How To Fix Carpenter Bee Holes

Steel wool: amzn.to/3VHZkzf
Today we tackle identifying, cleaning and repairing holes made by Carpenter Bees.
Sorry for the occasional sniffle throughout the video, my allergies are getting triggered by all the pollen that is floating around today.
Disclosure: TheHouseMann is supported by our audience, some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, TheHouseMann may earn an affiliate commission if you purchase something through our Amazon recommended links.

[@kaitemoss1583]

You're beyond professional, I've saw many videos, you're the best! Thank you so much for showing all the tools and step by steps! Really big help! Subscribed!!!❤

[@thehousemann]

Thanks Katie! I appreciate the kind words and support! I always try to make my videos as if someone with no knowledge on the subject is watching. The videos end up being longer and some might feel they drag on, but I want to make sure everyone feels comfortable with the project. I've been focusing on a bit on tools lately, but I've been meaning to get more how-to videos out as project season begins :)

[@ddavis2893]

Great video! Very helpful.

[@thehousemann]

Glad it helps!

[@benjaminreinhardt259]

Carpenter bees will dig very long tunnels. I ripped down the fence at my last house to find they had tunneled from one end of the 2x4 cross rail to the other - 8' long tunnel!

[@thehousemann]

WHAT?! I think that guy got lost! 😂

[@benjaminreinhardt259]

@@thehousemann No, him and about 50 of his friends were chilling in the tunnel. I pulled the fence down, the board split at the tunnel, and around about 50 of them came flopping out. Makes my skin crawl thinking about it.

[@thehousemann]

@@benjaminreinhardt259 😳 time to light that whole fence on fire 😂

[@kevinkelley3906]

I did this once before. I used spray then a bunch of bees came falling out. It was very satisfying. I have to plug the holes this time and paint because we got a new roof put on our garage.

[@thehousemann]

Right? I just put a new trap up (have to still make the building a trap video), caught 6 the first day 🤠

[@kevinkelley3906]

Same with us!! It's going to be a hell job fixing the trim. We just got a new metal roof on our garage.

[@danimalmaxasis2762]

I had a severe carpenter bee problem on my Cedar home I found a they drill a perfect 3/8 inch hole consistently and after treating tunnels I would use wooden plugs glued into place. You can simply by 3/8 inch dowels cut them to length.

[@thehousemann]

The issue with wood dowels is that they'll just chew through those again. I'd still recommend a layer of steel wool either before or after the dowel

[@charlie6629]

Silicone works great. All I heard for days was buzzing because they couldn't get out. I filled all of the holes I could see. No need for all of that stuff.

[@thehousemann]

Ha. That's great. The other stuff is for redundancy. I've heard of them digging through the silicone, or just start digging a tunnel in another direction to get out. No point in plugging the hole if they can potentially get out. Just want to be sure we don't have future issues.

[@charlie6629]

@@thehousemann None of mine ever got out. They were okay until these golden ones showed up. They were mean so I shut down the whole deal. Haven't seen them in years, just recently I saw one starting a new whole. Got to take care of that early.

[@aamirshahzad8060]

They will dig new holes. Key is you have put Sevin dust and wait for all the larvas to hatch and get in touch with the dust. Then in fall close all the holes.

[@charlie6629]

@@aamirshahzad8060 Haven't had any for over two years

[@dylankyang]

@@aamirshahzad8060 what did you use to close the holes?

[@JonCartervo]

Excellent video. Do you recommend this same method with a deck and stain?

[@thehousemann]

Pretty much the same for anywhere.

[@fannieallen6005]

Look like this could work.

[@nicolenobrega9571]

We made several of these & hung them around our log cabin. The only thing that was ever in the jar was flies or wasps! We also have tons of walnut trees & bird feeders, but the bees are still here & going strong. They are destroying our cabin. We have tried different types of spray, additives for the log seal, etc...nothing works. These things are just as bad as stink bugs when it comes to trying to get rid of them!!!

[@thehousemann]

Put a little bit of honey water in the bottom of the jars. Should held attract them. Another tip I got from an old friend was to try and get a carpenter bee in there as they release a pheromone when they freak out which attracts more of them

[@mannyk1986]

Why do we need a trumbone brush? Wouldn’t the foam kill the bees and eggs?

[@thehousemann]

So it's not necessary. However, Carpenter bees lay eggs in chambers and seal them off. The trombone cleaner helps break through those walls and gets the eggs. You'll be surprised how deep some of those holes go. A flexible straw also works if the bee dug at a fairly straight angle.

[@gybx4094]

In rural areas, this is definitely an annual war. If hassled enough, they will eventually go to a dead tree, but they will come back eventually. They can do tremendous structural damage, so they must be eliminated. They won't go extinct. There are millions of them out in the countryside.

[@thehousemann]

Yea, you'll never be able to get rid of them. You just have to play damage control and reduce the chances of them getting into your housing structure

[@stevengroff3270]

Spray foam....works great

[@thehousemann]

They will eat right through that the next time around

[@dianebollman5270]

So I was told they won't bore into painted wood. I guess that info was wrong.

[@thehousemann]

I've heard mixed things, some say it depends on the type of paint. From what I've seen around the house. They will bore into everything. I've had them go into freshly put up pressure treated wood, painted wood, and fence panels 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@moe2222]

pl glue to fill out the holes

[@thehousemann]

What's pl glue?

[@armandchargois5733]

I know for a fact this WILL work...use wd40 with the long red spout as shown on this video on the Spectracide can...

[@thehousemann]

I've heard wd40 working as well as an alternative. Id rather have the added benefit of the insecticide as it foams and really gets deep inside

[@brucebonkowski3037]

why not use a wood dowel spray the hole glue the dowel.tap it in cut offsand paint

[@thehousemann]

Because they'll just chew through the dowel.

[@Elmo_Fuddleputt]

I can't answer to steel wool but I know they can chew through aluminum foil like it's nobodies business.

[@thehousemann]

No issues with steel wool thus far

[@eastsideterri22]

I had them but now I don't and I found out why. I feed alot of birds. I put nuts out for woodpeckers and blue jays. I saw one snatch one right out of the air. I thought I was going to have a big problem but the past 3 days I haven't seen a one at any of the holes nor any new holes. FEED THE NUT EATING BIRDS FOR AWHILE. They will wipe the things out.

[@thehousemann]

I mean they do look like giant flying nuts 😂. But I agree on using nature to help combat insect problems. We have huge joro/golden orb weavers in the front yard. Once we placed a bird feeder out front, the number of spiders reduced significantly

[@eastsideterri22]

@@thehousemann hahaha good ONE they are far like the cashews lol. They seems to like to eat bees. I found they call some of them bee eaters. Works for me. As soon as it warms us a bit I am gonna water seal and paint the new piece of wood. The old wood is over 100 yrs old an you can't put a nail it it unless you still a hole.

[@thehousemann]

@@eastsideterri22 yep. I've been meaning to make a new video on how to make Carpenter bee traps. Made a few last year and they've worked well

[@eastsideterri22]

@@thehousemann that's interesting. If my blue jays dont do there job I will try it. Thanks. That one lady I saw was overran with them. I noticed no paint on anything. I wonder if that is the difference

[@thehousemann]

@@eastsideterri22paint will act as an extra layer of protection as the bees don't like to eat through it. The only spots I have issues is on exposed wood (like our Graden beds) and oooold wood that's a bit on the softer side

[@johnnykurplutzo6789]

Mine are coming in and out of electric meter 😡

[@thehousemann]

Oof. May I recommend sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the area and on the surfaces of the meter. Should work as well

[@johnnykurplutzo6789]

@@thehousemann wow ty

[@timrose5783]

All you need to do is paint the boards with an oil base paint and your Carpenter Bee problem will go away. Carpenter Bees only make holes on unpainted surface. They like natural wood.

[@thehousemann]

I'm not sure how true this is. We have plenty of painted wood in the back and they've dug through those pieces

[@timrose5783]

@@thehousemann Did you use an oil base paint? I worked for me. I could not get rid of them until I put an oil base paint on the boards.

[@thehousemann]

@@timrose5783 im not sure on the paint as it's an old painted pergola that came with the house. We're having the pergola redone, so I'll Def look into painting it with an oil based paint

[@ladyj5682]

Nope, I never had a problem until this year after I newly painted my white porch. A month later or so holes popped out of no where after seeing what I now know was saw dust. I didn’t have a clue what it was until the holes came

[@vincerodriguez9256]

use WD-40, better for your health

[@thehousemann]

While I do agree. And I've heard good things about wd40 working. The main goal here was to have the expanding foam really get all the way into the funnels. Would love to try to find a more natural solution.

[@JBulsa]

Fake Wasp nest

[@thehousemann]

I don't follow. What do you mean

[@islandgirl10164]

@@thehousemannppl say putting up a fake hornet nest will scare them away- going to try tomorrow!

[@1950FarmallH]

@@islandgirl10164 I'm guessing carpenter bees will realize no live hornets near fake nest and bees will continue to go about their business. Let us know how that fake nest works out for ya.

[@islandgirl10164]

@@1950FarmallH it’s done nothing😭💀 bees and wasps of all kinds are still flying around so I’m gonna go w it doesn’t work😔 I’m working on not tweaking when they fly near me which has been working until a male carpenter bee hit me in my neck😭😐