Carpenter Bee Control

Need Help? Call the Carpenter Bee Control help line at 1-800-877-7290

bees in eaves of house

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They are in the eves of both the front and back of the house.  I had asked the contractor to caulk up the holes when he did new siding and soffets on the house.  He did not.  Will I get the bees in the house in the spring as there will be no way for them to get out. I’ve asked that the back of the house holes be caulked.

If you read through our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn these bees will use their nests all year. Additionally they’ll lay eggs in the nest and either late fall or early next spring, new bees will hatch looking to leave. If you seal these holes without first treating with DEMISE DUST, the bees will not be able to escape. In most cases they choose to drill around the caulking. This will cause new holes to form as well as allow for the possibility that some will drill in the opposite direction eventually ending up inside the home.

Additionally, even if you treated with the Demise and caulked the hole tight, the same thing would happen as explained here:

carpenter bees in kitchen

In summary, you should not caulk any carpenter bee hole or else you risk having them end up inside the home. Instead you should dust with Demise and then seal the hole with the 1/2″ CORKS we have listed in the article. This will allow hatching bees to get a dose of the Demise and die before they can emerge.

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

Carpenter Bee Control Article:  www.carpenterbees.com

Demise: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-demise-dust-6-oz

Corks: bugspray.com/equipment/equipment-plugs/cork-12

Give us a call if you still have questions.

Technical Support
1-800-877-7290

log home infested with carpenter bees

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I have a log home and every spring it becomes infested with carpenter bees.  I’d like to apply drione in the holes and cork them around the house but do i wait for the spring or can i do it now in the fall?  Tks in advance for the help.

If you review our online article on CARPENTER BEE CONTROL, you’ll learn that nests will most likely hatch out young bees in the fall. Additionally the treatment will last at least till next spring so there is no need to wait. If you dust and seal the holes now, all the nests you treat will effectively be shut down for good. So to answer your question, have at it ASAP and be done with the current infestation.

However, it’s highly likely more will come around next spring. As our article explains, there is a good chance your cabin will be targeted by new bees next spring so don’t forget to treat with either the MAXXTHOR EC or the INSECT REPELLENT. This will stop new nests from being drilled and when structures have had activity, it’s almost always necessary to spray each spring to keep new ones away.

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

Carpenter Bee Control:  www.carpenterbees.com

Maxxthor: bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/maxxthor-ec

NBS Repellent:  https://bugspray.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz

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

Give us a call if you still have questions.

Technical Support
1-800-877-7290

carpenter bees drilling into mulberry tree

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I have a problem with carpenter bees (very large black bee). They bore into my Mulberry trees ending up killing the tree. Is there anything I can do to get rid of these pesty bees? I have asked my local nursery here and they don’t know what to tell me.

If you read through our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn these bees are drilling holes for nesting. Once they find an section of wood that’s vulnerable, they’ll begin with a single nest. Since the bees that develop in that lone nest will return to where they were born when they’re ready to reproduce, you will tend to get more and more activity and though they’ve been focused on your Mulberry trees thus far, I’m pretty sure they’ll start drilling out any tree on your property  if left untreated. Fortunately the control program for this kind of problem is easy to implement.

First, you’ll need to treat all existing holes with DEMISE DUST. Seal the hole with the 1/2″ CORKS we have listed in our article. Next, spray all tree trunks with MAXXTHOR EC monthly in the spring and fall when they tend to drill new nests. Maxxthor will both kill and repel bees and treatments will last 2-4 weeks. Our organic spray, the INSECT REPELLENT CONCENTRATE, can be used in place of the Maxxthor but it’s not as strong. It won’t kill the bees but it does a good job of repelling them and can be substituted for the Maxxthor if you prefer.

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

Carpenter Bee Control Article:  www.carpenterbees.com

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

NBS Repellent:  https://bugspray.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz

Give us a call if you still have questions.

Technical Support
1-800-877-7290

carpenter bees in hollow porch column

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I have carpenter bees in my hollow porch column.  It is open at least half way on the top.  I have another column that does not appear to have them and also has a half opening on the top. What can I drop down there to kill them. I saw some sawdust on the column and sprayed it with water as I was trying to clean my porch as I had a viewing, my house is up for sale.A few of them stung me and took 2 weeks to stop the itching and puffiness. What can I do? I was going to call an exterminmator but not sure what that would cost.

If you read our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn they don’t typically attack. In fact, only the female can sting and it would be quite unusual for you to encounter more than one at a time. I’m actually thinking you might have BUMBLE BEES, which closely resemble Carpenter Bees, and are more likely to sting in numbers. The good news is regardless of which species you actually have, both can be treated by dusting the column with the DEMISE DUST and a HAND DUSTER we have featured in our carpenter bee article.

At this point I suggest you observe the column from afar to see where the bees are entering their nest. If it’s carpenter bees, there will be holes drilled which are most likely being used for nests. This would explain the sawdust you found. But I have seen Bumble Bees use such columns for nesting and I’ve even seen bumble bees use carpenter bee holes as a way to enter the void so again, it could be either. Many times the wood used to make these columns isn’t that thick and when carpenter bees drill, they will inadvertently drill all the way through a piece and end up abandoning the hole altogether. Carpenter bees don’t like holes that empty out into an empty space but bumble bees love this. And bumble bees typically like to use small holes as a way to enter a nest cavity so this might be what you have going on in your column. But it really doesn’t matter; if you dust the hole with Demise, you’ll surely get either species. And all it will take is 3-5 squirts of the Demise. In most cases the nest will shut down in a day if it’s hit thoroughly. Now if you see activity a day after you treat, that means you didn’t use enough and will need to dust again.

Now if you can’t find an entrance hole, it’s entirely possible the bees are entering the column via a small gap or crack in the frame. I’ve seen this happen many times; even though both bees are seemingly “thick”, they can slide into some tight cracks. In these cases, dusting the entire gap will yield the same results as treating a specific hole. It will require more product and more effort to make sure you get them all but in the end, the Demise will render the nest useless.

Lastly, the best time to treat will be in the evening, close to dark, to insure the bees are both back at the nest and not active. This will help reduce the chance of confrontation and being stung.

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

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

Bumble Bee Article:  www.bugspray.com/articles99/bumblebees.html

Demise:  https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-demise-dust-6-oz

Crusader Duster: bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/crusader

Give us a call if you still have questions.

Technical Support
1-800-877-7290

driller bees in tree stump

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I live in North Texas, and recently returned from a vacation in South Alabama.  My brother-in-law gave me a Cedar stump with roots, that he had on a wood pile for about 40 years.  The piece is beautiful, and I will be filling the holes produced by Carpenter Bees  (Alabamians call them Driller Bees) with a special filler.

I am so excited about beginning this project;  however, I have a problem….. the Carpenter Bees are still alive!  We didn’t know this when we, fortunately, we bagged the piece of wood in huge garbage bags and put it into the trunk to bring home to Texas!  I had orignally suggested putting it in bags in the back seat of the car!!!!  Glad I listened to my husband when he said we should put it in the trunk.

After getting it home, we noticed a couple of the bees dead from the heat of the trunk, and shortly thereafter, the Carpenter Bees started pouring out (after spraying the entire stump with Wasp/Hornet Killer.  That day, 9 came out.  Days following, a few more came out (my first reaction was ‘oh my gosh, I hope none got away to breed with something here, and create a monster of some kind’).

So, now, I think they are all dead, but after reading your site, I am really afraid tht there may be eggs and in the Spring, I may have them here and that they will cross-breed with something here, and more so, will they attack me while crafting on this Cedar stump? Yikes!

What should I do?
Thanks, for any advice!

Old tree stumps can be used for so many projects in and around the home and I’m sure this one must be special. To have survived some 40 years outside is a testament to Cedar. Hopefully it’s got enough of it’s original character in tact and once the bees are gone, you’ll be able to use it either inside or outside the home without presenting undue risk or hazard to you or your family.

It sounds like you’ve already read our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE which explains the life cycle of this bee. As you’re learning, their egg chambers can hold several young bees which will can take up to a year to fully develop and leave. As I see it, there are surely several nests in this old stump but just how many left inside is anyone’s guess. If you wish to finish it off right away and not have to worry about emerging adults at some later date, there are two things you can do.

First, treat any holes you want to cover up with the DEMISE DUST we have listed in our article. The 1/2″ CORKS we show for sealing the holes can be pushed down just deep enough so a wood filler can be applied over the top of them allowing you to cosmetically hide any hole now visible. In theory, you should be able to treat and seal any visible hole you find. This would then allow you to stain, varnish or do whatever you had in mind with the stump and not have to worry about new exit holes being drilled from emerging young still not fully developed. As explained in several posts, you don’t want to stuff these holes with wood filler. This will essentially trap the emerging bees and they’ll be forced to drill new holes making a mess of any finishing work you do so be sure and leave the nests open filled with Demise so they’ll die as soon as they hatch. But the real key here is whether or not you can “see” all the nests. I’ve seen stumps where some holes are clearly visible but others are not that easy to find. In many cases the end result is the few that are missed will lead to more bee activity at some point in the future. Now if you were intending on using it outside, this might not be a problem. But if you want to keep the stump in the home, there is a risk of bees emerging in the future so unless you’re 100% sure you get all their nests, don’t keep it inside just yet.

Second, after treating any and all nests you can find with the Demise, storing it for at least one year would be the clincher for safe using. If you treated it good now and then stored it away in your garage sealed up tight in some plastic, any nests you missed would release their contents and the emerging bees would surely die. If the stump is tightly wrapped during this time, the emerging adults wouldn’t be able to reproduce or live long so there would be no chance of reinfestation. I’d say that by this time next July, the stump could safely be removed and used however you want.

Lastly, if you did finish it and planned on keeping it outside somewhere, be sure to use something like the MAXXTHOR EC or the INSECT REPELLENT sprayed on it to protect it from further nests being drilled. Alternatively, if you plan on keeping it inside the home for use, there shouldn’t be a problem with new bees finding it to nest.

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

Carpenter Bee Article:  www.carpenterbees.com

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

NBS Repellent:  https://bugspray.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz

Give us a call if you still have questions.

Technical Support
1-800-877-7290