Carpenter Bees!

[Huzrjim]

I can also vouch for Carpenter Bees coming back after a fresh coat of paint. Maybe not the first year, but now that the paint is three years old, they are back in force. The worse problem is the woodpeckers making a horizontal cut following the bee tunnels to get the larvae. So every year, need to get on the ladder and patch holes, woodpecker gouges and repaint. Goes with the territory of living in the country.

 

[amboy49]

I swear by these, they work. Look carefully and you can make your own with two used water bottles and a scrap board in about 5 minutes. I catch at least two every spring and never have any problems with them. (you only catch the females, so you stop the offspring)

Carpenter Bee Trap - Pestmall

The female sees the hole and thinks its a place to lay eggs. she gets into the hole and drops down into the bottle. She spends the rest of her life trying to fly through the clear plastic.

ETA: my mom had them SWARMING Dad's workshop that he didnt finish before he passed away, as well as my late Grandmother's empty house next door. I put up three of those traps (two on the shop, one at Grandma's) with DOZENS of them flying around the flowers and many checking ME out as I worked. Within two years I would only see them periodically. Mom HAD an infestation.

I’ve built a couple of those. Have never caught a damn one in them. Can’t believe they are charging $23 for one.

 

[churchmouse]

We go to war with them every year. Since we built the covered deck they attack it in force. Last count we ended 25 on them here.

The wood structures on the playground at the church I take care of is a breeding ground for them. I have dropped near 50 over there.

 

[bigretic]

Tennis racketed 3 of them tonight at my dad's place. Caulked the holes after. Looks like they were caulked a few years ago (they just bought the place in September) and the bees pulled the caulk out of the holes...

 

[Nazgul]

Nice! What's the trick to loading the rice/keeping it in the casing? Wax? Paper? And how loud is the report? I'd love to be able to sit on my deck with a .22 revolver and shot shells, but I'm not sure my neighbors would be too crazy about it. Squirting them with wasp and hornet spray isn't nearly as satisfying, and it makes a mess. I just had to fill some of the holes they've drilled in my deck rafters the other day.

I load about 5 grains Red Dot in a sized, primed case. Put in a wad cut from thick paste board. Or 2 wads if it is thin. Compress them on the powder with hand pressure, fill with rice, another wad seal with Duco Cement. Hot glue or white glue works but both are messy.

No real noise, earplugs not needed. Safety glasses a MUST! The rice rebounds from anything solid. They work well within 4 feet of the bees, 3 feet are clean kills. Blew some pieces off a big bee today and he flew straight at me! Blasted him again within arms reach.

My wife tried her hand and got one first shot.

Don

 

[Punkinhead]

[video=youtube_share;f-6SzYGkxPg]https://youtu.be/f-6SzYGkxPg[/video]

 

[patience0830]

Amateurs.

This is the tool for the job.

 

[patience0830]

I’ve built a couple of those. Have never caught a damn one in them. Can’t believe they are charging $23 for one.

My traps work great. Never catch all of them though.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I just built another trap tonight after seeing one destroying a newish treated 4x4. Wife saw her fly into one of the holes LITERALLY as I was screwing the mounting eye into the trap to finish it so I could trap her. I sprayed the hole with wasp killer then stuffed it with 0000 steel wool just in case.

I still hung the trap just in case. I catch about 2 a year when I place them.

 

[rhino]

Ah, I didn't know that. I'd noticed that while the wasp spray does work, it sure doesn't knock them down very quick. Still won't be as much fun as shooting them would be. I haven't seen any back for a couple of days, so I don't think I have a major population at least.

What brand of wasp spray? I've used an entire can drenching several, individual carpenter bees in flight and all it did was make them stutter and slow down briefly. It killed zero.

 

[churchmouse]

What brand of wasp spray? I've used an entire can drenching individual carpenter bees in flight and all it did was make them stutter and slow down briefly. It killed zero.

I use a spray that Lowes sells in a white can with black lettering. You have to have a direct hit on the bee as the Gov has taken all the goody out of about everything these days but it does work.

 

[dudley0]

Use this, not wasp spray



https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spectracide-Carpenter-Bee-and-Yellow-Jacket-16-oz-Insect-Killer/3479819#

 

[Punkinhead]

Others have already mentioned it - use brake cleaner. They drop instantly.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

What brand of wasp spray? I've used an entire can drenching several, individual carpenter bees in flight and all it did was make them stutter and slow down briefly. It killed zero.

Using Spectracide right now, but I've used Raid too. Both seemed to work (or not) about the same.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Others have already mentioned it - use brake cleaner. They drop instantly.

The only drawback to that for me is that we have a lot of plants on and around the deck. Otherwise I'd definitely try it. I use it to clean cosmoline off old milsurp rifles when I get them and it does evaporate quickly with no mess.

 

[gregkl]

So, if you were going to buy something new, would you start with brake cleaner or the specifically made Carpenter Bee killer?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I made several Carpenter Bee traps after watching a Youtube video. Each one is a piece of 2X4 about 6" long. I drilled a hole about 3/4" diameter, in the center of one long edge, stopping about an inch from the opposite edge. Then I drilled a 1/2" hole starting from the bottom of each end-grain and angled up to meet the bottom of the 3/4" hole. I screwed the empty neck of a water bottle in the 3/4" and drilled a mounting hole for a deck screw at the top of the 2X4.

I have the traps in several locations on my house, but I only catch bees in the one that's on the hottest, sunny spot on the south-facing side. I'll catch several each day in the one trap every day that the bees are active.

Mine are like this one, except mine are made with 2X4 instead of 4X4.

 

[Punkinhead]

They're about the same price, so I buy brake cleaner since it has more than one use.

 

[rhino]

Using Spectracide right now, but I've used Raid too. Both seemed to work (or not) about the same.

I wish I could remember the brands I used in the past. I know I've tried Raid and Ace Hardware's brand and a few others for some casual carpenter bee sniping and none of them worked. Maybe the bees I sprayed were wearing ABC gear!

Now that I know that sprays specifically for carpenter bees exist, I'm not going to spend any time experimenting with different wasp & hornet spray brands!

 

[amboy49]

I saw a video by some guy who was using the Flex Seal spray. You know, the same stuff that is supposed to seal a bowling ball sized hole in a swimming pool ! He shot a stream at a bee and dropped it like a prom dress.