Carpenter Bee Help / Solutions ?

Does anyone on here know anything about what works, the kind of treatment or the best time to do it ? i was told that maybe a guy named Lundy could help or maybe Bob Jameson,(although I don't know if he does insects). My problem started when I bought a house in December. A company came out and did an inspection / treatment ? for they said Carpenter bees, mind you it is December in Ohio. There aren't bees of any kind flying around in Ohio in December. The fee was $160, yet I have carpenter bees all over here in April. Something tells me I got taken for a ride !
Does anyone know when is the time to treat for them ? Would it be in Winter ? And what chemical is used? I want to go back to the company but don't want to go in blind and uninformed. Guys, I need some help !

Angela

Those little holes they bore are the nesting sites, they breed in the spring, not winter. I'm hardly an expert, but unless they sprayed something toxic on the wood, I don't see what good they did you. You need to contact the Co. and ask. Good luck.

I have put dusted the opening with Seven and that work for me.

It's actually spelled sevin but you're in good company. Amazon spelled it with an e too.

Treatment for an active infestation begins by treating the galleries (the bore holes) with a product that penetrates and is residual to treat emerging brood. I like delta dust for this application though sevin works as do other products. Once treated you can seal the galleries. Follow this with a treatment of all exposed wood surfaces that may be vunerable to infestation. This treatment is best done just prior to or at the beginning of peak carpenter bee activity. Since carpenter bee activity is seasonal in most areas only seasonal treatments are needed. Usually once in the spring in this area but depending on product, weathering and bee pressure may need follow up treatments. I like to use bifen (talstar) liquid sprayed on a warm dry day to leave a residual surface treatment. There are many products that will work but be careful to test for staining.
Again depending on product used and weather you may expect a range of effectiveness ranging from a few days up to ninety days.

We do a lot of carpenter bee treatments annually. There are several products labeled for carpenter bees.

W/P (Wettable Powders) are some of the better products as they leave a residual powder after being applied as a water soluble product. Tempo WP is one such product however it is a commercial product that we use commercially as we are licensed commercial applicators. Talstar is another product I believe is labeled for C. Bees. You must follow the label as to any pesticide use and if you are able to apply it as a consumer properly.

We use an application tank system called a B&G spray tank system for lower elevation treatments under 15-20 ft in height. For higher elevations we have a commercial 100 gal tank and 150 hose reel set up for larger jobs and also gives you more PSI for greater reach in height.

We treat spot area and surface soffit/fascia wood faced surface areas. This does protective and existing occupant bee gallery treatments. Usually a good spring early summer treatment will kill the majority of residential and migrating bees that move around during the active season.

Most folks with good habitat(i.e. cedar, log, wood sided T-111 homes with exposed wood soffit/fascia homes, exposed rafters, barn, shed and open storage out buildings will need annual treatments for the trusses and other exposed wood surfaces.

We use the Tempo dust mentioned above.

Our spray product is labeled for it, but at the concentration we mix it at it doesn't seem to have an affect.

Before I got into this line of work I had good luck injecting the holes with boric acid using a turkey baster.

We see immediate effects on the bee population shortly after application of the material. When occupied gallery holes are treated via our spraying treatment equipment many are on the ground buzzing as a result of exposure in a very short period of time. If done thoroughly very good control will be achieved in a few days with the local inhabiting c. bees.

Most pesticides have two application rate choice percentage options. We use the higher percentage rate amount for initial treatments. We have been using a couple of products for many years with excellent results.

Doing insect control is not all that different then trapping certain animals. Learn your target specie the best that you can and where their preferred occupation sites are found. Once you have mastered the location/inhabitation part of pest control, the treatment material will do the job for you very effectively.

We treat all visible drill holes as well as the other surface areas that may be potential drilling/gallery sites in the coming weeks.

Wettable powders and pesticide dusts labeled for these bees are deadly on most all insects, particularly any type of bee. They pick up the powder and dust very easily due to their physical features that hold dust like a magnet. Then they transport it into their gallery, coat the gallery and ingest it ultimately due to the incidental or direct contact of the material via chewing or consuming other food sources.

Treating with a spray type tank ( or garden tank type system) will give you the most practical and easiest application over a large scale area. Individual hole treatment is fine if you don't have a large area to treat and the activity isn't that high to reach by hand or ladder access. However it doesn't protect against drilling on other surface areas that may also be found to be suitable entry points by other bees looking for a home. All potential untreated wood surface areas at the favored elevation need treated for the best protection overall.

Glad to see this discussion. Every year it seems there is a new pest that shows up, heretofore unknown to the lay person. At first we just thought, "just some sort of strange bumble bee." We watched them pollinate the blueberry bushes, so we tolerated it. Now they are spreading to the barn, so this will be the year to do something about it, too many holes. Thanks for the help.

Why would they inspect/treat in winter?

Were they called?

1/4 cup sevin dust/gal of latex paint, and paint away!

We use dust applications directly in the gallery. It works.
Bare lumber or lumber painted with a paint with no hide ( solid coating ) latex paint or sun damaged paint will be a magnet for carpenter bees. They like a wooden suffit or semi protected areas, on the east side of a dwelling. If you use a active ingredient you will most likely need to applicate twice a year.
A coating of spar varnish or a paint with a solid hide in the protected areas and you should be done for a long time.
I think traprjohn nailed it.......but I would loose my license with a home brew.

Why the latex paint. I've read you only seal with a cork . True ?

Once treated you can seal with anything.

Painted surfaces typically don't get much or any drilling activity. Its usually exposed weathered dry wood areas or solarized position wood surface areas. Corking a hole will take away the old gallery entry and somewhat camo it but if the wood isn't treated with something on the surface they will continue to frequent the same areas annually.

We just let the woodpeckers take care of them out here. Looks like machine gun spray.

As a beekeeper I would caution folks to practice IPM and try to avoid collateral damage to non target species. As Bob mentioned powder and dusts can be problematic in that they can carry a static charge and cling to hairy bees of all species. Also drift or application where other pollinators may be present (example; carpenter bees in a soffit but blooming hollies at the foundation being worked by honeybees) can be an issue as are any products that leave a residual.
Not being anti chemical but cautioning to use education, situational awareness and sound judgement.

I was at a customer's house this morning and they had a cherry tree that was practically swarmed with honey bees. I had to stop and watch them with the customer... awesome sight.