If you are 100% sure these are carpenter bees, treating as explained in our article will take care of the problem. But since you say there are “so so many in there”, I’m thinking it must be another species. Is it possible they’re honey bees or even yellow jackets? Typically these “other” bee and wasp nests will have activity pretty much non stop during the day. In other words, if you watch that hole you said you see, you’ll notice a lot of bees or wasps coming in and leaving all the time. This will be happening continuously from the morning till the evening where as carpenter bee nests won’t have nearly as much activity. It just so happens that knowing which you have is very important when it comes to treating. As stated above, if it’s definitely a carpenter bee nest, treating it from the outside using their entrance/exit hole will be fine.

But if it turns out you have one of these other species, you’ll need to treat from inside the home through the wall where you hear them the loudest. Basically you’ll want to get a dust like DRIONE and puff it into the wall from the inside. This process will insure you get good coverage and in case you don’t hit the nest directly, you’ll scare them “out” inside of in.  Use a HAND DUSTER for the application and it will only take small holes to get the dust injected. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of treating from the outside. When it comes to honey bees or yellow jackets, this is very much the “wrong” way to treat and almost always creates a mess. In most cases the nest will not be killed by the first treatment and what members live after the initial dusting will attempt to create a new “main” entrance/exit hole. When doing this they will many times create this new hole directly into the home! For obvious reasons, this is bad.

We’ve got more detailed information posted in some articles and I suggest you read through them. After reading them, you’ll be better informed to decide if you want to do the treatment yourself or if you’ll want to get a professional to do the work. The good news is if you can hear them inside the home by listening to a section of the wall, you should be able to directly treat them from that same location. And this is by the best way to handle this kind of nest because the wall will act as your “shield”. This means if the wall is in tact and not soft or weakened by their nest, it will actually protect you from them once the treatment gets into their nest. Here the articles you should review:

Yellow Jacket Control:  http://www.bugspray.com/article/yellowjackets.html

Honey Bee Control:  http://www.bugspray.com/article/honeybees.html

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

After reading your message, I think its safe to say you have a carpenter bee problem. Now is it serious? No. And it’s something you can most definitely handle yourself so there is no need to call in an expensive service.
First, if you read our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL article, you’ll learn the ones you’re seeing are males. Basically they just hang around plants waiting for a female to come by. They don’t have stingers so they can’t hurt you but they will definitely buzz close to you over and over; this is their nature and basically it’s all they do all day long. The good news is female bees have no interest in people and they don’t hang around buzzing anything other than their nests and flowers when searching for food.

Second, in our article you’ll learn about two types of sprays that are typically applied to wood where bees are drilling. By treating the wood, you can prevent new holes from being drilled because bees hate these sprays. These two products can also be sprayed on plants to repel bees from the area. The stronger of the two is the CYPERMETHRIN. Use it on the plant just once and these annoying males will be gone. If they choose to linger, they’ll probably die. Since most insects can sense the presense of the Cypermethrin, it tends to do a good job repelling annoying wasps and bees without killing them unless they insist on landing on treated surfaces.

Alternatively you can spray the NBS INSECT REPELLENT. This organic concentrate won’t kill anything but like the Cypermethrin, it will repel bees and wasps. You’ll need to use this more aggressively meaning you’ll have to treat every week or two compared to the Cypermethrin which will last a lot longer.

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

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

Cypermethrin:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin

NBS Repellent:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz

CORKS are only needed to enable the DRIONE DUST to last as long as possible. In fact there is no doubt the Drione would solve your problem and even without corking the bee nests you’ll still get fairly long protection. Here’s why.

When treating carpenter bee nests out in the open, leaving the treated hole as is will allow lots of air flow which in turn will depreciate the treatment. Instead of 6-12 months of residual, you may only get 1-3 months. The corks can also serve as markers so you’ll know which nests have been treated, which ones still need to be dusted and which holes have been newly drilled.

When treating up under soffits, facia boards and other wood trim bees will sometimes access, it’s many times impossible to dust directly into their nests. But because many of these entry ways will be so well protected from you, they’ll also be well protected from the weather. In cases like this we’ve seen where dusting can last 3-6 months no problem and sometimes even longer. I suspect this would be the case in your situation.

In summary, there is no need for worry or concern about not being able to cork their holes. In fact, if you were to dust once in the spring and once in the fall, I’m sure you’ll be able to keep this pest under control and avoid costly damage to the rest of the house that’s sure to start if you allow the situation to continue. As the Drione video demonstrates, this dust is light and airy and only a little bit can go a long way at both killing and repelling carpenter bees. I’m sure any applied to the cracks and crevices you have in this wood trim area will do the job.

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

Corks:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page257.html

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

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

As you’ve either figured out based on your experience or from our website article, carpenter bees will use their nests as a place to overwinter or hibernate. You can read more about this behavior in our post here:

http://www.carpenterbees.com/how-to-treat/bees-in-house.html

Most of the time people with the problem you’re experiencing have no idea where the bees are coming from like the example in the post above details. In your situation, you’re well aware of the source. That’s a big head start and allows you to take matters into your own hand since you can literally move the “source” in or out of the home. As I see it, you have two options that are both practical and feasible.

1) Taking the coffee table back outside and leaving it in the cold will cause any bees in the wood to go dormant again. When spring arrives and the air temperatures warm, they’ll become active and leave the wood. At that point you can treat all the exit holes they have with DRIONE DUST. You can then cap them with CORKS or wood dowels, refinish as needed and bring it back inside. If you didn’t want to seal the holes you could leave them open. Any visible dust can be wiped away with a damp rag and you’d be all set to use the table inside without bee problem. And if leaving the finished bench outside in the winter weather isn’t an option, maybe you have a carport or garage which is generally cool where you could store it? That would do just as well.

2) You could treat the piece now but it could involved more work. I’m assuming you sealed all their nest holes and if you did, they’ll need to be reopened so you can dust them with Drione. Once they’re all dusted, you can cork them and finish the piece as you wish. The only difference between doing it now versus the spring or summer would be the extra work in reopening holes. And since they’re not fully active, it could take awhile for the piece to release all the bees it’s harboring. Alternatively, if you wait till the spring and let the bees emerge naturally to get active, you’ll know for sure you get all of them.

Now if you didn’t seal any holes and they all are open right now, simply dusting them with Drione and placing the piece somewhere like a basement or other part of the home where it’s nice and warm is all you’ll need to do. I’d even go as far as to put a small space heater close to the piece to help get the bees active. This extra heat would help get the bees moving and as soon as they crossed over the Drione, they’d die.

Hope this helps. Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

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

Corks:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page257.html

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

If you read our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn this bee likes to nest in wood. Once nests are established, the targeted area will attract bees from year to year indefinitely. The only way you’ll be able to stop this will be to completely seal, paint and possibly even cover the structure with vinyl or some other non wood material. As our video demonstrates, they’ll regularly chew through even painted surfaces if whats underneath is worth it for them to reach for nesting.

Additionally you’ll learn from the article that existing nests will harbor both adults and developing eggs. That means if this pump house truly has a “serious” infestation, are you sure you’ll be able to weed out all the nests when you do the repair work? Here’s why I ask. Even if you do get rid of all the nests, there is a good chance (75%+) that new bees will try to use the structure for new nests. This is because the scent left behind from other bees will naturally alert new bees to the pump house as being a good place to drill and live. But if you miss even one nest, there is a 100% chance of more drilling and more nesting. My point here is don’t go to all this demo and repair just because you want to “weed” out carpenter bee nests. This approach of carpenter bee control won’t work. Fix the damage if you feel it needs to be repaired by ripping it out and replacing the damaged wood. But since doing this won’t stop them from returning next season, keep in mind you’ll probably have to spray with the CYPERMETHRIN over the new wood anyway to prevent new bees from moving in.

Oh, and yeah, there is always a chance of getting stung from these guys but it’s not a major concern if they’re somewhat dormant and huddled up due to cooling temps. Thick clothing with little to no exposed skin areas should keep you sting free while working but pay attention; I wouldn’t be surprise if it turned out you had more than just some carpenter bee nests in this pump house!

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

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

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

In nature, carpenter bees serve a special purpose in that they recycle dead wood. Around the home, this practice is both destructive and costly. Man (home builders) have learned to protect wood with various treatments including paint, stain, chemicals and other agents. In general these do a fine job of staving off unwanted insect and wood destroying mold. But over time most all these treatments will weaken and insects are quick to find such weak spots. Once identified these locations can be exploited and though most insects seem to prefer “raw” wood over wood with a finish, there is no doubt even a painted surface can be vulnerable to mother nature.

To combat the ever present and very real potential for damage from any wood desctructive pest, man has developed a wide range of pesticides. We are distributors of many such products and over the years have learned which work best for certain pests. When it comes to carpenter bees, they no doubt do not like CYPERMETHRIN. When sprayed early in the season onto wood where bees are active, they’ll move away and in general stay away. Most areas will need at least two treatments per season; some homes require more to hold off this potentially destructive pest. We have also learned the INSECT REPELLENT discussed at the end of our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE can be a great additive used in paint and stain to help fight this cause. Applications done this way can last a year or two so the need for spraying Cypermethrin can be put on hold for awhile.

So to answer your question above: “Do carpenter bees cause damage to homes and decks if not treated?”, the answer is no doubt they can. Of course we can’t say with 100% certainty they will but no doubt untreated wood is likely to be attacked when left outside. This applies to wood in the forest, around the home or on the home itself. But more importantly, even wood with a painted or stained surface – what we would call “treated” – can be damaged. So it’s important to understand if any of these invasive and wood destroying insects like carpenter bees, carpenter ants, termites, powderpost beetles, pine borers, wood wasps or some other decides it want’s “in” on your wood, the only thing that is likely to stop it will be a chemical pesticide treatment.

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

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

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

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

Cutting to the chase, what do I need to counteract what appears to be carpenter bee activity? I have found several, almost perfectly spherical holes in various logs, ranging from a quarter inch deep to two or more and beyond. Please advise. I appreciate it.

Thank you, J.

As explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, wood structures tend to get special attention from certain insects and carpenter bees are one of them. Log cabins in particular are extra attractive and if left unprotected, holes will be drilled in which the bees will live. To counteract the nesting, there are two things detailed in our article.

The first is to treat any existing nest with DRIONE DUST. I’m not sure you actually have existing nests thus far; based on the depths of the holes you described above you might be acting early enough to avoid the dust treatment. But if you find any holes a foot or two deep, get them dusted and plugged with our 1/2″ CORKS and they’ll be properly handled for sure. Remember, the dust is excellent to use for cracks and crevices so there are plenty of uses for it on the log cabin one way or the other. It works on a wide range of pests and when used in the spring can go a long way as a preventive treatment.

Next, spray with CYPERMETHRIN to prevent any future drilling. Treat as needed but in general once every two weeks will be expected during the peak bee activity time.  Now once you get past the first 1-2 months, activity should be controlled for most of the year but keep watch in the fall as they might get active then too.

Lastly, if you intend on staining or using any other log treatment at some point in the future, be sure to add some NBS INSECT REPELLENT ADDITIVE. This is added directly to the tank mix and works like the Cypermethrin but lasts a lot longer. It’s ability to provide a long residue makes it worth using when treating logs and in some cases can last 2 years making it worth using.

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

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

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

1/2″ Plugs: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page257.html

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

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

I suspect this could be related to the extensive sealing you did. In your message you state you “sealed them with wood filler” which leads me to believe you didn’t use our corks to seal treated nests as recommended. As explained in our CARPENTER BEE ARTICLE, the corks serve two purposes in that they first seal the nest so moisture can’t get inside and secondly they allow the nest corridors to stay open and accessible. This way emerging bees will crawl through the DRIONE DUST and die after they hatch from their protective egg chambers. This is vital to controlling the nests. If you sealed the nest and filled the tunnels with wood filler, the emerging bees this year would be forced to exit elsewhere. The only way they know to do this is to drill new holes which would bypass your Drione treatment. The net result would be a new population with new nests this spring and it sounds like this may be happening already.

This time around I suggest you dust the new holes you see with Drione but this time don’t seal them all with wood filler. Instead use the 1/2″ CORKS we recommend as this will keep the tunnels of the nest open and accessible for any bees hatching from egg chambers later this year or next year depending on their cycle. No doubt the wood filler does a good job of sealing the nest but the reality is that it does too good of a job. Remember, Drione is the dust of choice because it will last 6-12 months. But if you effectively seal off all the tunnels you treated so the bees can’t access the treatment, what’s the point? By doing this you have effectively taken away the very feature which makes the Drione such a good product choice. Instead leave the tunnels open so the Drione can work it’s magic.

At this point I also recommend you treat with CYPERMETHRIN to insure no new holes are being drilled from the outside in. And after dusting the holes you do find, cork them and make sure you inspect daily for the next 4 weeks as this is the prime time for them to emerge and begin their summer patterns. If you see any new holes form, dust them accordingly. Follow this routine throughout the entire spring and I’m sure you’ll be able to break their cycle once and for all.

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

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

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

Corks: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page257.html

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

If you read through our CARPENTER BEE ARTICLE, you’ll learn these bees drill through wood to created nests. This drilling will many times create a sawdust by product which can “leak” down siding giving the appearance of droppings or bee feces. Additionally, bees which remain active in one location will definitely defecate as they drill. Feces will also be “pushed out” or disposed through exit holes. Many times this disposal process will cause the feces to trickle down the house siding which is what you’re no doubt seeing.

Regarding these bees returning each spring; females will reuse old nests from year to year and their offspring will most likely drill new nests close by. As explained in this post:

http://www.carpenterbees.com/bee-life/carpenter-bee-life-cycle.html

the vast majority of nests will be occupied all winter by hibernating females and males just waiting for the weather to get warm enough for them to emerge and begin their summertime activities. In most areas of the United States this will start in April-May and the activity will continue through Oct-Nov.

Getting rid of the feces will no doubt make the home look nicer but it will in no way influence the local bees nesting in your home. Females in heat are what attract male bees as well as prime nest real estate. If the siding and soffits of your home are left unprotected, the wood will release odors which are conducive to insect infestations and in doing so will many times attract wood loving pests like carpenter bees. At this point it’s imperative for you to treat existing holes with DRIONE DUST and then seal them up with the 1/2″ PLUGS featured in our article. And the best sprays you can apply to prevent new nesting will be either the CYPERMETHRIN or the INSECT REPELLENT PAINT ADDITVE/SPRAY CONCENTRATE. As you’re already seeing, failure to follow these suggestions will just allow the problem to propagate from year to year.

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

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

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

Cork Plugs: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page257.html

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

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

It will be a big investment for them so I want to have as much confidence in my recommendation as possible. Thanks for your help.

I can’t say I’ve any specific information or data concerning the use of IPE over standard pine, redwood or cedar. However, I can tell you what I’ve seen happen over the years regarding carpenter bee infestations. In general, my observations reflect a result which is based more on the general state of the wood involved and not so much the species. Let me explain.

For one thing, carpenter bees do a good job at locating weak wood. What I mean by weak is the wood is seemingly in a state lending itself to easy to access. For carpenter bees, easy access generally means untreated and vulnerable. No doubt a good layer of paint is a kind of protectant and wood which is painted is less likely to be drilled compared to wood which is unfinished. Stronger still and less likely to fall under attack by carpenter bees is wood which is both painted and treated with either CYPERMETHRIN or INSECT REPELLENT. No doubt either treatment on painted or unpainted wood will stop any nests from happening for sure when kept active and done “in season”.

So to answer your question; I don’t think the species of wood is nearly as important as the condition of the wood itself. In this case, if you were to install IPE and the local bees found a weak spot, I’m sure they’ll take advantage. I recently observed a pile of rough sawn hardwood – mostly oak and hickory – that lay in a giant pile in the woods. the logs were squared and stacked 10 feet high; each log was 10 feet long. This was quite a valuable stock of logs and one you would imagine should be quite resilient to the common wood predators such as carpenter bees, carpenter ants, termites and powderpost beetles. Yet I couldn’t help but notice what appeared to be carpenter bee holes. Upon closer observation they were in fact drilled out. I counted some 8 holes randomly located on the logs which had only laid out for 1.5 years. I also found carpenter ant activity as well as powderpost beetles. My point is simple; contrary to popular belief, carpenter bees will no doubt drill into oak and hickory if available and vulnerable. Yet do we see oak and hickory readily used for decking or other outside construction? Probably not as much as pine. So it only makes sense that we shouldn’t be seeing nearly as much of it infested with CARPENTER BEES and are therefore more likely to be falsely lead into thinking such woods aren’t vulnerable to their attack. This would be a grave mistake. And I think the same logic applies to IPE.

So in summary, I’m sure using a harder wood compared to pine is always going to prove to get less insect activity if a side by side comparison of the two were scientifically done. But would the less “insect attracting” wood validate it’s use (cost)? I’m not able to answer that question. Much like the question of “how much insurance should I get”, this is a personal choice and one only the homeowner themselves can make. I do know a good dose of Cypermethrin or NBS Concentrate each spring when carpenter bees are most active will protect any species of wood and that such treatments are cheap compared to having to replace decks every few years due to insect damage. So if cost is the true unit of measure, it only stands to reason using the less costly wood but properly treating and protecting from year to year would be a better way to obtain the objective. And more importantly, building with IPE and then leaving it untreated and unprotected would be a poor recommendation under any condition if the goal is to prevent insect activity.

Here are direct links to the information and products mentioned in my response to your questions:

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

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

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