This is the first year that I have seen these pesty carpenter bees. We have wood stored downstairs under an overhang, we noticed a hole that has been made by the bees. What should we do? Should we destroy the wood? Should we plug the holes? I am lost as there is a huge pile of wood we use to burn in the winter, but if we have to we will get rid of it. Any ideas?
As our CARPENTER BEE CONTROL ARTICLE explains, carpenter bees exist in nature as a kind of recycler. Your wood pile is exactly why they exist; in the forest they would be drilling through it turning the trunk and limbs to sawdust therefore allowing the cellulose to filter back into the earth. But when we’re trying to preserve such wood to use at a later date, the bee’s natural behavior will come in direct conflict with our effort. To stave off their attacks, there are a few things you can do.
First, dusting any existing holes you see with DE DUST will render it dead and prevent further damage and nest growth. This can be done any time and will not affect the wood in any way now or when it comes time to burn it. In other words, the dust can be burned with the wood and not pose a hazard to anyone close to the fire.
Second, the wood in the wood pile can be treated to prevent further drilling. The best product for treating wood piles is the INSECT REPELLENT. This is not a pesticide but is merely a repellent. It won’t kill anything nor would treated wood pose a threat to anyone close to the fire when being burned. I expect you’ll need to spray at least twice from now till the fall/winter; 3-4 applications would be the norm for most active sites to keep them away effectively.
Here are direct links to the products and information posted above:
Carpenter Bee Article: https://www.carpenterbees.com/carpenter-bee-control
DE Dust: https://www.non-toxic-pest-control.com/dust/mothers-earth-diatomaceous-dust
Insect Repellent: www.non-toxic-pest-control.com/repellents/nbs-repellent-insect-spray
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