I need to get rid of carpenter bees that are drilling into my deck. I see at least 5 holes but suspect there could be more. When do they drill their holes? I never saw anything happening. The only reason I even found the holes is because there was a lot of powder on the patio under the deck. It looked like someone was drilling holes there was so much powder and when I looked closer, I could see perfectly clear holes in several floor planks of my deck. Do I need to replace them and what can I do to get rid of them?
Carpenter bees can drill holes quickly when wood is unfinished and untreated like most of the wood found on the bottom side of a deck. Now that you’re aware of them it’s a lot more likely that you’ll see the activity when it first starts next season. The good news is you can stop them from both drilling and nesting if by following the directions on how to treat explained in our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL article.
To get rid of the carpenter bees that are nesting now, treat their holes with DEMISE DUST in the late evening after they’ve returned to the nest and are settled. Use 1/2″ CORKS to seal the holes after you’ve dusted them and let them remain open for at least two days. Keeping them open will insure all the carpenter bees using the nest will enter and be killed; sealing them will allow the treatment to last for a long time which is key for killing the larvae that will be hatching next season.
To get rid of carpenter bees that are coming around to drill new holes, spray the MAXXTHOR EC on all exposed wood you have on you home. Carpenter bees will tend to look in areas close to where they’ve already been nesting so the existing nests will be attracting more bees until it’s treated. Renew the Maxxthor application once every 1-2 weeks if you keep seeing them around; eventually they’ll move away as this treatment will tend to repel them from the area.
Demise: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-demise-dust-6-oz
Crusader Duster: bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/crusader
Corks: https://bugspray.com/equipment/equipment-plugs/cork-12
Maxxthor: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/maxxthor-ec
Give us a call if you still have questions.
Technical Support
1-800-877-7290