Carpenter Bees, great pollinators, destructive pests

[Clipper]

wibx950.com/how-to-get-rid-of-this-pesty-but-fascinating-wood-eating-insect/

Carpenter bees are a real problem here in the South. I deal with them every summer.

I take a 6 inch tall piece of softwood 4x4 and drill a 1/2 inch hole down through the center of it. I then drill 1/2 inch holes in each side of the block drilled on a 45 degree angle upward to meet the center hole. Then the lid of a canning jar with the same 1/2 inch hole drilled in the center of it is nailed to the bottom of the 4x4 block and a 4x4 piece of wood is nailed to the top to cover the hole in the top, and a screw eye is screwed into it to hang it with. Hang it near the infestation. Put some honey or other sweet substance in the bottom of the jar to draw the bees into the jar and screw the jar onto the lid attached to the bottom of the trap.

Are they really a problem in the CNY area? I was surprised to read the article on WIBX's page. In all the years I lived in NY I never saw or heard about carpenter bees. They really are prevalent here. My brother and sister in-law live in a 300K house in Kingsport. It had cedar clapboard siding and trim up until last summer. They were plagued with carpenter bees eating the siding and the woodpeckers took a fancy to the soffit and trim. They were really doing some extensive damage. They ended up replacing all the siding and trim with a hard composite clapboard siding and trim that is resistant to such damage. It is a large house. I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess at what it cost them to rid themselves of carpenter bees. If I see one, or see a hole in wood, I take a spray bottle of a strong vinegar solution and spray it liberally into the hole as recommended as a remedy. It kills both the adult bees and any eggs they may have laid in a nest in the wood. I hate having to kill or trap them. they are great pollinators and I see quite a few of them pollinating our flowers and garden plants. I have two traps hanging from the eaves of the carport and thus far this year I have only caught one and have found no new holes.

Every year I deal with them boring into the 4x4 posts holding up the carport, and into the rafters in the carport.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

If you catch them alive you can take a drive over the border in Virginia and set them free there. LOL

I hate bee's and Raid seems to work well......

[Clipper]

I HAVE caught them and relocated them but usually by the time I notice, they are dead.

[BHU]

I'm not bothered by bees at all & when I do see them I leave them alone. Their populations are dropping every year due to insecticide use, habitat loss & disease. If the trrend continues we're in trouble because they pollinate ALL crops. Wasps are a different matter & if I see a nest around here RAID comes out. I've never seen any carpenter bees around here.

Same thing with carpenter ants. A couple years ago I had to replace a wood window in my garage that wouldn't open. When I removed it I found a huge nest of the buggers which were all dead. They excavated the header, a wall stud & framing around the window. Turned into a real project. 

[Clipper]

So far we do well with assorted pollinating bees. We see plenty of honey bees in our garden and on the lawn. I over seeded the lawn one fall when we first moved here with clover and the bees love the blossoms. Carpenter bees are also plentiful and as long as they are not eating my carport I leave them alone. Everything else around here is encased in vinyl. We also have bumble bees. I found that out a couple years ago when I went to clean out a birdhouse and quickly and painfully found out why birds were not nesting in it. I only got stung twice but it was quite a while before they settled down enough to get close and spray the nest. I don't know if they actually swarm like honey bees but there was probably 10 or 12 of them buzzing angrily about.

My latest problem seems to be a few bare spots in the back lawn where the grass is deader than a door nail. I think I may have a grub problem. I hate to use the insecticide that you spread for grubs because of the dog. I probably will have to apply it when there is going to rain for a day or two (like right now,haha) and walk the dog on a leash or tie her out in the side yard until the back is safe. I usually take her out three or four times a day and she loves to run free in the back yard and play for 15 minutes or so.

I will probably wait until the day before we leave for vacation and spread it. It will have two weeks to dissipate while we are in NY on vacation.

[BHU]

Jun 11, 2021 13:18:04 GMT -5 Clipper said:

So far we do well with assorted pollinating bees. We see plenty of honey bees in our garden and on the lawn. I over seeded the lawn one fall when we first moved here with clover and the bees love the blossoms. Carpenter bees are also plentiful and as long as they are not eating my carport I leave them alone. Everything else around here is encased in vinyl. We also have bumble bees. I found that out a couple years ago when I went to clean out a birdhouse and quickly and painfully found out why birds were not nesting in it. I only got stung twice but it was quite a while before they settled down enough to get close and spray the nest. I don't know if they actually swarm like honey bees but there was probably 10 or 12 of them buzzing angrily about.

My latest problem seems to be a few bare spots in the back lawn where the grass is deader than a door nail. I think I may have a grub problem. I hate to use the insecticide that you spread for grubs because of the dog. I probably will have to apply it when there is going to rain for a day or two (like right now,haha) and walk the dog on a leash or tie her out in the side yard until the back is safe. I usually take her out three or four times a day and she loves to run free in the back yard and play for 15 minutes or so.

I will probably wait until the day before we leave for vacation and spread it. It will have two weeks to dissipate while we are in NY on vacation.

We've had grubs here which attract moles, that's what they eat. A few years ago we had a few which really did a job on our lawn. I found a product called Tomcat Mole killer which resembles a worm & is poison. The moles eat it & it's sayanara. It's outlawed in N.Y. but there are a few sellers on fleabay who will ship it here. It's the only product I've found that actually works.