# Carpenter Bees



## cwelte (Feb 15, 2008)

I'm in trouble. I've got carpenter bees that love to eat out soffit. Does anyone know of a good repellent that I can use? Painting is not an option and the wood has already been stained. 










We had pest control spray the powder in the holes last year, but that only killed them when they entered/exited the holes. I want them to look elsewhere.


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## Mike Swearingen (Mar 15, 2005)

I have an untreated, unpainted cypress "barnboard" exterior on my home and pressure-treated wood decks, and the carpenter bees love it. I've tried a number of insect poison sprays, all to no avail.
I finally just spray wasp-and-hornet poison in the holes made be the female carpenter bees, and shoot a little clear silicone caulk in after it to seal the holes. 
Woodpeckers love to tear up the cypress after those bees and their larva, and they do far more damage than the bees.
It's an ongoing battle. Maybe someone can help us solve the problem.
Mike


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## skymaster (Jun 6, 2007)

Aluminum :{ You could also try putting up signs in Mexican telling of a big new development that way all the carpenters will run over there looking for NEW work :}:}


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## mark942 (Feb 2, 2008)

I live in a log home.This product http://www.blairstowndistributors.com/nbs-30.php to treat wood,More of a prevent than a get rid of product.If you already have bee`s then put Drione dust www.domyownpestcontrol.com/drione-dust-p-167.html the holes.There is a applicator www.domyownpestcontrol.com/hand-duster-p-106.html
to put the dust in the holes.When applying the dust to the holes the male will swoop you.No worries there he doesnt have a stinger.BUT the female has a stinger and a pretty mean bite.Once you have applied the dust it is just a matter of time before the male/female ingest the dust and track it back to the larva den, also killing the larva.Once a Carpenter Bee den has been evacuated of the bee`s use a wood filler or spackle, or in my case I took elmers glue and shavings to create a filler to fill in the hole.Do not fill in the hole prior to the bee`s dying or evacuating the nest.They will just bore another exit and create more damage.If left untreated the nest can range from a couple of feet to over five feet in length and will attract as mentioned "Woodpeckers" also making this much worse.The other prevent is to paint every thing.Siding will not keep them from attacking your home.It will just keep the areas of attack hidden from sight.Hope this helps out.Good luck.
This is a good read http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/carpenter-bee-control-a-31.html


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

any other info ??? Oh a tennis racket is fun :thumbsup:


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## cwelte (Feb 15, 2008)

I've got 21 kills to date with the plastic racket...
I'm looking at thrift stores to see if I can get a badminton racket. I think they have longer reach. (I swear those *$&%*ers taunt me!)

All my neighbors have the same problem with the bees. If I didn't have an issue with heights, I'd be up there doing it myself. I can reach the lower eavers, but the others are way too high for my comfort level. So unfortunately, I think I have to hire someone.


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

how is your swing coming :laughing::laughing:


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## cwelte (Feb 15, 2008)

Swing is good, thanks! (32+ kills to date.)

Actually, I found a local company that will come out and spray our eaves every other month with an organic pesticide (I use that term very loosely) that so far [touch wood] the bees haven't returned. It's a derivative of tree saps and other organic plant oils that the bees really don't like.


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

cwelte said:


> Swing is good, thanks! (32+ kills to date.)
> 
> Actually, I found a local company that will come out and spray our eaves every other month with an organic pesticide (I use that term very loosely) that so far [touch wood] the bees haven't returned. It's a derivative of tree saps and other organic plant oils that the bees really don't like.


Hmmmmmmmmm sounds like a DIY project :thumbsup:


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## ocoee (May 31, 2007)

Tempo WP
Demon WP or Demand CS are all good product against Carpenter Bees

They are synthetic Pyrethrins that will last a couple months at least

I have used them for years with great results, also keeps spiders down


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

ocoee said:


> Tempo WP
> Demon WP or Demand CS are all good product against Carpenter Bees
> 
> They are synthetic Pyrethrins that will last a couple months at least
> ...


where to buy ?????????


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## mark942 (Feb 2, 2008)

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/demon-wp-insecticide-p-74.html


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## nacko (Jan 29, 2008)

try vinyl siding/metal fascia/vinyl soffit


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## ocoee (May 31, 2007)

Again sorry for the delays in answering

I find most of the chemical we use at Home Depot or Lowes
Probably at Walmart also


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

ocoee said:


> Again sorry for the delays in answering
> 
> I find most of the chemical we use at Home Depot or Lowes
> Probably at Walmart also


what brand names ???


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## kadgar (Sep 1, 2007)

*bees*

racket worked and also a shop vac with long extensions. If I plugged a hole, they ate right through it.


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

kadgar said:


> racket worked and also a shop vac with long extensions. If I plugged a hole, they ate right through it.


:thumbsup:


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

any new product info ???


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## Big Bob (Jul 27, 2007)

sevin dust made into paste or putty.. pack the holes you can reach

I covered openings with matching caulk.. 

Hard to reach area's .... stole my kids (shoots 30' pump squirt gun)...
solution of sevin dust in H2O... 

appears have worked... didn't get a call back...:thumbsup:

Had to buy the kid a new squirt gun.


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## FrankTheTorontoRealtor (Jul 23, 2008)

*You Guys are Hillarious*

Have you ever heard of bug b gone?

Well they make something called BuG-B-Gone-Max and it will kill anything even you if your not careful :no: just kidding. Seriously this stuff is nasty and will leave a strong residue that lasts a long time after. 

I'm not sure if it would stain the untreated wood so you might want to try a spot check.

Only down side is that your tennis game skills may drop off :thumbsup:

Good luck with that, I just had a similar problem. $7.95 and a little cauking and I was done with them in 48 hours.


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

i need to look into it:thumbsup:


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## FrankTheTorontoRealtor (Jul 23, 2008)

*I still have the empty can*

The stuff is called Ortho Bug-B-Gon-Max to be exact.

It will shoot a spray about 10 feet so you don't need to be that close to them when you attack. I'm sure you are aware that bee's will track you by fallowing your breath and when you use this stuff you don't want to be breathing anyway.:huh:

Frank


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## comp (Jan 14, 2008)

FrankTheTorontoRealtor said:


> The stuff is called Ortho Bug-B-Gon-Max to be exact.
> 
> It will shoot a spray about 10 feet so you don't need to be that close to them when you attack. I'm sure you are aware that bee's will track you by fallowing your breath and when you use this stuff you don't want to be breathing anyway.:huh:
> 
> Frank


i'm not seeing mine,,,,guess they hear me coming :laughing:


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## Ghalt (Aug 14, 2008)

I'm stuck using a badminton racquet, too.

Fun, but not as permanent.


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## Bugzilla (Aug 2, 2008)

I agree Demon WP is good. Drione dust in the holes is another option.


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## cwelte (Feb 15, 2008)

*Update*

I thought I'd follow up with an update on how this treatment is doing. Well, so far, it's been working great. Even the mud wasps don't like to build nests on our house anymore. It took a few treatments (spaced weekly) before the bees really stopped coming by. For the rest of the summer, the crew just came by every other month. Spring is just beginning here in VA so we'll see what happens when the days really start to heat up and the little @#%$#rs try to come back.

Now I just need to find a good painter that can go up there and plug up those holes and re-stain my roof. (I'd normally do it myself, but I'm really not good with heights.)


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## Engloid (Nov 14, 2010)

ocoee said:


> Tempo WP
> Demon WP or Demand CS are all good product against Carpenter Bees
> 
> They are synthetic Pyrethrins that will last a couple months at least
> ...


You can get this stuff in a concentrate, on amazon. I bought some a while back. It kills just about any bug, based on the directions.


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