Black Yellow Wood boring bees
I have need of a solution to stop the boring of pinkie finger diameter holes in my LOG HOME! These large black yellow wood boring bees are eating my home! The overhangs are at their mercy. They even attack the sides at certain places. How can I stop them. I cannot spray any chemicals as I have Koi and Honey Bee Hives nearby. I have resorted to a giant flyswatter. A bamboo pole about 8 ft. long with a badminton racket hose clamped to it. It works but a lucky hit is random. When the bees hit it or when I hit the bees with it, a pong like sound is heard and they hit the ground. Most of the time they are dead. Sometimes stunned, then I step on them. Now they are foraging on my garden tubs where the Anise Herbs are full of pollen. I barehandedly smash them. This is very fruitful, as I have a 99% kill rate. But they will be back in the spring to start drilling again. Anyone got a solution? Is there any animal that eats them? Bird or? Bats? I have never seen anything eat them. They have one big boring mouth, powerful enough to bore through my pine logs. But no stinger! I have never been bitten or stung. Any Ideas? I think they can sting but rarely do so. I don't know how you will go about getting rid of them without insectide. I kill them by any means possible - even with carb cleaner . . They say you need to squirt an insectcide powder into the hole and then seal it up with a wooden dowel - otherwise they return to the same spot next year. if possible give them something else to use for their nests, they are very good pollinators in nature. i have read about things to attract them but i am blank on where i read it. might have been organic gardening. life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies I have them by the thousands, well maybe 30 or 40.lol They are in a small shed out back. I have found that if you put pieces of mothballs in the holes. That seems to work. They haven't come back. (so far) On a side note. It keeps the moths away too. Travis Triumphman, sounds like carpenter bees. Only the females have stingers but are usually too busy to sting. They are very curious and will often hover around a person's face. They are quite docile. You will need to seal the wood with something. http://unexco.com/carpbees.html Newt The threat is not so much being stung as what they are doing to your home. These holes are great places for dryrot and other fungus to start. Fungus can do serious damage to your home. You'll need to plug the holes and implement some sort of pest control program. Boric acid is extremely toxic to fish, but lasts a long time as well if you home has no weatherproofing or paint on the outside. If it does have either of those, I like the idea of mothballs in the holes and then wood putty on the outside. Carpenter Bees. Dang em. I got them too. They love to bore holes in my porch columns. I spray them with wasp spray and they fall out of the holes. Nearly dead when they hit the ground. Not sure about a long term solution. But if you can find all the holes, use the wasp spray (with straw attached). Spraying at night was mentioned in an earlier link someone posted on this thread and is good advice. They are pretty active in the day, but in the holes at night from what I can see. I am hoping if I keep killing them, they will quit coming back. But this is my first year in this home so the jury is out. Have had those pesky devils..... Don't have them any more.... According to the county extention agent, they keep coming back to a place they've been before. The trick is getting rid of the ones that are near you and their offspring.... My wife and I were bee whacking for two years.......We spend all day,,,,,,for three days....each year ....they start to come back in the spring....They seem to prefer an actual area within about 20' rather than just randomly anywhere The wacker was a piece of 1/4 plywood about 4 wide nailed to a lightweight stick of cedar.....It was the only thing we found would decrease their population. Even Yard Guard was something that I could see them actually laughing at and I think they were putting it on their sandwiches for seasoning. Haven't had any more for the last two years....... Puff insecticide powder into holes at dusk. The insecticide gets carried through the tunnels by bees. Wait a couple days and seal the holes. Additionally, a tennis racket works well for knocking down bees so that they can be stepped on. .... and I seen somewhere [maybe harbor frieght] where they had a battery powered tennis racket that would fry them when you hit them Newt is right, only the female can sting but she rarely does. New c-bees will invade each year because of the exposed wood. Adults may overwinter in abandoned holes near the ones they just constructed (or destructed) but often fly away to create new chambers in the spring. For details on treat check out Carpenter Bees | Pest Cemetery It does take some bravery because they look and sound so menacing. It can be done however and I hope this will help. Good Luck
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