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Tewksbury, MA on May 24, 2012

Two questions: first, do borer ( carpenter ) bees pollinate anything? Secondly, how can I get rid of them?

These are huge bees!! They make perfectly round holes with plenty of sawdust. I watched one go inside a hole and squirted Clorox cleanup in it. Hopefully it got the booger!

5 Comments

Steve G Fort Collins, CO

Yes, carpenter bees are pollinators.
As for getting rid of them, here is one option:
http://www.hometalk.com/154411/carpenter-bee...

on May 24, 2012 · Like 0
Pam D Alexandria, LA

Clorox will not kill them. Neither will wasp or bee spray, or any other thing you can think of as I have tried them all and bought new poison by Spectracide especilly for them. They just laugh at me and keep on eating wood. Our condo were built in 1987 and since the wood is old and dry they have infested all of the condos. They usually like a hidden place to bore up in. The thing that has worked for me and one of the only thing they can't bore through is steel wool. I stuffed steel wool ...»
makinf sure to cover the holes and if it was under flate boards where the steel wool would not stay, I put liquid nails on one side of each pad and covering the holes glued it against the wood. Presto, I am the only condo that they are not eating on right now. I did find something that I just got in the mail (but now my bees have dissapeared) called Demon WP from a place on the internet named My Own Pest Control". My son in law said it worked at their house in south Louisiana. I'm saving for next year when they start swarming again and give it a try.
They are like little army tanks. Unless you swquish them under your shoes, you cannot kill them even with fly swatter, as they hit the ground and get up and fly away. At least they don't sting. What you aree seeing are the males. The queen, which can sting stays in the hole and lets the males feed her the polen so she can lay eggs for nest spring. I bought a butterfly net and catch them and very quickly bring to the ground and squish them under my shoes. My batting average this year is 167 killings. Then I used the steel wool and no more around my condo. They are eating my neighbors wood.
When my steel wool deteriorates, I'll try the Demon WP. If that does not work, I getting metal flashing.

on May 25, 2012 · Like 0
Woodbridge Environmental ... Colonia, NJ

There is simply not enough carpenter bees to worry about pollinating plants. But there are plenty enough of them to do a lot of damage in short order. There are several powders that are puffed into the holes where they are boring that will kill them off. Once established they will keep coming back year after year. Its best to kill them before they get to be a large population. Seal the holes using caulk and keep a good quality paint on all wood surfaces. This tends to keep them at bay.

on May 25, 2012 · Like 0
HandyANDY Home Renovation... Marietta, GA

We've come up with our own concoction now that seems to be keeping the borer bees at bay on the houses we repaint in metro Atlanta. It's amazing the damage these bees make. HandyANDY now offers a 10-year warranty against borer bees...if they damage the house, we'll fix it for free. We started with this formula last year and have tweaked it a few times this year but the results from last year were excellent. They've gotten so clever....they now normally bore under the bottom edge of ...»
gutters so that they are protected from woodpecker attacks
on May 25, 2012 · Like 1
Keller Pest Control - Tom... Harrisonville, MO

Get Cykick aerosol inject into the holes. Then steel wool and caulk. They are right paint and staining wood helps. This may sound silly but get a Badminton racket and swing away they are terrible flyers and will return prior to dark. The problem is they can travel for miles and may be located a long way away in the woods and are just visiting your home. They really dont do that much damage throughout their lifecycle but can be a nuiscance. Enjoy the Badminton racket.

on Jun 01, 2012 · Like 1