CARPENTER BEE CONTROL
Carpenter bees are large yellow and black bees that nest in wood. Commonly found boring holes under soffits, overhangs and decks, carpenter bees will nest in these holes where they’ll store food and lay eggs.
If left untreated, carpenter bee activity will grow worse and worse every year. This happens because they return to where they were born and since each nest will typically produce 3-6 new females per year, growth can be rapid. And as their numbers grow, so too will the amount of damage they do when boring.
Once carpenter bee holes are located, you need to treat their nests with DRIONE DUST. This is a very special dust in that it will last a year or more making it vital to breaking the cycle.
After 2 days of dusting, seal the nests with CORKS only; DO NOT use expanding foam or any other compound. By leaving the nest void open behind the cork, you’ll be sure to break the cycle. This is critical because the developing bees deep in the nest must crawl through the dust when they hatch. If you seal the chamber with foam or caulking compound, they’ll have no choice but to drill new exit holes thus avoiding the dust. This in turn will enable them to continue their cycle along with their damaging drilling.
To prevent carpenter bees from drilling new holes for nests, spray CYPERMETHRIN on any exposed wood on the home they target. Treatments can be done as often as is needed; a good spraying will usually last at least 1-2 weeks.
When infestations are successfully treated and you wish to repaint the infested areas, add some NBS PAINT ADDITIVE to your choice of paint or stain. This organic insect repellent works great at repelling new bees from coming around and when added to the paint or stain prior to it’s application, the NBS will make the finish repellent to insects and last a year or more. NBS can also be mixed with water and sprayed over wood where bees are active to help repel them. But when used this way, the residual won’t be long so expect to treat more frequently compared to using the Cypermethrin listed above. And NBS is not a pesticide so it won’t kill any of the bees; it’s merely an organic repellent.
Carpenter bees are a major pest throughout the United States and because we have so much information on their biology and how to treat local infestations, we have a separate website just for them that covers all you need to know.
For our complete article, go here: CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE
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Comments on CARPENTER BEE CONTROL
R.W. @ 9:12 am
Is there something that can be put in paint to keep the bees from drilling? Paint alone will not do it.
Tech Support @ 9:27 am
You are right. As our video above shows, carpenter bees will readily drill through painted wood. For the best long term protection, add NBS to your paint prior to painting. And spraying the finished coat with the Cypermethrin when the bees get active will also help.
NBS Repellent: http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin