Post Punk Kitchen Forum

hello all,
ok this is specific to gardening btu i thought maybe this was an appropriate place since it is a pest and pests are a big gardening topic.

we have what have been identified as carpenter bees burrowing holes into our deck railing to lay eggs and do bee stuff.

how do i get rid of them and not kill them?

one person recommended staining the deck as they like untreated or dead wood.
i have been told by my husband the railing is pressure treated wood though some of whatever "pressure treated" means may have come off.

we were thinking of spraying soemthing on where they are burrowing to deter them like ammonia or vinegar or i even have that bitter apple spray stuff you spray on dog hot spots to keep them from licking.

i dont particularly want to stain the deck mostly due to sheer laziness. the deck itself is made out of whatever that crazy recycled stuff is (composite? i dunno i dont know about this sort of stuff) so its just the railings around the whole deck and down the stairs. it could be done but dang we have so much other crepe to do. i could post of picture of the bee if that helps.

thanks!

Hey LisaPunk,

Are you sure these are carpenter bees? The reason I ask is because a) there are many species of them, and b) they are super beneficial in the gardening world because they pollinate flowers.

The males buzz around wood areas, because they prefer to burrow in wood, trees, and lastly the ground. The males appear aggressive; however, they cannot sting so it's really just a show. The females are too busy hangin' with their sistahs and having the guys do their work, so they only sting if handled. They don't defend the nest, that's they guys job. Isn't that crazy?

Here's a handy link from U of Missou about them and identification:
http://extension.missouri.edu/publicati ... px?P=g7424

If they sting and gang up on someone, then we're looking at a different stinging insect that will require the use of a professional. Ground hornets are super territorial, and will happily do a group sting. They like to make nests in the ground. We had a nest in our side yard last year and they all got Mr. J. a number of times. If they are forced to move and live through it, they'll just move to another section of your yard, so this isn't something to play around with.

UFL link about ground hornet identification: (I dislike them already--they kill cicadas)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in573

i will try and post my picture later. im at work right now and am not that familiar with how to post a pic here.

i posted my picture on facebook and a friend of mine IDed it as a carpenter bee.
it looks exactly like a bumblee bee minus the fuzzy butt.

i dont want to kill it but i dont want it burrowing holes into my deck.
i thought maybe i could suggest to it a nice tree nearby within which to burrow.

Sounds to me like you already had some good ideas to try, I don't think it's that bad to try them and see what happens. I think vinegar turns to sugar fast so I'd probably try the other spray options first. Also, if you google around for pest control info on them, yes most of it will probably be about how to kill them, but if you can read through it all I find there's almost always info on how to deter them as well, usually used after the killing of a pest so they don't come back. There's always trying the one without doing the killing part first. :)