Life and death struggle in the woodshed!! ;-)

[Soundchasm]

I saw the most curious damage to my shed and realized it looked like a war between dinner and diner. Dinner looked like wood borer bees, but who was the diner?

Looking at the damage, it sure looks like the borer makes a small hole in but turns one way or the other making a horizontal shaft. The diner must be able to hear the bees in their tunnel and dig an opening. I've never wanted to "get after" the bees, but this stuff looks structurally damaging. That's another matter. So who is willing to do this kind of work for a meal??

 

[Soundchasm]

I went to take my camera to get photos of the damage and, lo, and behold, there was the perp in the flesh!! It is a female Downy Woodpecker!! I kind of like watching some of these things play out, but I think I'm going to fill all the holes with plastic wood.

My wife's suggestion was to put up another beam that did no work so the bees could still bore and the woodpecker could still dig them out. I told her to bring me a signed statement from the bees they would constrain themselves to that location, and she said it would be like a roomate agreement on "Big Bang Theory".

 

[jb6l6gc]

Paint the wood. Carpenter bees do not
Like painted wood at all

 

[NateB]

Stain they don't seem to mind, but I have never seen them bore in to treated lumber. Are they boring into treated beams?

I agree paint the exposed wood.

 

[HitzerHillbilly]

I also have been battling carpenter bees so a woodpecker was my first thought reading the initial post. The bees probably aren't much smaller than that bird.....lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jatoxico]

I just yesterday killed two wood borer bees in my wood shed. Your pictures, minus the woodpecker activity, could be mine. Same exposed framing, similar roofing. I had no qualms and didn't even think about the local woodpeckers getting involved.

Not sure why after about 5 yrs they are finding the wood attractive but I'm interested to know if there's an application that will keep them away.

 

[Soundchasm]

Stain they don't seem to mind, but I have never seen them bore in to treated lumber. Are they boring into treated beams?

I agree paint the exposed wood.

I paid for "treated" lumber. I thought the lumber would need to dry before it would take the stain, but then I got used to the unstained look. I use a stain that is completely opaque, so it may as well be paint.

 

[Soundchasm]

I also have been battling carpenter bees so a woodpecker was my first thought reading the initial post. The bees probably aren't much smaller than that bird.....lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It's probably pretty close to a fair fight! I just took down a suet feeder the woodpeckers loved. I might have to keep it up all year.

 

[Soundchasm]

I just yesterday killed two wood borer bees in my wood shed. Your pictures, minus the woodpecker activity, could be mine. Same exposed framing, similar roofing. I had no qualms and didn't even think about the local woodpeckers getting involved.

Not sure why after about 5 yrs they are finding the wood attractive but I'm interested to know if there's an application that will keep them away.

This is a bit long, but seems to have good info.
http://www.loghome.com/how-to-deal-with-carpenter-bees/

 

[NateB]

My stain was red, and it does not allow the bees down one bit.

 

[NateB]

I meant to say my red stain did not stop the bees one bit

 

[jb6l6gc]

I just yesterday killed two wood borer bees in my wood shed. Your pictures, minus the woodpecker activity, could be mine. Same exposed framing, similar roofing. I had no qualms and didn't even think about the local woodpeckers getting involved.

Not sure why after about 5 yrs they are finding the wood attractive but I'm interested to know if there's an application that will keep them away.

Paint

 

[TedyOH]

Looks like my deck - I use this stuff in the holes a few days ago, haven't seen one since, also worked great on yellow jackets (originally why I bought it) in my sofet.

http://www.bugstop.net/Apicide-p/003-812-apicide-10oz.htm

 

[Boiler74]

They'll bore into treated lumber. I've had good luck with homemade traps.

 

[Lake Girl]

So those are pre-bored holes that lead to the glass jar? Give us a clue where to find specifics on the homemade trap....

 

[Boiler74]

So those are pre-bored holes that lead to the glass jar? Give us a clue where to find specifics on the homemade trap....

I just used about 8" blocks of 4x4 with a roughly 7/8" hole drilled vertically up from the bottom, but not all the way through. Then 1/2" holes drilled on all four sides diagonally up to meet the 7/8" hole. Ball jar on the bottom. They work great. Lots of ideas online. Just search "carpenter bee traps". Make sure the holes are clean of splinters. Bees like to use existing holes so the explore and get trapped. Put in the sunnier areas. At least for me those seem to be the most effective areas.

 

[JSeery]

I just used about 8" blocks of 4x4 with a roughly 7/8" hole drilled vertically up from the bottom, but not all the way through. Then 1/2" holes drilled on all four sides diagonally up to meet the 7/8" hole. Ball jar on the bottom. They work great. Lots of ideas online. Just search "carpenter bee traps". Make sure the holes are clean of splinters. Bees like to use existing holes so the explore and get trapped. Put in the sunnier areas. At least for me those seem to be the most effective areas.

In my experience, I agree that carpenter bees definitely prefer sunny areas and are much more active on sunny days.

 

[HisTreeNut]

So those are pre-bored holes that lead to the glass jar? Give us a clue where to find specifics on the homemade trap....

Here is step by step instructions... You can search YouTube, Google, and find all sorts of plans.
http://www.myfrugalhome.com/how-to-build-a-carpenter-bee-trap/
I didn't have any 4x4's, I nailed some scrap wood together and used an empty plastic soda bottle. Drilled a hole for the cap, & through the cap, with angled entry holes and hung that. Worked great.

 

[Lake Girl]

Thanks for the link. Not sure if we have carpenter bees but now I know what to do...

 

[HisTreeNut]

No worries. I had carpenter bees destroy the posts to a clothesline my brother & I made. They can be a pain.
I could/should start a blog with all the homemade stuff I have done over the years...and still use. Anyhoo...

 

[7acres]

I meant to say my red stain did not stop the bees one bit

Yeah, same for me. My best defense against them is an old tennis racket during mating season. I'll thwack a hundred of them a day for about three days. Definitely helps.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

First off, get rid of the carpenter bees. Put aluminum foil over the holes. This acts both as a cover and a deterrent for the woodpecker. They hate shiny and reflective things. It startles them. Also, put up some anti-bird reflective tape. Sounds weird but it works. Check out places like the hardware store or Amazon to get the tape. Make sure you give it a good couple of weeks after the woodpecker is gone before you start thinking about removing the deterrents.

What you essentially trying to do is make your wood shed less appealing than the woods so the woodpecker seeks food elsewhere.

 

[HisTreeNut]

Yeah, same for me. My best defense against them is an old tennis racket during mating season. I'll thwack a hundred of them a day for about three days. Definitely helps.

A whiffleball bat or plastic lightsabers and a couple of pre-teen baseball wannabees & Star Wars fans works well too. Helps develop pretty good aim also.

 

[Soundchasm]

I've plugged all the holes with plastic wood. Only one has a re-entry or escape!! I'll hit them again, sand, and then stain. Until the honeybees recover, I'm loathe to exterminate any pollinators. Re-home them elsewhere, sure, NP.

Certain deck sections that were stained had far less holes than those that weren't. But I think I could get on board with sealing up a half dozen holes a year. It takes about five minutes, so I'm good with that.

 

[7acres]

Two winters ago my brother and I counted almost 90 holes we plugged with silicone. The following Spring the bees simply chewed their way out. The silicone plugs have a new hole adjacent.

Now we know why the original owners wanted the wooden playset out of their yard for free ASAP!