As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, these bees don’t really discriminate when it comes to wood. Picnic tables are commonly made from pine, redwood and cedar and all three will be drilled out and bored into for nesting if left untreated. Fortunately there are some sprays available to stop the damage and nests from forming.

If you intend on painting or staining these tables anytime soon, be sure to add some of the NBS INSECT REPELLENT to your choice of finish. This treatment will last 1-2 years and will stop wood destroying pests from trying to use your tables for nests. NBS isn’t a pesticide so it won’t kill anything. It only works as a repellent. Another product you can spray is the CYPERMETHRIN. This product is a pesticide and as such will last at least a month and it will effectively repel and kill any insects coming in contact with treated surfaces. So these are the two options we suggest both of which can help keep boring bees away.

However, as explained in our article, you’ll first need to dust active nests with DRIONE before spraying. This is critical as the spray alone will not take care of the problem; it’s really only used to repel the bees and stop new nests.

Here are direct links to the products and information mentioned above:

Carpenter Bee Control:  http://www.carpenterbees.com/carpenter-bee-control

Insect Repellent:  http://www.non-toxic-pest-control.com/repellents/nbs-repellent-insect-spray

Cypermethrin:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page259.html

Drione: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page256.html

We appreciate your site and product list and want to see if you have what we need. Last Summer, we had a bee keeper come and remove our honey bees and honey from an eve that extends about one foot out from our house. The bees are gone, but we want to make sure that they don’t come back and have heard that their pheromones will attract more if any of the hive is left behind. What remains of the combs are very much stuck to the eve and we don’t want to have to tear the whole thing down. Could one of your products be used to coat the remaining comb with so it won’t attract any more bees? If not, do you have ant suggestions?

With much appreciation,

G.&W.

Spraying the remaining comb with some CYPERMETHRIN will prevent other bees from finding it interesting. The Cypermethrin is highly repellent to bees and they’ll readily stay away from treated surfaces. We sell a lot of it for Carpenter Bees and it’s fine to apply on the eve or side of your home. You can use a good PUMP SPRAYER or even a HOSE END SPRAYER for the application. And though winter isn’t quite over yet, it soon will be so be sure and treat before the bees arrive!

Here are direct links to all the products listed above:

http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page259.html

http://www.gotosprayer.com/sprayers/pump-sprayers/one-gallon-solo-hd

http://www.gotosprayer.com/sprayers/hose-end-sprayers/gilmour-six-gallon-hose-end-385

Kill carpenter bees is easy to do. The problem is whether you will be stopping them. For a quick kill, get the Wasp Freeze as it’s fast acting and kind of fun to use. But as our carpenter bee control article explains, you really must treat the nest if you wish to get to the root of the problem. I suggest you spend some time trying to learn where they might be nesting and then go after them there with the Drione. This will prove to be a better approach in getting long term carpenter bee control.