Carpenter Bee problems anyone?

I have had battles with carpenter bees for years.Would manage to kill a few and constantly had holes bored in rafters with bee sawdust dropped down into my boat.Would use silicone sealant in their holes at night to furnish them an early grave.While looking through farm n garden on craig's list found an ad for carpenter bee traps.

There are lots of trap plans online

Basically you build a wooden box and attach a pint or quart jar to the bottom.There are holes in the sides and bottom of the box going to the jar.Bee goes in the hole in the box.sees light in the bottom,goes into jar and cannot get out.



You tube has carpenter trap videos

Good Luck

I spray the areas on my deck that they like with wasp spray. They leave it alone for along time.

We had them bad too once. If before you seal the whole off spray anything with aresol into the whole that will also kill them so they dont just eat threw the back and escape.Thet are horrible to get rid of.

There is a insecticide sold at the feed stores called Taurus SC that's supposed to kill them plus ants and termites Google it for more info.

Besides the traps online carpenter bee information tells you to treat their preferred boring areas with a spray of liquid containing Cayenne pepper .That really was not very practical as I figured my problem would only be relocated ,not solved.The traps catch n kill them very well.
In the garage rafters I've for several years used a caulk gun with silicone to fill the holes and entomb the buggers.As the silicone cures it exudes acetic acid and I have never seen any escape holes.My rafters are some of the most colorful you'll ever see as they have clear,white,red,and black bee bore hole plugs.....
I have given the bees massive doses,at close range,of wasp n hornet spray and it only temporarily slows them down .
Carpenter bees have consumed several hours of my life .They at times made me feel about like Bill Murray in Caddyshack with the gophers.The traps are a completely valid solution .Try it if you need it (have carpenter bees),or disregard it if you do not.I offered the suggestion to hopefully help others with the problem.....

We have a old very large tobacco barn close to our house and in the spring they are in it by the dozens. I hate to see it get riddled with holes but there's very little I can do that would make a difference. I may try a couple of those traps.

Go here and read....... https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/Carpenter_Bees.htm

Hey "G",
Thanks for the info.Looks like the bees days r numbered.The traps in the link are way too expensive for me at $24.The ones I have made might have cost $4 in materials and they do work good.Thanks again for the info...

I used one of those wooden traps on our deck this spring for the first time and we caught about eight of them which I'm guessing had to be about the entire population on one small deck. I didn't know what to really expect but I couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

I've used one of those bee traps with the mason jar on the bottom, it didn't work for me on my deck, but I've seen them other places just full of those darn bees. Wife read about filling a gray plastic shopping bag like from wally world with other plastic bags and tying it up and then hanging the stuffed gray bag in close proximity to where the carpenter bees hang out/bore/nest. The carpenter bees see the plastic grey bag and think it is a hornets nest and they move on as hornets will kill carpenter bees.

The gray bag has been up for a couple weeks and have not seen a carpenter bee in about 2 weeks.

Those guys will bore in inch and a half or two inches then they turn 90° and may bore up to 2-3 feet with chambers branching off to store pollen and eggs in. They can do some serious damage.

98 percent if the time the ones in my garage go from the bottom of 2x8 straight up .If they don't get in a trap within a day or two of boring I visit them at night with the caulk gun silicone......The decks I have seen bored were also usually from the bottom up also.

I used traps and cut up stainless scouring pads and shoved it in every hole on my porch. Ain't seen a carpenter bee or caught 1 since last year!