First, this is really ctmalecyclist@gmail.com, Tim Roaix, I live with Beth (ctladycyclist). I am going to send a note to Ed so I can post on my own.
The past couple days there have been great swarms of well over a hundred carpenter bees at Spear Park and the Senior Center at Williams and Main. They have basically made the entire park uninhabitable. I'm going to call the city but as a resident of a home that was once attractive to carpenter bees, I'm concerned that in a city full of older homes that might have some soft wood, this "bloom of carpenter bees" may keep us on our toes. The bees are in the park right now because they are attracted to the older benches, but only so many can nest in one space, so they will start branching out. We have already seen a couple buzzing around our porch at Church and Broad, looking for someplace to call home.
Carpenter bees do not feed on wood but nest in it. They find soft wood (either old wood or expensive cedar trim in my case at my Enfield home) drill a hole about 1/4 inch wide, then burrow and create chambers. They can rapidly create colonies drilling thru the side of your house, all the while there is only this 1/4 inch hole. They do leave sawdust as residue but who looks for sawdust on their lawn trying to keep up with mowing and gardening?
I know swine flu is just around the corner (:}, but I would advise folks in the Village District to walk around your homes a couple times this month and look for sawdust on the grass, and bees that look like bumble-bees but are darker and fly well above the ground and hover around your home.
Tim Roaix. ctmalebicyclist@gmail.com
8 comments:
Okay. My house is being stalked by carpenter bees. Now what do I do?
Well, you can do a couple things. You can paint everything in sight, the bees will not drill thru paint, they are looking for easy entrance to soft wood. I've never seen your house, I don't know if that's possible in your case or not.
The problem is, their favorite avenue of entrance to older homes is under the porch, you just have to keep an eye out for them.
You can also keep vigilance and a spray canister with liquid rootone in it. You can spray them, they will eventually die. Using things like RAID would kill them quicker but I don't believe you would choose to use something like that especially since you have children. Rootone is organic.
They will try to roost for a couple months.
Tim.
I'd rather the carpenter bees be at Spear Park than the usual people that hang out there, drink, fight, and sell drugs. I thought the housing authority was going to get rid of that "park". That can't happen fast enough.
I was told that "pyrethrite" is a natural way to get rid of bees. It is the same exact chemical that is produced by chrysanthemum flowers that keeps bees away. I have not researched this in depth but did get this information as I do also have the carpenter bee problem. It seems like its widespread so I would caution anyone dealing with this at their house to please please use more natural/organic / less toxic methods of dealing with this. Beth's suggestion of painting should also be considered because that would eliminate the need for spraying anything. The sprays eventually do settle onto the ground and get washed into the water system and also have exposures to pets, kids etc. Thank you.
I find an old tennis racquet particularly effective....
The actual term is pyrethrin. The chemical is contained in the seed cases of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium. Unfortunately it kills almost everything you spray, except it only presists on the plant for about 24 hours and breaks down to harmless compounds. When my Enfield home was infested with carpenter bees, I spent hours sitting outside reading a book and when one showed up, ZAP with organics.
Peace. Bikes. Tim Roaix.
Unfortunately, though Rotenone and Pyrethrins are accepted as "organic" pesticides, they are both associated with development of Parkinsons' disease. They aren't mild pesticides. They should be used with protective clothing and extreme caution.
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