May
Category: 
Author: admin
Carpenter Bee
I don’t know if any of you have ever had to deal with these guys. If you have then you would know. They look like an ordinary bee THAT JUST ATE A HORSE. I don’t know how these bees fly around because they look too big and fat to be able to fly. But that is not what makes these bees so special. It is their ability to DRILL A PERFECTLY ROUND HOLE in the eaves of your home, garage, trees, stairs, swing sets…anything made of wood. They make their holes so that they can have a place to live that is dry and where they can lay their eggs so there can be more little carpenter bees to drill more holes in your stuff and lay more eggs, and so on and so on.
Carpenter Bee Hole
Here’s what a carpenter bee hole looks like. I have a hard time making a hole that looks that nice with my carbide drill bit! The first thing that you need to know is that the bees DO NOT EAT THE WOOD. Could you imagine the damage that these guys could do if they feasted on the wood? There wouldn’t be a structure left standing in the Houston area. Thank the Lord that these guys only dig deep enough to make themselves a home and are kind enough to leave you with the rest of yours to enjoy. Never the less, they do create a COSMETIC ISSUE for sure, and if they become too abundant, then you could run into some structural issues. Here are a couple of solutions we are trying with varying results:
- SOAPY WATER – This works on all bees. The soap sticks to their little hairs and prevents them from flying
- WD-40 – Stick the straw right into the Carpenter Bee hole and give it a squirt. The live bees get a lethal dose of lubricant and it should still work for a few days for any bees that were out-and-about. It WILL NOT saturate into the eggs if there are any there, so same problem next season.
- Expanding Foam – The objective is to shut down the hole and limit the air supply for anything left in there. The only way we’ll know if this worked is if we DON’T see any new holes drilled out from the inside.
- Professional Exterminator…when in doubt call a pro that can give you a guarantee!
- If none of that works, then here is a guy that says he’s got the answer. Check it out.
Tags: bee control, bee extermination, carpenter bees, houston pest control