Carpenter bees

[Scoutman]

For anyone in the South that has built their own log cabin. How bad have the carpenter bees been to the logs? Preventive measures?

[Log Home Pioneer]

I dont know about preventative measures but a caulk gun seals up there holes real well. Try and do it at night and youll get the bee while its inside. I have them in my woodshed, they are a pest and can do quite a bit of damage if left unchecked.

[Basil]

I'm in kentucky, so in may and june there is a constant buzzing sound everywhere. Since my logs are peeled rather than shaped, the bees never drill them. This surprised me. My wrap around porch, however, is constantly under attack. Dimensional lumber is much easier for them to bore into, because they don't have to go through that tough outer layer on wood that's been milled. Since the bees don't eat the wood, but rather bore in it, they attack treated, painted, and plain wood with equal vigor, so long as it smells and feels like wood. Thick, high quality paint tends to stop them, but needs a new coat every couple of years. I've been told that Sevin works, but have a hard time believing that it would last very long, and is toxic. Most of my treatments involve taking a yard-sale racquetball racket and sitting on the porch with some suds. When i hear buzzing, I splatter the bee. Make a game of it.

Seriously there are treatments that can be found, but it seems that most of them are for AFTER the bee has done the damage. I've yet to hear of a good way to keep the bees from boring into dimensional lumber, other than thick paint.

As for logs...I don't know if it's the size of my logs, the fact that they are peeled, the species (yellow poplar),the amount of easy to bore dimensional lumber in close proximity, or what, but I will occasionally find a spot where a bee attempted to bore into my logs. It will leave a depression about the size of a large pencil eraser, and maybe 2 millimeters deep. Then the bee gets tired of the work and never finishes the hole. My porch posts, made of cedar harvested off the farm and left in their original shapes, sprout new holes every year. So, as with any question about trying to control the natural world around us, YMMV.

I hope someone here DOES have a silver bullet solution for these pesky critters, although I do have fun smacking them with those rackets...

[Scoutman]

Suds and a racket

are the way I rid the world of them also. ;) Never thought about them being discouraged from drilling into the logs. Makes sense tho.

[Scoutman]

Any pics of your place on here Basil?

[BillnChristi]

Too funny, Basil.

[Art]

Funny you say silver bullet. being an avid hunter I sit out ther with my Ruger Mark I 22 pistol loaded with rat shot # 12 shot just a little bigger then a grain of sand but at 12 feet has a 3 to 5 inch pattern them little raskels hover near ther holes in late afternoon just long enough to draw a beed. My best was 35 in one day. Bee season

[rreidnauer]

Spray cans of brake/carb cleaner works really good. They drop out of the sky like rocks in about 2 seconds after contact. Makes for a fun game, however, not very environmentally friendly. :-)

But on a more serious note: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page259.html

[hammerhead 67]

I saw where some outfit makes a bee trap for carpenter bees. Looks kinda like a tiny moonshine jug with a hole in the bottle neck. Badminton racquet works better than tennis or racquetball. Less wind resistance for higher muzzle velocity. ;) I like the .22 #12 ratshot idea. Thinking of getting a bb gun for the same purpose.

[bmurphy96]

Don't know about poplar, but they do seem to like southern yellow pine. We have noticed them this year and they have bored two holes in my stained rafters (4 x 12's) and at least five holes in the bottom of logs. These are all borated and stained. Not sure what I am going to do about them as they are definitely a detriment to resale value :)

BTW, I use a long 1 x 2 as it makes for a more satisfying sound when you whack them into the next county. And gives you some dexterity practice as well. The most I have killed in one day is only three, but I am so busy working it's hard to get around to swinging at the critters although the more holes I find the more I swing. I have ordered some stuff to spray in the holes-- the adults spread it around and the larvae will end up with it on them and die as well.

Keith

[Mosseyme]

Build with Hemlock, I've not found any bee activity in logs or dimensional lumber cut for 4 years. Did find a 2 foot long 1 1/2 foot wide Bald faced hornet nest plastered down the back side of a lumber stack. Found that one by sound when we started to remove the tin from the top of the stack next to it and Gary yelled RUN!!

[Scoutman]

I took Art's advice and got some .22 rat shot. FUN!!

[drummer boy]

I was a bug man for 5 years in Arkansas. They love yellow pine due to the softness of the wood, however they will go after just about anything. Because they are flying insects they are nearly impossible to eradicate. High varnished items will slow them down, however this is not good on our log homes as these products tend to hold water/moister in. Most of their holes are drilled at angles under 90 degrees as to not fill with water. Because of this their holes hold Boric acid very well as this keeps it dry. The only problem here is the "damage" is already done. It is on a rare occasion. (I mean less than 1 in 1,000) that they do any real structural damage to a home. The only time I saw structural damage was when they were left unchecked under loose vinyl siding to populate. I can't imagine this happening on a log home because we are not covering our logs. I wish I could give a real answer to prevention other than painting the cabin and you don't want to do this.

[greenthumb]

I normally haven't seen a problem with them in yellow pine logs- they prefer cedar or even CCA treated lumber over the logs.

There are several traps available designed to catch the bees- http://www.carpenterbeetrap.net/
http://www.carpenterbeesolutions.com/

I built a trap similar to the carpenter bee solutions one, that matches a log home better. So far this week I have three bees in the trap, normally I don't have more than 2 hanging around at any given time. I just built it a few days ago, time will tell how well it works. When I get some time I'll try to post pictures of it in the members only forum.

[drummer boy]

Dude... That is a cool tool. Never seen anything like it.

[emersonelk]

Try those electric bug zappers that look just like a tennis racket from harbor freight.You get a loud crack when you hit one.Their cheap and just take a 9volt. We always have one on hand at elk camp,when your buddy is skinning and the yellow jackets are in the hundreds,they help.