee traps but I've not seen one C. Bee. Have any of the rest of you had this problem and do you see a major difference this year? Does anybody have an answer as to the difference in quantity of C. Bees year to year? I'm thanking you in advance for any inputs.

I was sweeping outside one day this spring when I felt a needle-like prick on a finger. Upon removing my hands from the broom handle I heard a buzzing sound and then a large bee fly off. Further inspection revealed a perfectly symmetrical hole bored in the handle.
 
Ok, I had to reply...I go out after dark with a flashlight. All the bees will be in their holes chewing away and since it's dark they will not come out. Use the light to illuminate the sawdust falling and it's very easy to find the holes. Either WD-40 or a Wasp and Hornet insecticide sprayed directly into the hole will take care of the problem.
 
I use a bad mitten racquet, they hoover in front of you and are easy to swat. I keep it nearby and when I see one, it usually doesn't take long to get rid of him.........permanently.

Alternatively you could use a flamethrower. Guaranteed to solve your problem.:)
 
Sevin Dust or Sevin Spray does the trick...recommended to me by a PSU entomologist (sp?)
 
Great info! I'll be a lot less cautious with the tennis racket knowing that the hovering bees can't sting.

My neighbor claims that hanging a large paper bag fixed his bee problem. He said it makes them think it's a bee hive. Not sure if there's any truth to this yet.
 
Great info! I'll be a lot less cautious with the tennis racket knowing that the hovering bees can't sting.

My neighbor claims that hanging a large paper bag fixed his bee problem. He said it makes them think it's a bee hive. Not sure if there's any truth to this yet.


Except that carpenter bees don't have hives.
 
Sevin Dust or Sevin Spray does the trick...recommended to me by a PSU entomologist (sp?)

I tried dusting solutions but was not effective in my case with bees in the eaves of a house. Sevin dust/spray tends not to work because you can't effectively get it up in the burrows where the females are hanging out.
If you're working with Sevin, you have to mix the dust with something that will stick to the burrow and to the female when she comes out. I would make bee butter with sevin and k-y jelly and then find a way to inject it.

Foaming bee spray MIGHT work because it will deliver some lingering poison up into the hole.

I have tried and I'm not a fan of the bait and bottle solutions either -- you can fill bottles with bees which makes you feel good, but the females are going to continue boring holes in your wood.

The tennis racket solution may make you feel good but it's ineffective because your problem is the females in the burrows, not the males that are buzzing around. You can kill all the males you like, and if there are still females in the burrows, they will simply attract a new set of male bees. Remember your goal is not to kill bees per se, it's to get the bees out of your wood.

To solve the problem you HAVE to kill the bees in the burrows and then poison the burrows in a way that bees won't go back in the following year. Even filling the burrows doesn't work that well without poison because the bees are good at digging out whatever caulk or putty you put in the holes.

These are nasty, tough bugs and they won't go away easily. That said you don't have to panic if you don't remove them immediatley -- they will only drill about 3/4 of an inch each year so it's 3 years usually before they're doing structural damage.
 
I tried dusting solutions but was not effective in my case with bees in the eaves of a house. Sevin dust/spray tends not to work because you can't effectively get it up in the burrows where the females are hanging out.
If you're working with Sevin, you have to mix the dust with something that will stick to the burrow and to the female when she comes out. I would make bee butter with sevin and k-y jelly and then find a way to inject it.

Foaming bee spray MIGHT work because it will deliver some lingering poison up into the hole.

I have tried and I'm not a fan of the bait and bottle solutions either -- you can fill bottles with bees which makes you feel good, but the females are going to continue boring holes in your wood.

The tennis racket solution may make you feel good but it's ineffective because your problem is the females in the burrows, not the males that are buzzing around. You can kill all the males you like, and if there are still females in the burrows, they will simply attract a new set of male bees. Remember your goal is not to kill bees per se, it's to get the bees out of your wood.

To solve the problem you HAVE to kill the bees in the burrows and then poison the burrows in a way that bees won't go back in the following year. Even filling the burrows doesn't work that well without poison because the bees are good at digging out whatever caulk or putty you put in the holes.

These are nasty, tough bugs and they won't go away easily. That said you don't have to panic if you don't remove them immediatley -- they will only drill about 3/4 of an inch each year so it's 3 years usually before they're doing structural damage.
When the pros came to kill my bees they used a rubber bulb syringe and SHOT the dust up in the holes.
 
Told them that above. Not one hole in my decks or picnic table. If they have photos showing holes in Wolman, they're full of crap.
No your full of crap....

I repair wolmanized lumber with wood borers every week.

In fact..... we treated 6 joists on a deck today and 2 joists in a wolmanized barn at the same property where the barn was humming. The barn was built in 2008 and some of the borer bees have tunnels in the wolmanized joists that took over 24 inches of tubing into the wood borer tunnel where the tunnel diverged into web of tunnels meaning several years of reproduction.... Wolmanized telephone poles also are infested by wood borer or carpenter bees....

Here from the university I attended... and perhaps one you visited ....
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpenter-bees

BTW People here ask questions that deserve an honest and respectful answer.
 
No your full of crap....

I repair wolmanized lumber with wood borers every week.

In fact..... we treated 6 joists on a deck today and 2 joists in a wolmanized barn at the same property where the barn was humming. The barn was built in 2008 and some of the borer bees have tunnels in the wolmanized joists that took over 24 inches of tubing into the wood borer tunnel where the tunnel diverged into web of tunnels meaning several years of reproduction.... Wolmanized telephone poles also are infested by wood borer or carpenter bees....

Here from the university I attended... and perhaps one you visited ....
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpenter-bees

BTW People here ask questions that deserve an honest and respectful answer.


If they don't take care of the decks, powerwash and treat, yes problems. Mine have had no problems going on 12 years.

Graduated, not visited. Why are you worked up? I didn't say you were full of crap, but the website(s). I saw pics there of badly neglected Wolman. yes, you'll have problems.
 
I had a new split rail fence built last spring and they quickly dug about 5 holes (plus two in the deck). Foaming spray worked well. I sprayed it a few times to make sure I filled and killed the larvae. I never caulked up the fence holes after but kept an eye on them and there was no activity in them this year. I did notice one new hole that I'll spray this weekend, but other than that, nothing. I haven't seen nearly as many this year. You have to be careful with caulking without killing, as they can dig their way out.
 
I have built two decks and a set of steps and rails out of wood at my humble abode. Last year the Carpenter Bees just tore up my work (for those of you who don't know they tear huge holes in wood - they are unbelievably destructive). This year I have built and deployed five Carpenter Bee traps but I've not seen one C. Bee. Have any of the rest of you had this problem and do you see a major difference this year? Does anybody have an answer as to the difference in quantity of C. Bees year to year? I'm thanking you in advance for any inputs.

I had two carpenter bees nests earlier in the season. Sprayed 'em both down with Spectracide and haven't seen any since.
 
ADVERTISEMENT