Carpenter Bees

[RobRightmyer]

Is there an easy way to get rid of these or should I just ignore them? They are burying into an old structure I have.

Thanks for any insight,
Rob

 

[kcm.MN]

If possible, try to protect your structure(s) rather than trying to kill the bees. Carpenter bees are very good pollinators. Same with Bumblebees. In fact, Bumblebees can pollinate plants that Honey Bees cannot.

Another nice thing is, Carpenter Bees are native -- not "imported" from far-away lands. ...You'd be killing native Americans. *lol* (yeah, I know....bad joke)

 

[rrlund]

Somebody said once to spray an insecticide in the holes then quick take a grease gun and pump the holes full of grease. Never tried it myself but should. They are in the garage and the vehicles are always covered in yellow dust from them boring.

 

[Butch(OH)]

We have an infestation on our back porch,
I don't like poisening bees, I'd like
them to move on. We tried the traps and
that didn't work. We have whacked 100a of
them with a tennis racket hoping the rest
would get the idea but that doesn't work.
New strategy I just found out us that
they hate certain essential oils, wife is
into that so I am going to spray sone
around and see what happens.

 

[John T]

I had a gazillion of them in the farm home where I lived 40 years and bought some cheap wooden Borer Bee Traps on Flea Bay that used plastic
water bottles as the container AND THEY WORKED GREAT AND CAUGHT A TON OF BEES.

John T

 

[Jim Phelps]

True but if you don't do something they will bring a pole barn down in a few years.

 

[glennster]

butch, i dont know if this will work for carpenter bees, but it works on honey bees to move them out of the supers when harvesting honey. it wont hurt them, they just think it stinks bad. honey b gone, bee quick, and honey bandit are a few products. a couple of them smell bad, so check before ordering.
poke here

 

[Ellis Kinney]

I hired a kid from church to help me and in One afternoon we covered the purlins and trussed with window screen. Used a staple gun. Also hung bee traps from
the trusses. Ellis

 

[Dennis P]

I went online and got a pattern for a trap made out
of a piece of 4x4 and a mason jar. You have to drill
holes int wood and jar lid. Hole size matters. Look it
up, I was amazed at how many it collected.

 

[DoubleO7]

https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=1433121&highlight=bees

 

[Larry EC-OH]

Here is a link to the traps that I built. They do work.

Larry
Build Carpenter Bee Traps

 

[Tony in Bama]

I had them go after a newly-built garage a few years ago. I caught it early as they had only bored a few holes. I plugged them with steel wool; they
left the premises and never returned. If your situation is advanced beyond that approach, the bee traps do work well, provided it's a good design.

 

[Goose]

Hide their toolboxes.


Sorry, I couldn't resist it.

 

[ytr1903]

Larry,

I agree with you about the 4x4 bee traps. I made about 10 of them a couple of years ago, hung them around the outside of the house and let them do their job. I catch at least a hundred of them every season. Some traps have dozens of them in the trap and others may have only one or two. No more holes in the eaves.

Tom

 

[RobRightmyer]

(quoted from post at 09:26:11 06/03/20) Here is a link to the traps that I built. They do work.

Larry
Build Carpenter Bee Traps

Thanks the kids will enjoy this.

Once caught, where do I take them? Just Kidding...

 

[AZglide]

Okay. I resisted saying take away their tiny little hard hats and tool belts.

 

[Greg1959]

astroglide.....LOL!

 

[Bob Harvey]

And tiny beer cans !

 

[Texasmark1]

I had a long row of flowering shrubs one spring. CBs were all over the flowers. Drove right by the shrubs pushing them aside as I went. Bees were fat and
docile with nectar. I mounted a back pack 4 gallon sprayer on a riding mower that mows no more and is my "Gator-ette". Buy the Bayer all purpose
insecticide at Lowers and work them over. Finally, after a couple of decades, they aren't around here any more. Maybe see 1 or 2 now and then. 42 year
old barn has so many holes you'd think it was Swiss Cheese.