Wood and insects. WTF is this?

[HarleyDog]

Wife and I just had our shed rebuilt after the neighbors tree cut it in half. We put shit back in it which has been sitting outside because we had no other place to put it. Shut the shed up and the next morning, this happened. What the hell kind of insect can bore through wood in 12hrs?

Pic 1. This is the amount of saw dust on the floor in such a short amount of time.



Pic 2: This almost looks like a drill hole. Then about 1/4' in, it curves diagonally to the left. Hole is about the size of a standard wooden pencil we used in school (50yrs old LOL).



At first I thought termite. However, this has to be something different. Maybe carpenter ant? Yet, what I saw on those left me doubtful. Remember, this happened in 12hrs.

Anyone know?

[Au165]

(06-05-2017, 10:16 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Wife and I just had our shed rebuilt after the neighbors tree cut it in half. We put shit back in it which has been sitting outside because we had no other place to put it. Shut the shed up and the next morning, this happened. What the hell kind of insect can bore through wood in 12hrs?

Pic 1. This is the amount of saw dust on the floor in such a short amount of time.



Pic 2: This almost looks like a drill hole. Then about 1/4' in, it curves diagonally to the left. Hole is about the size of a standard wooden pencil we used in school (50yrs old LOL).



At first I thought termite. However, this has to be something different. Maybe carpenter ant? Yet, what I saw on those left me doubtful. Remember, this happened in 12hrs.

Anyone know?

Looks like a carpenter bee hole to me. My sister in-law, my parents, and myself have all had issues with them this year.

[SunsetBengal]

Sounds like carpenter bees, to me.

[Goalpost]

I'm going to guess it is a bee or some type of beetle. Something that is approximately the width of that hole. Maybe something was brought in with that stuff from outside. I would take the stuff back out and maybe spray it down, and look around the shed while it is empty for something that size. It is probably trying to lay eggs. I have a railing on my deck outside that occasionally gets sawdust under it. It is a lower rail that I built and so happens the underneath part I didn't paint because it is unnoticeable. I've read if I paint it, it will stop the occasional burrowing. You may want to try that. I guess insects are less likely to dig where something is painted over.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

Carpenter bees, no question. My house has cedar siding on the upper level, and I have three decks. I battle these ***** every year. Spray inside the bore hole until whatever insecticide you use runs out, let it dry, then caulk the hole. Paint it. That should solve the issue of larvae hatching next year.

[BengalHawk62]

Is it Crabs?



Sometimes whenever I've asked that question, WTF is this?, that's the answer. 

[HarleyDog]

Very interesting. Never heard of a carpenter bee. Ortho home defense take care of them bastards? Or should I just douse in gasoline and let dry (JK).

[Vas Deferens]

About a year ago a bought a haul of rough sawn lumber from a guy who was moving out of state. Couple of large slabs of orange Osage, some nice walnut and 3 big pieces of live edge beetle kill pine. The beetle kill looked like it was taken care of, put them on my drying rack and forgot about them. Couple of weeks ago I went to grab the walnut for a project and realized the beetles were still active. Huge piles of saw dust from the pine. Took a chisel to the live edge of the pine and they came pouring out. Had to deal with those bastards asap. Wiped acetone all over the outer edges, then wrapped them in a couple of large trash bags, threw an acetone soaked rag in there and duct taped them up for a couple of days. Seems to have done the trick.

How much acetone can you get your hands on? Good luck bud.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(06-06-2017, 02:26 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Very interesting. Never heard of a carpenter bee. Ortho home defense take care of them bastards? Or should I just douse in gasoline and let dry (JK).

I think I showed you this before.....




They will laugh at Ortho......

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

I've also heard you can spray the boreholes with WD-40, and that will kill them too, but I have not tried it.  You will want a professional grade insecticide of some sort.  Talstar just happens to be the brand carried at our local Southern States farm co-op store.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

Tennis racket works well.

[BengalsRocker]

That's definitely carpenter bees.

They look like big bumble bees but only the female stings.

I never knew how much I hated those things until I bought my current house.

Long story short. The previous owner's kids had an old tree house that I tore down.

It must've been the bees "home".

These MFer's were dive bombing the shit out of me when I was dismantling it.

I sprayed them with wasp killer and it did nothing.

This year they've made their way to my privacy fence.

At night I went and sprayed WD 40 into the bore hole and the next morning one of the bees were dead on the ground.

I thought that ended my saga but they just moved down to another section.

So yeah WD 40 kills those bastards but you have to get rid of them all!!

I just don't want them to start on my house so I'm going to leave them alone for now.......

[*bengalfan74*]

Yup, it's carpenter bees for sure. Like Rocker says they look like bumble bees and wasp and hornet spray doesn't phase em. Wyche is leading you down the right road. Spray em and fill the holes with caulk. I had em all over my pool deck couple years ago.

[jfkbengals]

Without a doubt it is from a female carpenter bee.

As someone who owns a home on a very wooded lot, I've tangled with them about a hundred times.

Some background on what has transpired: The female bores a nest directly into the wood to reproduce. The entrance goes in, then turns 90 degrees and bores a long tunnel. If the entrance is horizontal, then the tunnel will be vertical and uphill. If the entrance is vertical, it will be from the underside of the wood, then will turn to horizontal. Once the bee has completed the tunnel, it will leave the first offspring (I don't know if it is an egg or larvae or whaterver), then walls it off. It "births" the next, then walls it off. This continues until there are no more eggs/larvae/offspring. Once the baby bees are ready to emerge, they will eat the walls and exit the tunnel and venture off into the world, although it probably won't be all that far away.

Because of the 90 turn and then the walls between the baby bees, it is very difficult to kill them off unless you act fast. Ideally you need to get the female bee while she is in the tunnel and before she lays/births the first one. I use Terro Spider killer. It comes with a straw like WD40, allowing me to flex it around the 90 turn and shoot into the tunnel. Knock on the wood a few times, and if momma bee is in there, you will hear it buzzing. Shoot in the pesticide, and within a few moments you will see it crawl back out and fall to the ground. If you miss the window of getting momma bee, chances are you won't kill the offspring unless you time it perfectly to them emerging. Hopefully you get momma bee, because if she leaves the offspring in there, there is a chance a woodpecker will rip open the tunnel and feast on them.

DEFINITELY fill the hole with caulk or putty afterwards to prevent another bee from re-using it. For the record, the female can sting you, but you have a better chance of winning the lottery. If there is a male around, he will buzz you left and right to try and scare you off. Jokes on him, as we humans know that male carpenter bees don't have stingers! You'll recognize the male from the female as the male has a big spot on its face.

Good luck!

[jfkbengals]

The male...

[Tiger Teeth]

(06-07-2017, 08:03 PM)jfkbengals Wrote:


The male...

The female...

[HarleyDog]

(06-07-2017, 07:54 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Without a doubt it is from a female carpenter bee.

As someone who owns a home on a very wooded lot, I've tangled with them about a hundred times.

Some background on what has transpired:  The female bores a nest directly into the wood to reproduce.  The entrance goes in, then turns 90 degrees and bores a long tunnel.  If the entrance is horizontal, then the tunnel will be vertical and uphill.  If the entrance is vertical, it will be from the underside of the wood, then will turn to horizontal.  Once the bee has completed the tunnel, it will leave the first offspring (I don't know if it is an egg or larvae or whaterver), then walls it off.  It "births" the next, then walls it off.  This continues until there are no more eggs/larvae/offspring.  Once the baby bees are ready to emerge, they will eat the walls and exit the tunnel and venture off into the world, although it probably won't be all that far away.

Because of the 90 turn and then the walls between the baby bees, it is very difficult to kill them off unless you act fast.  Ideally you need to get the female bee while she is in the tunnel and before she lays/births the first one.  I use Terro Spider killer.  It comes with a straw like WD40, allowing me to flex it around the 90 turn and shoot into the tunnel.  Knock on the wood a few times, and if momma bee is in there, you will hear it buzzing.  Shoot in the pesticide, and within a few moments you will see it crawl back out and fall to the ground.  If you miss the window of getting momma bee, chances are you won't kill the offspring unless you time it perfectly to them emerging.  Hopefully you get momma bee, because if she leaves the offspring in there, there is a chance a woodpecker will rip open the tunnel and feast on them.

DEFINITELY fill the hole with caulk or putty afterwards to prevent another bee from re-using it.  For the record, the female can sting you, but you have a better chance of winning the lottery.  If there is a male around, he will buzz you left and right to try and scare you off.  Jokes on him, as we humans know that male carpenter bees don't have stingers!  You'll recognize the male from the female as the male has a big spot on its face.

Good luck!

How big is the window?

[BenZoo2]

(06-07-2017, 10:22 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: The female...

I'm thinking about taking up beekeeping [emoji1312]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jfkbengals]

(06-07-2017, 10:34 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: How big is the window?

Not exaclty sure.  As you just posted it a few days ago, I don't think you're too late. 


Just found this on Google which says the eggs are laid in late spring to early summer.  Also links to a control page...
http://www.carpenterbees.com/bee-life/carpenter-bee-life-cycle.html


EDIT:  I followed the link to the control page, and it is incredibly detailed and informative.  Definitely check it out...

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(06-07-2017, 07:54 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Without a doubt it is from a female carpenter bee.

As someone who owns a home on a very wooded lot, I've tangled with them about a hundred times.

Some background on what has transpired:  The female bores a nest directly into the wood to reproduce.  The entrance goes in, then turns 90 degrees and bores a long tunnel.  If the entrance is horizontal, then the tunnel will be vertical and uphill.  If the entrance is vertical, it will be from the underside of the wood, then will turn to horizontal.  Once the bee has completed the tunnel, it will leave the first offspring (I don't know if it is an egg or larvae or whaterver), then walls it off.  It "births" the next, then walls it off.  This continues until there are no more eggs/larvae/offspring.  Once the baby bees are ready to emerge, they will eat the walls and exit the tunnel and venture off into the world, although it probably won't be all that far away.

Because of the 90 turn and then the walls between the baby bees, it is very difficult to kill them off unless you act fast.  Ideally you need to get the female bee while she is in the tunnel and before she lays/births the first one.  I use Terro Spider killer.  It comes with a straw like WD40, allowing me to flex it around the 90 turn and shoot into the tunnel.  Knock on the wood a few times, and if momma bee is in there, you will hear it buzzing.  Shoot in the pesticide, and within a few moments you will see it crawl back out and fall to the ground.  If you miss the window of getting momma bee, chances are you won't kill the offspring unless you time it perfectly to them emerging.  Hopefully you get momma bee, because if she leaves the offspring in there, there is a chance a woodpecker will rip open the tunnel and feast on them.

DEFINITELY fill the hole with caulk or putty afterwards to prevent another bee from re-using it.  For the record, the female can sting you, but you have a better chance of winning the lottery.  If there is a male around, he will buzz you left and right to try and scare you off.  Jokes on him, as we humans know that male carpenter bees don't have stingers!  You'll recognize the male from the female as the male has a big spot on its face.

Good luck!

Exactly right on all accounts.  One benefit of the Talstar, is that it will "hang around" for up to three months.  If you can saturate the area, and catch the bees going in and out, they will track the pesticide into the tunnel and kill off the offspring before they can hatch.  So, I definitely recommend pest control that has a residual effect.

When I first moved into my house, they were SWARMING the place.  I now have them under control, with them being completely absent some years.

Funny story on the wood peckers....one was on the corner of my house right next to my side of our bed.  Every Saturday morning that bastard would wake me up about 6 am.  That is....until the day I blasted some bird shot his way out the window with a 12 gauge! I didn't kill him, but it undoubtedly scared the shit out of him!